Insects, Original Wild Facts

Wild Fact #521 – Hit the Lights – Cockroach

Photo by Cyron Ray Macey (Wikimedia)

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the last Wild Fact of the week. Today’s animal may give you the heebie-jeebies but you will want to read through to the very end because the Cockroach is one interesting insect. Did you know that there are over 4000 Cockroach species inhabiting our little planet?  Luckily, only about 30 of these species ever come in contact with humans on a regular basis. Now we all know that the Roach is a pest and nobody wants them around but did you know they are actually very beneficial to the ecosystem? That’s right and we will find out how very shortly.

So why does everyone hate Cockroaches so much? Well aside from their ugly bug-like appearance, they feed on decaying matter. Therefore, if you have them in your home then it may mean you need to hire a house cleaner since you probably have some decaying material kicking around. So perhaps, we don’t dislike the Cockroach so much as what they represent. Oddly enough, it is this very behaviour that makes those 4000 species of Roaches beneficial to our ecosystems. Their eating habits definitely help keep our world in check by breaking matter down. See, Cockroaches are good!

40-50 million year old preserved Cockroach - Photo by Anders L. Damgaard (Wikimedia)

Still not convinced that Roaches are great and want to get away from them. Unfortunately, the only way to get away from Cockroaches is to find Atlantis and live beneath the sea. These creepy critters are pretty much found in every type of habitat across every continent. Water is your only safe spot. You have to be impressed with the adaptability of these insects, right? What do you mean that doesn’t impress you?

Did you know that Cockroaches are over 300 million years old (so don’t expect them to leave anytime soon) but the species we have today are considerably smaller than the first Roach. Aren’t you happy that you weren’t living 300 million years ago? Although, I think if you were, Cockroaches would be the least of your concerns.

So there you have it, the last Wild Fact of the week. I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about the infamous Cockroach. Enjoy the weekend and I will see all of you on Monday.

One Comment

  1. When I was a little girl, I used to hear about cockroaches but had never seen one. I asked my mother how a person would know if they were infested. She said that if I ever saw one, I would know what it was immediately. She, as she always was, was right. Nasty little things.

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