# Bug experts: is this a cockroach? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-experts-is-this-a-cockroach/212738 "2003-11-12T01:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-experts-is-this-a-cockroach/212738/21 "2003-11-12T23:55:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > \*\ ***Kansas Man** ’s photo looks like a roach, for sure. But **Colibri** ’s? I don’t know. Hmmm. > Peace, > mangeorge \*\* Having clicked on my own link, now I understand the joke. 🙂 Sorry, I meant to post [this link](http://pested.unl.edu/comproa.jpg), which compares some of the most common household cockraoches in the U.S.: American, Oriental, German, and Brown-banded. In my experience, it’s usually the very large American Cockroach _Periplaneta americana_ that is referred to as the “water bug” or “palmetto bug.” ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-experts-is-this-a-cockroach/212738/22 "2003-11-13T00:36:26Z")
Thanks for the fix, **Colibri**. The “oriental” is the one we used to call a “water bug”. We also called it a cockroach. The american we called a “chinese cockroach”. when I was a kid, we called almost anything odd or dangerous-looking “chinese”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-experts-is-this-a-cockroach/212738/23 "2003-11-13T01:39:02Z")
Yeeergh, that “American Cockroach” is definately a South Carolina great big nasty flying “palmetto bug”. Gotten faaaar too close to one of them suckers a few too many times. ---
**Author:** ![Kaotic\_Newtral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@Kaotic\_Newtral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaotic_Newtral)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-experts-is-this-a-cockroach/212738/24 "2003-11-13T02:13:47Z")
I’m living in Arkansas…I see the German roach 4-5 times a year. I HATE those things! They seem to be (to me) more of an outside bug, I only see them during season changes. Down here…I think they’re called a ‘wood roach’ … but I could definately be wrong. -K ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-experts-is-this-a-cockroach/212738/25 "2003-11-13T02:29:50Z")
Hey, y’all don’t be dissin’ my roommates! JK - my apartment is surprisingly roach free compared to other places I’ve lived in Houston. That American cockroach in **Colibri** ’s link is commonly referred to as a “tree roach” here, and they rarely infest homes, although they do wander in for a visit now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-experts-is-this-a-cockroach/212738/26 "2003-11-13T16:47:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kaotic Newtral \* > \*\* I’m living in Arkansas…I see the German roach 4-5 times a year. I HATE those things! They seem to be (to me) more of an outside bug, I only see them during season changes. > > Down here…I think they’re called a ‘wood roach’ … but I could definately be wrong. > -K \*\* The [Wood Roach](http://pested.unl.edu/woodroa.jpg) is yet another species. They normally live outdoors, but may come inside when the weather gets cold. They usually don’t breed in houses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bug-experts-is-this-a-cockroach/212738.md?page=1)