Baby Roach Pictures: An Easy Visual Guide - Cockroach Facts

Introduction

If you’ve discovered a bug you suspect to be a baby roach, you’ll want to identify it quickly, then make plans to deal with it – fast. To help you do that, we’ve assembled a collection of baby roach pictures to use as a handy DIY guide.

The images are arranged in sets to make identification easier, and include brief descriptions about the most common baby roaches (German, American, Oriental, Brown-Banded and Smoky Brown) that you’re likely to encounter.

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CLICK HERE Contents hide 1 Introduction 2 A Simple 5-Step Guide For Getting Rid of Roaches 3 Baby German Roach Pictures 4 Baby American Cockroach Pictures 5 Baby Oriental Roach Pictures 6 Baby Brown-Banded Cockroach Pictures 7 Baby Smoky Brown Roach Pictures 8 Baby Australian Roach Pictures

Also see: “Found a Baby Cockroach? Here’s What To Do,” and ” What Do Baby Roaches Look Like?“

Baby German Roach Pictures

  • German cockroach nymph and egg sac (Blattella germanica)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • German cockroach nymph infestation (Blattella germanica)
    Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
  • German cockroach nymph and adult (Blattella germanica)
    Michael Merchant, Texas Cooperative Extension, Bugwood.org
  • German cockroach nymph (Blattella germanica)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • German cockroach nymph (Blattella germanica)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • German cockroach nymph (Blattella germanica)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • Lots of cockroaches, adults and babies
Baby German roaches, with newly hatched roaches (top left), closeups, and baby roach infestations.

Baby German roaches are among the smallest that invade our homes. Even when mature, German roaches are quite small. But at early stages of development the babies (known as nymphs) are absolutely tiny – as small as the head of a pin when they first hatch.

Like all cockroaches, baby German roaches are white at hatching, but quickly darken and turn brown, with a banded appearance and a light-colored splotch that runs partially up the center of their backs. Baby German roaches are mostly oval-shaped, and differ from adults in color (they’re darker), markings, and the fact that they don’t yet have wings.

Baby American Cockroach Pictures

  • American cockroach nymph (Periplaneta americana)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • American cockroach nymph (Periplaneta americana)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • American cockroach nymph (Periplaneta americana)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • American cockroach nymph (Periplaneta americana)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • American Cockroach nymph
    Len Worthington via https://flic.kr/p/J46jjk
  • American Cockroach nymph
    Gail Hampshire via https://flic.kr/p/aMaeag
  • American cockroach nymph (Periplaneta americana)
    Mohammed El Damir, Bugwood.org
  • American cockroach nymph (Periplaneta americana)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • American cockroach nymph (Periplaneta americana)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • American cockroach nymph (Periplaneta americana)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • American cockroach nymph and adult (Periplaneta americana)
    Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
  • American cockroach (Periplaneta americana)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org

Baby American roaches are much larger than their German cousins, measuring about 1/8″ long when hatched. The nymphs are white after hatching, then turn grayish-brown until their second growth phase (known as an instar), when their bodies become reddish-brown. Like the baby German cockroach, the bodies of American cockroach nymphs have a banded appearance, and they remain wingless until mature.

Baby Oriental Roach Pictures

  • Oriental cockroach nymphs and adult (Blatta orientalis)
    Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
  • Oriental cockroach adult and nymph (Blatta orientalis)
    Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
  • Oriental cockroach nymph (Blatta orientalis)
    Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org
  • Oriental cockroach nymph and oothecae (Blatta orientalis)
    Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
  • Oriental cockroach nymph & life cycle (Blatta orientalis)
    Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
  • Oriental cockroach nymph (Blatta orientalis)
    Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org
Baby Oriental cockroach babies (nymphs) and adults.

Baby Oriental cockroaches are white when newly hatched, but soon turn a pale brown color, which eventually darkens as they mature. Their bodies have a banded appearance, which becomes less pronounced the darker they become. Newly hatched Oriental roaches can be up to 6mm long – about the size of a grain of rice. Click on the baby roach pictures above for an expanded view, and more detail.

Baby Brown-Banded Cockroach Pictures

  • Brownbanded cockroach nymphs, eggs, adults in life cycle (Supella longipalpa)
    Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia
  • 4 Brownbanded cockroach nymphs (Supella longipalpa)
    Pest and Diseases Image Library
  • Brown banded cockroach nymphs, top and bottom views (Supella longipalpa)
    Pest and Diseases Image Library
  • Brownbanded roach nymph (Supella longipalpa)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • Brownbanded cockroach nymph closeup (Supella longipalpa)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
  • Brownbanded cockroach nymphs (Supella longipalpa)
    Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
Baby Brown-Banded cockroaches shown in various life stages. Notice wings on the adults top left, but that the nymphs are wingless.

Like baby German cockroaches, baby Brown-Banded roaches are quite small – just 1/8″ long at birth. They have dark-colored heads, light-colored bodies, and a banded appearance, with bodies that broaden at the base. Baby Brown-Banded roaches have two white bands between their head and midsection, that make them easy to identify.

Baby Smoky Brown Roach Pictures

  • SmokyBrown cockroach nymph (Periplaneta fuliginosa)
    Lesley Ingram, Bugwood.org
  • SmokyBrown cockroach nymph (Periplaneta fuliginosa)
    happy1892 via Wikimedia
An older Smoky Brown cockroach nymph on the left. Younger Smoky Brown cockroach nymphs on the right.

While Smoky Brown roach adults are uniformly brown, baby Smoky Brown roaches start off white (right after hatching), turn black, then become brown-colored with a prominent white segment just before their midsection. As they grow older, they lose their pattern. Though Smoky Brown roach adults grow large, nymphs (as in the baby roach pictures above) can be as small as a single millimeter in length.

Baby Australian Roach Pictures

  • Australian cockroach nymph (Periplaneta australasiae)
    darkday via Flickr
  • Australian cockroach nymph (Periplaneta australasiae)
    Rob Russell via Flickr
  • Australian cockroach nymph (Periplaneta australasiae)
    Jimmy Smith via Flickr
  • Australian cockroach nymph (Periplaneta australasiae)
    Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org
Baby Australian cockroaches, similar in appearance to baby American roaches, but with mottled yellow spots.

Similar in appearance to the baby American cockroach, the baby Australian roach is reddish-brown, and wingless until mature. Unlike the American baby roach however, the Australian baby roach has a pattern of distinctive light yellow spots. Australian cockroach nymphs can be as small as 1/8 inch in length.

Was this guide helpful? Not helpful enough? Want (or need) even more baby roach pictures? Write us!

For more help with insect identification when you need it, see:

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Written by Andrew Martin. Reviewed by James Miksanek, PhD.

Andrew Martin

Andrew Martin

Writer/Publisher

Andrew writes for, and along with his daughter, publishes Cockroach Facts. You can read more about him here.

James Miksanek, PhD

James Miksanek, PhD.

Science Editor

James is an entomologist and adjunct professor of biology. His background is in biological control, and he has a passion for ecology and environmental science. His research has addressed a variety of topics including pest control and the management of invasive species. You can learn more about our contributors here.

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