Ectobius is a genus of non-cosmopolitan cockroaches once thought native to the Old World and described by James Francis Stephens in 1835,[1] belonging to the family Ectobiidae, subfamily Ectobiinae.[2] The discovery[3] of 4 ectobius cockroaches in Colorado dating to 49 million years ago suggests the genus actually originated in North America. This genus has been subject to a number of revisions.[4][5]
Description
Ectobius species – Nymph
The adult 'cockroaches' reach 6–12 millimetres (0.24–0.47 in) of length, the basic coloration of their body is mostly brown or yellowish, with a clearer margin.
The females are usually bigger than the males and have shorter wings, while in the males wings cover at least the whole abdomen.
Distribution
Species of this genus are mainly present in most of Europe, Africa, in eastern Palearctic realm and the Near East. The "lesser cockroach" (i.e. as found in Britain), previously placed here, is now in the genus Capraiellus.[5]
The genus was long absent from the North American continent until recent re-introductions of some cool-adapted species in the Canadian Maritimes and North Eastern, US.[6]
^Bohn, H. 1989: Revision of the sylvestris group of Ectobius Stephens in Europe (Blattaria: Blattellidae). Entomologica Scandinavica, 20: 317–342.
^ abBohn (2013) In Bohn, Beccaloni, Dorow & Pfeifer. Another species of European Ectobiinae travelling north – the new genus Planuncus and its relatives (Insecta: Blattodea: Ectobiinae). Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny71(3): 147.
