Dictyoptera fast facts |
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Cockroaches have been in existence for over 350 million years (since the Devonian), and have changed very little over the years. Fossilized cockroaches from 250 million years ago look very much the same as cockroaches today.
They are omnivorous scavengers and will eat almost anything (sometimes even each other), and are active mainly at night. They are found in a wide variety of habitats. Fewer than 1% of cockroach species are "pest" species; in fact only around 25 - 30 are considered pests, and of these only 4 or 5 are global pests.
They are considered pests of stored produce because, although they eat only a little, they contaminate large quantities which take on a characteristic smell and have to be thrown away. Also they can be carriers of diseases spread by viruses and bacteria.
Cockroaches range in size from just a few millimetres to over 100 mm in length, and their flattened bodies allow them to squeeze through cracks and hide in crevices. Most are dark brown, but black, tan and other colour variations do exist. Most have 4 wings in the adult stage, and some are capable of long and rapid flight. Other species are wingless or have reduced wings. They are often mistaken for beetles.
Above is a cockroach ootheca, or egg purse of Blatta orientalis showing how the eggs are arranged inside, and above that is a female carrying the egg case. There are usually around 16 eggs inside, and a female can lay up to 9 of these in her lifetime.
When the eggs hatch they look like little worms, but very soon they moult to resemble a smaller version of the adult. The nymphs moult 6 - 10 times before reaching adulthood. The female, above is carrying her egg case. As with the Mantids the eggs are contained in an egg case or purse (ootheca) see the drawing above, and are carried around by the female attached to the tip of her abdomen for a few days before she deposits them; usually near a source of food. The ootheca contains from 8 to 40 eggs depending on the species.
Cockroaches are hardy animals and the ones that invade houses can survive for a month without food or water, two months on water alone, and 5 months on dry food.
They can withstand a certain amount of freezing.
They can survive 100 times the amount of radiation a human can endure.
Humans lose consciousness at 12 Gs (12 times the pull of gravity), but a cockroach can withstand 126 Gs!
The 3 native species are found mainly in southern England. In all 3 species the male can fly, but only the Tawny female can fly; the other 2 do not have fully developed wings.
The most important word to understand here is "control". Eradication will not happen. They were here a long time before us, and will most likely still be here long after all traces of us have gone.
Basic cleanliness and lack of clutter is and always has been the best control. This will deprive the cockroach of feeding opportunities and hiding places. Non-chemical controls consist mainly of trapping them on sticky traps and vacuuming them up. These methods are easy, fairly economical and effective in keeping infestations small. Other non-chemical controls include freezing, overheating and even flooding structures with a non-toxic gas. Chemical controls use insecticides in aerosols, baits, dusts and traps. Most are nerve poisons, and all must be used according to instructions. The German cockroach is already resistant to many insecticides.
Cockroaches have biting jaws and long, filamentous antennae. Those with fully formed wings can fly, but do so rarely. They have long legs and can run fast, and their cerci at the rear of the abdomen have hairs very sensitive to air movements making it very difficult to catch them from behind.
Above is a diagram showing the arrangement of the internal organs of a female cockroach.The saliva of the cockroach converts starches into glucose which can be absorbed by the crop.
Gastric ceca produce a weak acidic fluid which emulsifies fats and converts albuminoids into peptones. This goes into the crop and is digested.
The malphigian tubules are arranged in bundles, and there are usually around 70. They are excretory. The cells lining the tubules extract waste from the blood.
Cockroaches themselves do not transmit diseases to humans, however because of their habit of feeding on almost any type of organic matter they can harbour many kinds of pathogenic and harmful organisms both in and on their bodies. It is these harmful organisms that cause diseases, and they can remain viable on and in the cockroach for a considerable period of time. So when the cockroach feeds or soils food that is subsequently consumed by humans these harmful bacteria and other organisms are spread to us. In this way intestinal infections such as gastroenteritis, diarrhoea etc. can be spread by cockroach activity.
Some of the better known bacteria found in or on cockroaches includes, Shigella, Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Escherichia, Streptococcus, and Clostridium.
Protozoa found in/on cockroaches includes Entamoeba, Giardia, and Toxoplasma.
Parasites include, Schistosoma, Taenia and Ascaris.
This list shows that cockroaches can be vectors of a large number of diseases. Humans can also build up an allergic reaction when under constant exposure to cockroaches. This usually manifests itself on the skin or in the respiratory system. The German and American cockroaches are the most commonly involved in producing these allergic reactions.