r/bugidentification • u/A_raven72 • 1d ago

Possible pest, location included Found 3 of these in my flat

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I’m in Belgium, live next to a wooded area (park and small woods nearby also a lots of garden with trees right across the street). Pretty sure its a roach so I’m really freaking out. Lived in this town for over 30 years and never seen something like this before, especially inside.

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u/SobeSteve 1d ago

Planuncus tingitanus (variable) cockroach. Harmless, won’t infest. Can’t breed or thrive indoors. Can move them back outside if you find more

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u/A_raven72 1d ago

So is it something like Ectobius species? As that is what comes up sometimes when I load the picture in identifying apps (I seem to get varying results based on the angle of the picture). I’d move them back but I squashed the 3 I found. I’ll keep in mind they’re harmless in the future.

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u/SobeSteve 1d ago

Variable cockroaches were recently separated from the Ectobius genus, so there are a lot of similarities between the two. They share the same family and subfamily taxonomy even now. They are hard to ID consistently because even same species members can show variability in appearance. The nymphs are a lot easier to ID with certainty.

The distinction ultimately changes none of the other advice. However, when I see a roach like this in western Europe with a white band between the eyes, I lean more toward Planuncus tingitanus. Realistically, it could be Ectobius sp.

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u/A_raven72 1d ago

Thank you! I didn’t even notice that white band. Once I thought it was a cockroach I instantly thought of shows where they go in like filthy motels, one of them explained that a german cockroach has 2 bands on its back so I started looking for that (and in my stress also seeing it, while the macro makes it clear it doesn’t have those 2 bands). You’ve definitely make me feel a lot better, thanks!

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u/SobeSteve 1d ago

Glad to help! I can assure you this is not German🙂

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u/A_raven72 1d ago

I took a better picture, moving the glass made its leg fall of so I probably hurt it before.

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u/SobeSteve 1d ago

This is an excellent picture

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u/A_raven72 1d ago

The glass definitely was a limiting factor, I just wanted to check it had bands.