Skip Navigation
Share Share
Insects - Cockroaches

Insects - Cockroaches Cockroaches are found everywhere in the world except the polar ice caps. We mostly think of them as living in people's homes and scurrying out at night to scavenge leftover crumbs. Although they have a bad reputation as household pests, in reality only about a dozen species are pests to humans. This is less than 2% of all the species of cockroaches. Some roaches spend part of their lives in water. There are roaches that live communally with ants, wasps, and termites. Other roaches live in bat caves. A few live in the desert. However, most cockroaches live in warm, tropical habitats where they put their scavenging skills to good use feeding on living and dead plant and animal material and have a positive impact on their environment as recyclers.

Wendell's Yucky Bug World : Amazing Roach Facts

Cockroaches belong to a suborder of insects called Blattaria which means "to shun the light".

  1. What color blood do roaches bleed?
  2. How big is the world's largest roach and where does it live?
  3. According to this source, a cockroach can live a week without its head. Why does a headless roach finally die?
  4. How many species of cockroaches are there worldwide?

 

Wendell's Yucky Bug World :Roach Facts Part 2

The word cockroach comes from the Spanish word cucaracha which means "crazy bug".

  1. How long can a roach go without food?
  2. Even if your house is shut up tightly, why can roaches still get in if they want to?
  3. In what kind of climate do most roaches live?
  4. You've scraped your elbow and your parents are both entomologists with lots of insect samples around. What could they do to relieve your pain?

 

Wendell's Yucky Bug World : Roach Anatomy

There are over 3.500 different species of cockroaches in the world. About 50-60 species live in the United States. Texas has more species of cockroaches (30-35) than any other state.

  1. What kind of eyes do roaches have. (It's the same kind that most insects have).
  2. What purpose do the hairs on roach legs serve?
  3. What can a roach's mouth do besides taste?
  4. At the bottom of the page, click to go to the 2nd roach anatomy page. How does a roach breathe?

 

Albino Cockroaches

A cockroach nymph passes through 6-12 molts before it is full grown.

  1. An albino animal is one that through a genetic abnormality lacks pigment or coloration in its skin and is whitish in color. Many species of animals have albino variants. Are albino cockroaches real? Explain.

 

Deaths-head Cockroaches

Cockroaches are good runners. They are one of the fastest of all insects.

  1. Yes, apparently that is their real name. This is a photo of a male and female deaths-head cockroach. There is a penny at the top of the page to give you an idea of the accurate size of these yucky bugs. Notice that the female is slightly larger than the male. This is usually the case in the world of insects. Why do you think that females are usually bigger?

 

Cockroach FAQ

Cockroaches will eat anything--left-over human food, wood, leather, cigarette butts, coffee grinds, soap, feces, fabric, shoes, paint, the glue on the back of wallpaper, human hair, fingernails, etc.

  1. The maker of this page is a scientist who studies cockroaches and breeds them on purpose! Scroll down past all the information about how to grow cockroaches and find out if a cockroach would actually bite a human being. Provide details.

 

German Cockroach

German cockroaches are small and fast. They can squeeze through a crack that is 1/16th of an inch wide.

  1. This is the cockroach that is most widely distributed throughout the world. Even though they can be found everywhere, what kind of climate do they prefer the most?
  2. How do these roaches spread from area to area?
  3. How many offspring can a single female produce?
  4. Twelve months after infestation with a single female German cockroach, how many roaches could be in your home?

 

Life Cycle of a Roach

In Nova Scotia, cockroaches are called Yankee Settlers.

  1. Describe the life cycle of a roach.

 

The Brown-banded Cockroach

The brown-banded cockroach is also known as the TV cockroach. It lives in the back of TV sets and other appliances where it is warm. It feeds on the glue holding the set together, the insulation, and other TV parts.

  1. Can cockroaches fly?

 

Cockroach Rap Sheet

If a cockroach nymph loses a leg or antenna, a new one will appear with the next molt.

  1. In an insect track and field event, why would roaches do well?
  2. One of the reasons that cockroaches are such a successful species of insects has to do with what they eat. Explain.

 

Giant Cave Cockroaches

Most cockroaches are nocturnal.

  1. This cockroach is the largest species in its genus, and is one of the largest species of cockroaches known to man! The Giant Cave Cockroach is closely related to the cockroaches living in the Carboniferous coal forests 200 million years ago Do we have these in Utah?

 

Wendell's Yucky Bug World : Roach Quiz

The world's largest roach (which lives in South America) is six inches long with a one-foot wingspan.

  1. Take this roach quiz and record your score.

 

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us