loach

A glossy crawling and flying insect that resembles a large roach, except that it is a medium brown color (and roaches do not fly). This 1 and 1/2 inch-long six-legged antennaed creature scuttles across the floor and hides under things, like a roach, but can also take flight in a manner alarming to humans, and land on walls and ceilings.

This insect is called a loach in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York City. In the summer of 1985 when I saw one crawl from under the kitchen sink and shreiked as it flew toward the window, my Bay Ridge Brooklyn boyfriend said, "That's a loach."

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