Florida woods cockroach, Eurycotis floridana
(Blattodea: Blattidae)

The Florida woods cockroach is 1 1/8 to 1 9/16 inches (30-40 mm) long as an adult and is often called the "stinking cockroach" because it produces a foul-smelling fluid to protect it from predation. The adult is dark-reddish-brown to black and has short wing pads on the 2nd and 3rd thoracic segments. Adults cannot fly.

Development time from egg to adult is about 150 days, and adults are long lived. The female produces a number of egg cases (oothecae) in her lifetime, each of which has 20 to 24 eggs. Early nymphs are pale brown but become reddish-brown to black as they mature. The nymphs molt about six to eight times.

This cockroach is commonly found outdoors in leaf mulch, wood piles and under rotting logs. It is often called a "palmetto bug" by homeowners. This species does not live long inside structures. The Florida woods cockroach is native to the U.S. and is found in Florida, coastal Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.

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Adult Florida woods cockroach, Eurycotis floridana.
(Photographer: R.W. Baldwin, University of Florida)

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Florida woods cockroach, Eurycotis floridana, with ootheca
(egg case).
(Photographer: L.J. Buss, University of Florida)

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Florida woods cockroach, Eurycotis floridana, ootheca
(egg case).
(Photographer: R.W. Baldwin, University of Florida)

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