Cockroaches are one of the most iconic insects out there and not in a good way! They’ve been depicted in film and literature for years upon years because they naturally make the skin crawl. Although roaches do immediately inspire disgust and signal that a room is filthy, they are very immensely interesting animals. Here are a few facts about them.
Cockroaches are incredibly tough
Cockroaches might not seem like much, but they’re actually incredibly tough creatures. For starters, they can survive for an entire week without their head before dying of thirst and also hold their breath for up to 40 minutes! That’s not even the beginning.
Astonishingly, a cockroach would survive a nuclear bomb. Various tests have proven that they can withstand very high levels of radiation and some roaches were even found in the aftermaths of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Chornobyl. They can survive radiation levels that would kill humans and have been found at altitudes of up to 21,000 feet. And if you manage to kill one, another will take its place within a week.
Cockroaches Can Run Fast and Spread Disease
Cockroaches are pests that can be very destructive to your home. They have been around for hundreds of years, and they are not going anywhere anytime soon. Cockroaches have the ability to run fast, and they can spread disease.
Cockroaches can run fast. The average cockroach has six legs and two antennae, but there are also many other species of cockroach with different numbers of legs. The American cockroach has only four legs on each side, which makes it slower than other species of cockroach.
However, all cockroaches have strong legs that allow them to run very fast — up to 3 miles per hour — when they need to escape predators or get away from danger.
Cockroaches can transmit diseases through their saliva and faeces. Cockroaches are scavengers who feed on decaying organic matter such as garbage or fecal matter from animals or humans. They also like carbohydrates in food scraps, so they often go after starchy items such as bread crumbs and cereal flakes in homes where people eat often — or even just leave food out overnight while they sleep (which many people do).
Cockroaches Are Ancient Animals
been around for more than 280 million years, which makes them one of the most successful species to ever exist.
Cockroach fossils have been found in Permian-age rocks, which are about 280 million years old. The first cockroach fossils look just like modern cockroaches — they were even probably brown or black and had wings.
The earliest fossil record of cockroaches was found in Baltic amber deposits dating back 110 million years ago. The ancient cockroaches that lived during this time were winged insects and had an average body length of 1 cm or less.
The next major evolutionary step for cockroaches took place about 80 million years ago when some species began living in caves and underground environments. This led to the development of darker colours as well as thicker exoskeletons to protect them from predators living underground such as rodents and reptiles.
As climate change continued over millions of years, cockroaches eventually evolved into their current form — a small insect with no wings or exoskeleton that can survive almost anywhere on Earth
Cockroaches Eat Literally Everything
Cockroaches eat a huge and disgusting array of food. From a burger that you leave on the side, to cloth, faeces and even their own young, there’s nothing that a cockroach won’t eat.
Cockroaches may be interesting animals, but they’re also a pest that can carry diseases if you’re not careful. These insects are becoming more and more prevalent in urban areas so, if you think you have an outbreak, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
A Cockroach Can Live for Week Without Its Head
A cockroach can live for a week without its head. It’s all about the brain, man. The insect’s brain is located at the base of its neck, so it can continue to function even after decapitation. This has been proven multiple times in experiments, but cockroaches probably don’t last much longer than seven days without their heads because they need food and water in order to survive.
A Cockroach Can Hold Its Breath for 40 minutes
Cockroaches are known for their ability to hold their breath. The American cockroach can survive up to 40 minutes without air, while the German cockroach can survive up to a half hour.
Cockroaches have developed this ability through evolution. They have an internal system known as a tracheal system that allows them to breathe through tiny tubes called tracheae. Most of these tubes are located inside the body wall, but some of them are outside, like in other insects. These tracheae connect with holes called spiracles on the surface of their bodies.
When cockroaches need oxygen, they take in air from these breathing holes and move it through their tracheae so that oxygen diffuses into the cells where it’s needed. Then they exhale carbon dioxide out through their spiracles again.
When they do hold their breath, it’s because they don’t want to waste energy by breathing when there’s no reason for it (like when they’re hiding).
Newborn German Cockroaches Become Adults in as Little as 36 Days
It can take as little as 36 days for newborn German cockroaches to become adults. The average life span of a German cockroach is six months to two years, depending on the conditions they live in. In ideal conditions, they can live up to five years.
Female German cockroaches are larger than males, with a length of 1/2 inch or 1.3 cm and an average weight of 3 grams (a penny weighs 2 grams). The males are smaller, at just over 1/2 inch or 1.3 cm long and only weigh about 2 grams.
Newborn German cockroaches are called nymphs because they resemble their adult parents in appearance, but lack wings and have only three pairs of legs instead of four like adults do. After moulting several times, nymphs develop wings and lose their last pair of legs before moulting again into adulthood.
Baby Cockroach Can Run Almost as Fast as Its Parents
The discovery, published in the journal Biology Letters, was made by a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK, who attached tiny sensors to the backs of baby cockroaches and then tracked their movements.
The researchers found that the baby roaches could run at speeds of up to 1.2 body lengths per second. This is almost twice as fast as adults — which typically reach speeds of 0.8 body lengths per second — and it means that baby cockroaches are able to move just as quickly as adults when they need to escape a predator attack.
“It’s not just about being fast,” study researcher Tom Cronin told LiveScience. “It’s about being able to go from A to B quickly.”
The World’s Largest Roach is Six Inches Long
The world’s largest cockroach is the Australian giant burrowing cockroach. It can grow to be six inches long.
The world’s largest roach is the Australian giant burrowing cockroach, which can grow to be six inches long. It lives in burrows underground and only comes out at night to feed on plants, fruits and vegetables.
The female lays her eggs in an ootheca (egg case) that looks like a small piece of brownish-red bark. The nymphs hatch after around four months, but they stay inside the egg case until they are ready to emerge as adults. When they do finally come out, they crawl up onto a branch or leaf where they stay until their exoskeleton hardens enough for them to walk around normally again.
The world’s largest winged cockroaches can be found in South America, particularly Ecuador, Peru and Panama.
To find out more about our cockroach control services, contact us today. Look No Further Than Eliminate Pest Control on 0800 206 2679.