Albino Cockroaches

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What Is An Albino Cockroach?

If you’ve ever seen a white cockroach, you may have assumed you’d seen an albino cockroach. Does such a thing exist? What are white roaches and what can the presence of white roaches tell you?

Though there are definitely white cockroaches, there are no known cases of albinism in roaches. If you’re not spotting an albino roach, what is that white cockroach you’ve seen in your home? Most cockroach species spend a few hours being white several times during their short lifespan. Why do roaches go through this color transformation?

What Causes White Cockroaches?

As roaches mature from a nymph (or baby) state to a fully mature adult, they go through several different developmental, or instar, stages, with some roach species going through 10 different instar stages before reaching full maturity. At the point of transformation from one instar to the next, cockroaches molt, meaning they shed their outer shell, or exoskeleton. With this loss of their outer layer of skin, they also lose most of their body’s pigmentation because it is a part of that layer of skin. What remains underneath is the new exoskeleton which appears soft and white. This exoskeleton quickly hardens and returns to its darker color, but it takes a few hours for this metamorphosis to be completed. 

Why Is It Still Pretty Rare To See A White Roach?

Though each roach will go through this molting process several times in its life, because they are so vulnerable at this time, they tend to stay in hidden and protected places until their new cuticle has fully hardened. Some roaches even go into hiding before their molt has begun to make sure they are not left in a dangerous place when they are most defenseless. Many roaches die during the molting process either from complications with their transformation or due to predation. 

If you are finding many white roaches in your home, this is a clear indicator of an advanced infestation. If roaches are being pushed out of protected hiding spots during this highly vulnerable time, it means those spots are already filled with molting roaches. 

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