Bug FAQBanana Cockroach
Panchlora nivea · Order: Blattodea · Family: Blaberidae
Also called: Cuban cockroach, green banana cockroach
Female banana cockroaches can reach about 24 mm, while males are smaller at 12 to 15 mm. They are pale green to yellowish-green, have wings, and show a yellow line along the sides; nymphs are brown or black and live underground. They live outdoors in shrubs, trees, plants, logs and debris, are attracted to lights at night, and are not considered a household pest.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are pale green to yellowish-green with a yellow side line; nymphs are brown or black and burrow.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Females grow up to 24 mm; males are 12 to 15 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
They are rarely found indoors and are not considered a pest. They may be used as food for other pets.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are usually found outdoors in shrubbery, trees, plants, under logs and other debris.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They are kept as pets and can also be fed to other pets.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The egg case is 3 to 4 mm long, curved, and shows indentations where the eggs sit. At 24 °C, eggs hatch in about 48 days; males mature in about 144 days and females in about 181 days.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
They are nocturnal and are attracted to indoor and outdoor lights.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Their range includes the Caribbean, Cuba and the southern US Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas, with occasional sightings as far north as South Carolina. They arrived in the US via shipments of Caribbean fruit.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 18 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Illinois.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: endemic in North America; introduced in Canada; introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do banana cockroaches look like?
Adults are pale green to yellowish-green with a yellow line on the sides, while nymphs are brown or black and live underground.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are banana cockroaches found?
They occur in the Caribbean, Cuba and the southern US Gulf Coast, and have been seen as far north as South Carolina.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Blaberidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchlora_nivea
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.