Once an adult female cockroach breeds, she will produce an egg sack known as ootheca. Ootheca can contain up to 50 young cockroaches waiting to hatch. Within just three months, those young cockroaches will reach adulthood and create egg sacks of their own. Knowing what ootheca (egg) look like and where to find them will help you identify a cockroach infestation and hire a pest control company in Hamilton.
Female cockroach eggs are produced as egg cases, also known as Ootheca. The cockroach egg (Ootheca) contains many eggs that are wrapped by a protein substance that will with time harden into a strong protective casing. Some species of cockroaches are known to drop the casing, while other species will carry the eggs until they are ready to hatch.
Cockroach egg cases are dark brown in color and average 8mm in length. One female cockroach may produce up to 90 oothecae in its lifespan. The American Cockroach is known to carry its Ootheca only for a few hours to days after it leaves them in a safe spot. This particular egg case normally has about 15 embryos and remains in place through the use of the female
The German cockroach egg is brown and typically measures less than 6 to 9 mm in length. The female German cockroach carries the Ootheca until the eggs that are inside are ready to hatch. The German cockroach Ootheca contains as many as 50 eggs in a single egg case. It takes the German cockroach 103 days to transform from an egg to an adult. Since they produce so many eggs at a time, that develop quickly, their population is known to skyrocket when there is no intervention taking place.
The females of the American cockroach lay their eggs in a hardened case that is shaped like an egg also known as the Ootheca. After a week of mating, the female produces an ootheca during the peak of her reproductive cycle. The female may form up to two oothecae a week. These oothecae are left near sources of food and sometimes glued onto a surface with secretion from her mouth. This hardened case contains water that is enough for the eggs to develop without additional water from the substrate. The egg case is normally brown when it is first laid, but over time (day or two) it will turn to black. The American cockroach egg is about 8mm long.
The brown-banded cockroach egg is reddish-brown in color and measures about 5mm in length. The females of these species produce up to 20 cases of eggs in their lifespan, and each Ootheca carries 10 to 18 embryos. The Brown-banded nymphs are normally identifiable by the two yellow bands that cross their upper abdomens. The nymphs develop fully into adults in a span of three to six months.
One Oriental female cockroach can produce about 18 egg cases in its lifetime. and it takes 800 days for them to reach adulthood.