APPEARANCE:
Reddish-brown, about 1.5 inches long or longer, winged, but seldom fly.

DIET:
They prefer decaying organic matter, but being scavengers will eat anything. Sweets are attractive to them. They also will feed on starchy items like book bindings, and the back of wall paper.

HABITS AND BIOLOGY:
Females produce many egg capsules, having 14-16 eggs hatching in 50-55 days into grayish-brown "nymphs". As they mature they become more reddish-brown in appearance. Adults and nymphs can be found in a variety of places. In the North,they are commonly found in steam heat tunnels or in large institutional buildings.They more commonly congregate in open spaces instead of small crack and crevices.When indoors,they can be located in dark,moist areas like basements and crawl spaces.Other likely areas indoors would be around bathtubs, floor drains,and sewers. Outside this roach can be found in moist, shady areas like:yards, hollow trees, woodpiles,and mulch. At times they can be found under roof shingles or attics. Usually they will live outside,but will wander inside in search for food and water or during extremes in weather conditions.