Ascension : Creature Feature
Submitted by The Islander (Gavin Yon) 17.02.2005 (Article Archived on 03.03.2005)

This week - Cockroaches

This Week – Cockroaches

What are Cockroaches? 

A Cockroach is an insect that is brown, grey or black, with a hard shell on its back.  They can run very fast and they have two pairs of wings.  One is a thick pair and the other thin pair are the ones that they fly with.  They have two long antenna that come out from the front of their heads and two smaller ones that are used for feeling around.  These feelers are called ‘Cerci’.  There are thousands of different types of Cockroach and they are found all over the world.  The females are always larger than the males as they have to carry the eggs.  A female can lay an egg every three days and they take 18 days to hatch.

Where do they live?

They live all over the island but mostly outdoors.  Because they are pests and we kill them they stay out of houses mostly unless they are looking for food, which they do at night.  Some people say that Cockroaches are clean and only come into clean houses.  This is not true, Cockroaches keep themselves very clean but can still carry diseases, especially in their poo!  They poo next to where they eat so it is important not to leave scraps of food around for them to find.

What is special about Cockroaches?

Well, firstly, they can survive for a long time after their heads are cut off.  This is because they have two brains.  One deals with reproduction and the other (at the back of the body) deals with running away from danger.  This other brain at the back receives messages from sensors on the cockroaches legs.  As well as having two brains, they don’t have any blood!  They have a clear liquid that is in their bodies and sometimes when the females are pregnant or carrying eggs, the liquid turns yellow like yolk.

What do they eat?

They are Omnivores.  This means they will eat anything and sometimes even us!  Cockroaches are scared of us though and this is very unusual.

Where can I learn more?

The internet, Learning and Resource Centre and the Conservation Centre all have information.

Fact file – Cockroaches