How Do Baby Roaches Look?
We love to hate beetles, but baby roaches? Not so much. To the surprise of many, even though adult roaches are unpleasant to the eye, baby roaches are quite cute.
Appearance
Baby roaches, or nymphs, are wingless and much smaller than adult roaches. Typically, nymphs are similar in size to the tip of a human finger. Nymphs feature a hard exoskeleton which is usually brown or black and covered with small hairs. After hatching from their egg sack, baby roaches are completely white.
Differences from Adults
As they mature, baby roaches begin to resemble adults. They experience three to four molts with each molt bringing them closer in size and color to the adults. However, there are several differences between adult and baby roaches:
- Size: Baby roaches are much smaller than adult roaches during the initial stages.
- Wings: Nymphs do not develop wings until the third or fourth instar stage which is when they begin to display color that closely resembles the adults.
- Speed: Baby roaches are slow compared to adult roaches when it comes to speed. This is due to their smaller size and lack of wings.
Bottom Line
Although baby roaches are not necessarily “cute”, they do possess a unique charm to them that can evoke a certain degree of compassion or empathy for what we would otherwise classify as a pest. Baby roaches look like miniature versions of the adult version, just without wings, antennas, and a fully developed exoskeleton.