Cockroaches are rather flat insects with quite long antennae and long spiky legs. There are about 3,500 different species of cockroaches. Most of them have wings but can only fly when temperatures are quite high.

One very interesting fact about a cockroach is that it can live a long time — perhaps a month — without its head. This is because it breathes through its spiralcles, which are in each body segment and the blood does not carry oxygen to the tissues. The spiracles deliver air to each cell of the body through a set of tubes called tracheae. The brain does not control the breathing through the spiracles.

The cockroach does not have blood pressure the way a mammal does and so cutting off the head does not lead to uncontrolled bleeding.

Without a head the cockroach would just sit around without doing anything much.

They are cold blooded and need much less food. A one day meal would be enough to last them a whole month.

Their haunts

Cockroaches likes to hang out in dark and wet places. Some species lives in the open and almost never come into contact with man. The majority of cockroaches prefer a warm environment. So, they are found in the heated buildings, especially hospitals, laundries and kitchens where conditions are hot and steamy. They spend the day hiding in cracks and crevices around such areas as sinks, drains, cookers, the backs of cupboards and in refrigerator motor compartments.

Favourite food

Cockroaches are omnivores and will eat anything organic, dead or immobile things. Mostly they eat left-over human food, wood, leather, cigarette butts, tooth paste, milk, sugary materials, coffee grinds, glue, soap, faeces, fabric, shoes, paint, human hair, fingernails, et cetera. Cockroaches can survive on very little food. They will eat the glue off the back of postage stamps and the glue bindings off the backs of books when nothing is available.

Life cycle

The life cycle of the cockroach consists of three stages — egg, nymph, and adult. The female cockroach lays purse-shaped egg cases, each containing 16-40 fertilised eggs. They lay their eggs in dark, warm and humid places. The egg takes 6-7 weeks to hatch and the nymphs then break out. The nymphs that emerge from the eggs are soft and white but after exposure to air, they soon harden and turn brown.

Nymphs have simple eyes and no wings. They are oval and flat which enable them to crawl into and hide in narrow cracks. They avoid day light and come out at night to feed. Their bodies are protected by a waxy outer skin called cuticle.

The adult cockroach has powerful legs and can run very fast. Bristles on their legs and a pair of long antennae on their head provide a sense of touch and smell to detect food and moisture. An adult female cockroach can produce 5-30 eggs cases in her life time.

Natural death of cockroaches probably occurs in the stomach of a bird or other small animal. But some cockroaches die on their backs because they cannot right itself if there is no debris around to grab hold of with its legs. Cockroaches legs are not adapted for traversing smooth surfaces such as polished marble or vinyl floors. So they die of immobility and starvation.