About Periplaneta brunnea Burmeister, 1838
Periplaneta brunnea Burmeister, 1838 is a cockroach species in the family Blattidae, with common name brown cockroach and synonyms including Validiblatta brunnea. It is most likely originally native to Africa. It has been widely introduced globally, now holding a circumtropical distribution, and is cosmopolitan, present on every continent except Antarctica. In cooler climates, this species can only survive indoors, and it is classified as a household pest. This species is omnivorous. When threatened or touched, it emits an unpleasant odor. Males are typically smaller than females. It is a social insect that prefers to live in large groups, resting in warm, moist, dark places. It favors indoor environments and is well known as a persistent home pest. This habit differs from that of American cockroaches, which prefer outdoor habitats such as street sewers, and only enter homes when weather conditions change or food becomes scarce. For reproduction, brown cockroaches produce an ootheca 1.2 to 1.6 centimeters long, that holds an average of around 24 eggs. This ootheca is longer than that of the American cockroach, whose ootheca contains an average of around 28 eggs.
