Cockroach ahoy!

Was it Reagan who had a 'Kill a roach' campaign??? And then they talk of vermin as being unique to the third world!

Our viewer Cooper Jackson writes: "Not Supella longipalpa. All of them are Periplaneta probably." Thanks, Cooper!

Most people are familiar with cockroaches which have been around since the time of Dinosaurs. They are from the order of Blattaria or Blattodea. There are 4500 species out of which 30 are associated with human habitations. Of those, about 4 species are considered pests by home-owners.

They find it easy to adapt to a wide range of environments all over the world but prefer warmer conditions found in concrete structures especially the pest species. Tropical species need a much warmer environment than households to survive.

They are fairly large insects, and most species are about the size of a thumbnail. There are, however, much larger species like the Australian giant burrowing cockroach which gets as big as 9 cms in length and can weigh more than 30 grams.

According to Wikipedia:

Cockroaches have a broad, flattened body and a relatively small head. They are generalized insects, with few special adaptations, and may be among the most primitive living neopteran insects. The mouth parts are on the underside of the head and include generalised chewing mandibles. They have large compound eyes, two ocelli, and long, flexible, antennae.

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