Difference Between Roaches and Water Bugs

Roaches vs Water Bugs

Roaches or cockroaches are insects from which termites evolved. Unlike most insects which are small, they are larger, nocturnal, and run away from light. They thrive in diverse environments but prefer warm areas.
Roaches have flat bodies, small heads, and wide bodies. They have big eyes and long, pliable antennas with two pairs of wings. The outer wings are hard for protection, and the others are meant for flying. Their mouths are located on the lower side of the head.

For mating and grouping together, they leave chemical trails in their waste matter which other roaches follow to find food and other roaches. They usually group together and live in swarms, preferring to live together with other roaches in compact areas. To attract females for mating, male roaches sing a special song, and female roaches are the ones that carry their eggs. As they hatch and grow into young roaches, they stay with their mothers which carry them around.

Although roaches eat anything, they are not known to prey on other animals. They prefer to eat plants, wood, paper, and other animal foods. In order to protect themselves from predators, roaches hide from anything that moves toward them.
Water bugs, on the other hand, are insects which are aquatic and are referred to as true water bugs. They live in fresh water, attaching themselves to plants, staying in the mud, swimming, or flying between bodies of water.
Their bodies can be flat or rounded and, like roaches, they have two sets of wings. Their antennas are short and small. While most have eyes, some species do not. Their sizes and weights are the same as that of roaches, but they have more diverse colors which can be black, bluish green, and tan.

They usually live on their own and connect with other water bugs only during the mating season wherein they dance on the surface of the water to attract females. While the females usually carry the young, some species have the males carry the eggs. They eat plants, and they also kill animals such as small fish and other insects for food. Like roaches, they also defend themselves by hiding, but they also have the ability to fight, biting their enemies or stabbing them with their rostrum.

Summary:

1.Roaches or cockroaches are nocturnal insects while water bugs are aquatic insects.
2.Roaches live on land especially in warm areas while water bugs live in the water.
3.Both insects defend themselves by hiding. But while roaches run away from light and anything that moves toward them, water bugs sometime fight by biting or stabbing their predators.
4.Roaches have flat bodies and long antennas while water bugs can have round bodies as well, and they have short and small antennas.
5.Roaches live in swarms preferring to associate with other roaches while water bugs live alone and get in touch with other water bugs only during mating.
6.Roaches don’t kill other animals while water bugs kill other animals for food.

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