U.S. A name given in parts of the U.S. to the Cockroach, Blatta orientalis, and other species of the same genus.
The name is said to be derived from the Croton river, Westchester county, N.Y., the suggestion being that these insects became abundant in New York about the time (1842), that the Croton aqueduct brought water to the city.
1855. Weekly Raleigh Register, 21 Feb., 3/3. The croton water bug, a species of roach, but fifty times more prolific and active.
