---
title: "Surinam Cockroach"
description: "Pycnoscelus surinamensis — Insects & spiders. The Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach (Pycnoscelus surinamensis) is a species of burrowing cockroach."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/surinam-cockroach
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Surinam Cockroach

> Pycnoscelus surinamensis — Insects & spiders. The Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach (Pycnoscelus surinamensis) is a species of burrowing cockroach.

- Scientific name: *Pycnoscelus surinamensis*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 13405
- Wikidata: [Q4047686](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4047686)
- iNaturalist taxon: [84635](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/84635)

## Names

- en: Surinam Cockroach
- de: Surinam-Schabe
- es: Cucaracha de Surinam
- fr: Blatte de Suriname
- nl: Surinam cockroach

## Countries with the most observations

US (5949), BR (1230), MX (1225), AU (241), IL (195), TW (188), HK (151), EC (120), PE (102), CR (99), CO (95), PA (87)

## Summary

The Surinam cockroach or greenhouse cockroach (Pycnoscelus surinamensis) is a species of burrowing cockroach. It is a common plant pest endemic to the Indomalayan realm that has spread to tropical and into subtropical regions around the world, and  in isolated populations to temperate climates where protective habitat such as greenhouses provide shelter for individuals inadvertently shipped in the soil of plants. Its populations are almost exclusively female, and it reproduces through parthenogenesis, having evolved several clonal strains from its sexual progenitor P. indicus.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinam_cockroach

## Photo

![Surinam Cockroach](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/surinam-cockroach/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jade Fortnash · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63269805

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/surinam-cockroach?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).