德國姬蠊（學名：Blattella germanica），亦作德國小蠊，俗稱德國蟑螂，是一個蟑螂的物种，身長多為1.0到1.6厘米[1][2][3]，比美洲家蠊小。顏色從淺棕色到接近黑色的深棕色，而且在其前胸有兩條由頭部至翅膀末端的直紋。飛行距離並不遠，只有在被搔擾時才會飛[4]。
這種蟑螂是最常見的家居蟑螂之一，屬於本目物種少數的有害生物，在全球不少有人居住的地方均有機會找到 [5]，但在寒冷的地區則較少。人工养殖只需要2个月即可繁殖一个世代，成虫寿命约为200天[1]。本物種與Blattella asahinai（英语：Blattella asahinai）密切相關，對於不經意的觀察者來說，兩者看起來幾乎相同，可能彼此誤認。然而，亞洲蟑螂會被光吸引，而且可以像飛蛾一樣飛翔，但德国小蠊卻不能。
德国小蠊很容易在建築物裡紮根，但在餐馆、食品加工业設施、酒店及安老院等機構設施裡尤為常見。牠們會在裡面建造巢穴，且繁殖速度快，每個卵囊可孵出多隻若蟲，這些若蟲由出生至交配期的所需時間短暫，因此人們難以將之徹底驅除。不過在寒冷氣候環境，牠們只會在人類聚居處出現，因為嚴寒的環境令牠們難以存活，在室外牠們很快就會死去。儘管如此，德国小蠊目前已知會出現的最北處位於加拿大努納武特地區的阿勒特[6]；而最南的地區在阿根廷巴塔哥尼亞的南部[7]。
本物種最初被認為是歐洲的原生種，後來認為很可能是從非洲東北部的埃塞俄比亚首度出現，再擴散至其他地區[8][9]，不過最新的證據顯示德国小蠊其實是起源於東南亞[5][10]。但不管這物種起源於甚麼地方，德国小蠊對寒冷氣候的敏感，反映出這個物種應該起源於較溫暖的氣候環境，然後在古代時由於透過遷進人類的居所成為家居有害生物，繼而隨同人類遷移和運輸而擴散至其他地區。該物種現在分佈於全世界（英语：Cosmopolitan distribution），在除南極洲之外的所有大陸上以及在許多主要島嶼以家居有害生物的形式存活。因此，牠們在不同地區文化中被賦予各種名稱。例如，雖然牠們在英語國家被廣泛稱為「德國蟑螂」，但在德國卻被稱為「俄羅斯蟑螂」[11]。
作為一種夜行性物種，德国小蠊偶爾會在白天出現，特別是當其數量過於擁擠，又或受到干擾。然而，這些時刻通常都在傍晚出現，特別是當有人突然在一間昏暗的廢棄房間時亮燈，例如當牠們剛巧在清理廚房的廚餘時最為常見[12]。當被刺激或受到驚嚇時，該物種會散發出令人不快的氣味。
德國蟑螂為一種雜食性食腐昆蟲，尤其喜歡吃肉類、澱粉、糖類食物及各種油脂。當食物短缺時，牠們會連肥皂、膠水、牙膏，甚或連潤滑油也會吃。當真正饑荒時，還會同類相食，咬吃其他同類的翅膀和腿[13]。 行動方面，這種蟑螂多數會於夜間活動，但在日間如果受到干擾或聯群結隊的情況下也會出現。
另外雌性的德国小蠊在產卵期間不會即時把卵囊排出，而是留在體內孵化一段時間，使人們不會發現牠們的卵囊，而將之清除。此外牠們的身型也比其他品種的小，可躲在狹窄的縫隙中，從而避過人們的攻擊。除人們家中飼養的寵物外，這種蟑螂在人類居住地方，其自然天敵非常少。
The German cockroach reproduces faster than any other residential cockroach,[14] growing from egg to reproductive adult in roughly 50 – 60 days.[15] 人工养殖只需要2个月即可繁殖一个世代，成虫寿命约为200天[1]。 Once fertilized, a female German cockroach develops an ootheca（英语：ootheca） in her abdomen. The abdomen swells as her eggs develop, until the translucent tip of the ootheca begins to protrude from the end of her abdomen, and by that time the eggs inside are fully sized, about 1/4 inch long with 16 segments. The ootheca, at first translucent, soon turns white and then within a few hours it turns pink, progressively darkening until, some 48 hours later, it attains the dark red-brown of the shell of a chestnut. The ootheca has a keel-like ridge along the line where the young emerge, and curls slightly towards that edge as it completes its maturation. A small percentage of the nymphs may hatch while the ootheca is still attached to the female, but the majority emerge some 24 hours after it has detached from the female's body. The newly hatched 3-mm-long black nymphs then progress through six or seven instar（英语：instar）s before becoming sexually mature, but ecdysis（英语：ecdysis） is such a hazardous process that nearly half the nymphs die of natural causes before reaching adulthood. Molted skins and dead nymphs are soon eaten by living nymphs present at the time of molting.[14]
The German cockroach is very successful at establishing an 生态位 in buildings, and is resilient in the face of many 病虫害防治 measures. Reasons include:
German cockroaches are 趨性, meaning they prefer confined spaces, and they are small compared to other pest species, so they can hide within small cracks and crevices that are easy to overlook, thereby evading humans and their eradication efforts. Conversely, the seasoned pest controller is alert for cracks and crevices where it is likely to be profitable to place baits or spray surfaces.
To be effective, control measures must be comprehensive, sustained, and systematic; survival of just a few eggs is quite enough to regenerate a nearly exterminated pest population within a few generations, and recolonisation from surrounding populations often is very rapid, too.[13]
Another problem in controlling German cockroaches is the nature of their population behaviour. Though they are not social and practise no organised maternal care, females carry oothecae of 18-50 eggs (average about 32) during incubation until just before hatching, instead of dropping them as most other species of cockroaches do. This protects the eggs from certain classes of predation. Then, after hatching, nymphs largely survive by consuming excretions and moults from adults, thereby establishing their own internal microbial populations and avoiding contact with most insecticidal surface treatments and baits. One effective control is insect growth regulators (hydroprene, methoprene, etc.), which act by preventing molting, thus prevent maturation of the various instars. Caulking baseboards and around pipes may prevent the travel of adults from one apartment to another within a building.
As an 適應 consequence of pest control by poisoned sugar baits, a strain of German cockroaches has emerged that reacts to glucose as distastefully bitter. They refuse to eat sweetened baits, which presents an obstacle to their control, given that baits are an economical and effective means of control. It also is a dramatic illustration of adaptive selection; in the absence of poisoned sweet baits, attraction to sugars strongly promotes growth, energy, and reproduction; cockroaches that are not attracted to sugars take longer to grow and reproduce, whereas in the presence of poisoned sugared baits, sugar avoidance promotes reproduction.[16]
The genome of the German cockroach was published in February 2018 in Nature Ecology and Evolution（英语：Nature Ecology and Evolution）.[19] The relatively large genome (2.0 Gb) harbours a very high number of proteins, of which most notably one group of chemoreceptors（英语：chemoreceptors）, called the ionotropic receptors（英语：ionotropic receptors）, is particularly numerous. These chemoreceptors possibly allow the German cockroach to detect a broad range of chemical cues from toxins, food, pathogens, and pheromones.[19]
|isbn=值 (帮助). 18. John Allen First Response Pest Control [1]
德國姬蠊（學名：Blattella germanica），亦作德國小蠊，俗稱德國蟑螂，是一個蟑螂的物种，身長多為1.0到1.6厘米，比美洲家蠊小。顏色從淺棕色到接近黑色的深棕色，而且在其前胸有兩條由頭部至翅膀末端的直紋。飛行距離並不遠，只有在被搔擾時才會飛。
這種蟑螂是最常見的家居蟑螂之一，屬於本目物種少數的有害生物，在全球不少有人居住的地方均有機會找到 ，但在寒冷的地區則較少。人工养殖只需要2个月即可繁殖一个世代，成虫寿命约为200天。本物種與Blattella asahinai（英语：Blattella asahinai）密切相關，對於不經意的觀察者來說，兩者看起來幾乎相同，可能彼此誤認。然而，亞洲蟑螂會被光吸引，而且可以像飛蛾一樣飛翔，但德国小蠊卻不能。
