MelissaA
Brenton
Shilpa Karhik
COCKROACH Facts!
March 8th 2007 00:25
A cockroach can hold it's breath for up to 40 minutes.
Some female cockroaches mate once and are pregnant for the rest of their lives
Cockroaches rest for approximately 75% of each day.
Young cockroaches only need a crack about 0.5mm wide to crawl into your house. Adult males can squeeze into a space of 1.6mm.
Cockroach can live for up to a month, without its head.
Most species come from tropical countries and therefore need to be kept at a minimum of 25 degrees centigrade to survive.
The world's largest roach (in South America) is six inches long with a one-foot wingspan.
Male cockroaches transfer sperm to females in a package called a spermatophore. Some males cover the package in a protein-rich wrapping that the female can eat to obtain nutrients to raise her young.
Female cockroaches however prefer their males at the bottom of the social pecking order while the dominant males try and stop them from having their way. But when females do mate with low-ranking cockroaches, they produce fewer sons in an effort to avoid passing on his lower level genes.
Cockroaches can run up to 3km/hr (0.8 m/s).
There are estimated to be 4,000 - 5,000 species of cockroaches in the world. Of these, only 25 to 30 are considered pests. The rest remain a part of the Earth's fauna, such as the Giant Burrowing Cockroach which are clean, slow moving, and are sometimes kept as pets.
The German Cockroach - In Germany it is sometimes called "Die russische Schabe" or "The Russian Roach". In Russia it is called the Polish Roach. In America it was called the Crotton Bug because it came to NY about the time the Crotton Aqueduct was built.
The American Cockroach is thought to have originated in North Africa The most likely scenario is that it reached the Americas during the early slave trade.
I've also heard that they are sometimes called "water bugs" in the U.S. although I have no idea why. Mind you, the word cockroach as a name isn't exactly apparent either.
The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach is a large, wingless cockroach from Madagascar. Males ram into each other with their horns and/or they push each other with their abdomens. Larger males usually win.
The winners of these encounters usually hiss more than the losers. The hisses of males also contain information about the size of the male hissing and may be used to assess the opponent's size.
Ever wondered what the supposed purpose of having cockroaches on the planet at all is? Well try this handy example of a coackroaches supposed usefulness:
Crushed cockroaches can be applied to a stinging wound to help relieve the pain.
Scientifically speaking cockroaches are known as Blattodea, but personally I'd like to see them all Flattodea!
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Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
One is flies.
Another is mosquitos.
The other is cockroaches.
One is six inches long???!!! Arrrghhhh!!!
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Comment by Francis
Passionate Apathy
As often as roaches are found in school lunchrooms and fast-food joints, no wonder they find the glue to be more nutritious.
Ibid.
Many politicians can go decades with no apparent central nervous system; many zoologists have long suspected that roaches and politicians are related.
Many rock stars do the same thing...
Their carapace prevents lady roaches from developing any substantial bust- fortunately, male bugs (aside from the few expected fetishists) are "leg men."
To remind us that evolution is a blind and often pointless business?
Mrs. M posts:
Rain forests support large and diverse biospheres- which in turn supports large and diverse predators to feed on them, which supports large and diverse camera crews to film nature documentaries, which reminds the average citizen that the rain forests need our help. The rain forests evolved big predators as a survival measure.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
interesting stuff... hate 'em, but can't kill 'em ... that's me... put them out of the house with a broom...
I have heard that these little critters will survive a nuclear war (providing their not at ground zero of course)... but fallout won't bother them. They adapt faster than anything else ont he planet... it's good to hear though, that the nuclear winter would kill them off...
Oh, Lordy be!
*lol*
Lilla~
Comment by Francis
Passionate Apathy
Don't be too sure; the bugs have already survived a few of the Dyings recorded in the fossil record. In fact the nuke winter would leave them plenty of carcasses to feast on.
Oh, Lordy be!
That's worse than the palmetto bugs in Florida- and even those just laugh at swatters. We have to use SAMs to shoot them down.
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Comment by Armil of Cockroaches
They are extradordinary insects for me. For the fact, they can manage to live for a month without head or brain.
It's so amazing!