Cockroaches

Out of 4,600 species of the order Blattodea (cockroaches and now termites), 30 of them are associated with humans (only 4 have been linked as pests). Many people see cockroaches as unclean, disease-causing insects. Although cockroaches do cause diseases (13 diseases have been found), the hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is very clean and cleans itself after being handled by humans (because humans are in fact dirtier than hissing cockroaches are). They eat mostly green leafy vegetables, apples, and carrots. The cockroaches that we mostly think of as pests are German cockroach (Blattella germanica) and American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) which are actually native to Africa. They are also known to harbor fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and helminth, causing harmful pathogens.

Built for survival
The American cockroach (the largest species of cockroaches) can "hold its breath" for 40 minutes and can run up to 3 miles an hour. They can also live with their heads off for a week (due to the open circulatory system, therefore can breathe through little holes in each of the body segments), but can only go a week without water (they can survive without food for a month).

They have the largest genomes of any insect studied, which might explain the reason why they can survive so well. They have tons of genes called "Cytochrome P450." that helps with poisonous chemicals, code for detoxification enzymes. They have a very strong immune system and kills harmful microbes and fungi. They have 154 olfactory receptors for smell, which is the reason why can smell better than other insects. They also have 544 for tasting, the largest of any insect. German cockroaches can carry up to 50 eggs in the ootheca (egg case). Because most pests can produce offspring in large numbers (or how many times a female can reproduce in a short-term time).

Research at the University of Nottingham have found that roaches and locusts have brains with a powerful antibiotic enzyme, 9 different antibiotic molecules (called Peptides which are short-chain amino acids that make-up protein) within the nervous system. They are specific in their brains. Tests have found that these are effective with some bacteria (e. Coli) and can 90% kill MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and cause no harmful effects on the human cells. This research may help find more powerful antibiotics that humans can use.

Cockroaches have also become resistant to most pesticides. Before cockroaches would taste pesticides as sweet tasting. They developed over generations, to instead taste the sweetness into bitterness. These resistants are seen in many insects in different ways.

Because of their strong immune system and the ability to kill unsafe bacteria/enzymes, they can eat almost anything: human food, feces, cardboard, decaying matter, other cockroaches, and the list goes on.

Cockroaches are social insects and they like to tell others where the best places to find food is. They do this by emitting pheromones that leave chemical odors on their body and also in their feces. They're most active at night, hunting or finding a mate. This may be the reason why people don't realize their house might be infested until some cockroaches crawl in the day. The American cockroach lives only for a year, but because of such active mating, there will be more to replace the one dead.

Posted on March 27, 2019 06:01 AM by backyardcreature