The Red-headed cockroach – lesser known but common cockroaches

Written by: Stuart Steele

Of the almost 300 species of cockroach within the different genera found within South Africa, there is one species which is relatively common across Gauteng, Limpopo, North West Province, Free State and down across the eastern coastline to the Western Cape.

The species is called the Red-headed cockroach (Deropeltis erythrocephala), or sometimes referred to as the Bush cockroach, which is a medium-sized cockroach around 30-35 mm in size, it is black in colour, with females more rounder than males, and pose no wings, whereas males are longer in length, but are slimmer and possess wings.

They are relatively slow-moving and occur in various habitats and vegetation types, with them seeking shelter and living mostly under rocks, stones, or any harbourage point in the wild such as tree trunks or tree bark. They are active around trees, bushes, shrubs and any other ground cover, and rarely enter people’s dwellings, as they live in outdoor environments, but do occasionally wander into properties from outdoors, or when new developments go up near areas where they naturally occur.

These cockroaches pose no threat to creating an indoor infestation because if they are found indoors, they would have accidentally moved inside from their natural outdoor environment. Unlike other species of cockroach such as the German cockroach, which will establish itself and breed in ideal conditions indoors.

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