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Greetings to my dear readers. Today I have prepared a trick question for you, and at the same time a review of interesting facts about one of the most amazing and at the same time vile creatures on the planet. Stasiks, saffron milk caps, tanks, trams, Prusaks, Tarasiks, Felixes. Attention, experts, now the question is: what insect is called by these strange nicknames? Correct answer: red cockroach.
Probably each of us has encountered this creature at least once. If you've ever asked yourself what these exotic cockroaches are, the Prussians, and how to distinguish them from ordinary red ones, consider yourself lucky. In the article I’ll tell you how an unusual nickname stuck to the red cockroach, how long it lives, what it prefers for dinner, and why it must be destroyed if you got up to drink some water at night and found it finishing your sandwich.
Description of red cockroaches
Red cockroaches, or Prussians, have a yellowish-brown color, a flattened oval body 11-13 millimeters long. Females are larger than males. The mouthparts of cockroaches are of the gnawing type. Red cockroaches also have wings. But they use them not for flying, but for jumping from heights. The legs of cockroaches are well developed and have claws with suction cups at the tips, which insects actively use when moving along vertical surfaces.
At the end of the abdomen, cockroaches have special claws - cerci, which serve as an organ of touch. There are also special glands located on the abdomen. They secrete a secretion with an unpleasant odor. Its presence is a characteristic sign of the presence of insects in the room. In addition, cockroaches mark their shelters with special odorous substances - pheromones, which attract other individuals of this species. By the way, some cockroach killers use pheromones. We talk about one of these methods here: KNOW-HOW - a modern method of exterminating cockroaches!
Thanks to their flattened body, cockroaches are able to penetrate narrow crevices . This feature, together with the high speed of movement, contributes to the rapid dispersal of insects throughout buildings and structures (often the spread of cockroaches occurs through pipeline networks and electrical networks).
"Bearded" joke
The popular version of why cockroaches are called stasiks takes its roots from oral tradition. The following joke was once popular.
The wolf sits on a stump in a state of deep hangover. The head is buzzing, the thirst is tormenting. Looks like a cockroach is crawling. In a barely audible, hoarse voice, the wolf asks:
“What’s your name, red-haired creature?”
The insect answers in a squeaky voice:
“You can’t even imagine, Stasik, how bad I feel now, how sick I am.” And he steps on the cockroach, crushing it with a characteristic crunch.
The meaning and humor of this opus is not entirely clear and understandable, so it is unlikely that this particular anecdote became the reason for the appearance of the euphemism.
Another version is a children's joke:
Vovochka asked his dad where children come from. To which his father replied: “Your mother and I took a handkerchief and spat on it. The next day we wake up, and there you are.”
Vovochka and her friend repeated all the manipulations. After waking up in the morning, they find a cockroach crawling into a scarf. “Well, let’s call him Stasik,” Vovochka said sadly.
Living conditions of the Prussians
Favorable conditions for cockroaches are:
- warm,
- humidity,
- abundance of food.
Favorite places to stay: catering units, kitchens, bakeries, canteens, restaurants, breweries and other food industry enterprises. In residential buildings and apartments, they most often prefer to live in kitchens and bathrooms. nodes. But as populations grow, they spread to other areas.
Cockroaches lead a secretive lifestyle . During the day they hide in various places (behind furniture and equipment). In the evening and at night they leave their shelters in search of food and water. Cockroaches are very sensitive to temperature. At 0 degrees Celsius, adults and larvae go into suspended animation and may die. The lifespan of a red cockroach is about 8 months.
Similarities to men named Stanislav
In past centuries, the male name Stanislav (short form - Stas) was very common. According to people’s observations, the owners of this name and the “cockroaches” had a lot in common:
Presence of a mustache. Fashion for facial hair appears cyclically. Long, curled mustaches used to be a trend. They were looked after and starched. It is believed that it was the Stanislavs who had a weakness for wearing a mustache. Most of them were red. Everyone knows what cockroaches look like. Their characteristic feature is their long mustache. Perhaps it was this common feature that led to the fact that insects began to be called stasiks.
Reproduction of red cockroaches
Female red cockroaches lay 3-5 cocoons (oothecae) containing 28 to 56 eggs . The ootheca is attached to the posterior end of the female's abdomen. She carries it for 15-40 days depending on the temperature and lays it down when the larvae are ready to hatch.
30 minutes after this and later, white larvae emerge from the cocoon. After 6 hours, their color darkens greatly, approaching the shade of an adult. During development, the larva goes through 6 molts. Development time is highly dependent on temperature and humidity. At 27-30 degrees Celsius it is 2-3 months, and at 21-24 degrees it is already about 5 months.
Indoors, red Prussian cockroaches breed all year round . The offspring of the first generation of red cockroaches consists of several dozen individuals. But after the appearance of the second generation, the total number immediately increases thousands of times. This is explained by the rather long life of females and the long development of larvae. The bulk of the population (up to 70%) consists of larvae of all stages of development. The remaining individuals are adult males and females in approximately equal proportions.
Why Stasiki?
There are several explanations for this name. One of them is based on a joke that was once popular.
A wolf sits after a heavy drinking binge, holds his head and groans heavily. At this time, a cockroach crawls past him. The wolf asks in a hoarse voice.
- Who are you?
- Just a cockroach...
- What's your name?
- Stasik...
The gray insect slammed his paw and sighed with a heavy groan.
- If you knew how hard it is for me, Stasik.
The version is interesting, but not convincing. It is unlikely that on its basis cockroaches would be called Stasik throughout the country. The joke is not funny enough to add a new word to the Russian language.
The second explanation has to do with the whiskers of cockroaches. Allegedly, once upon a time, men with the names Stas had a special love for mustaches, which was reflected in the name of cockroaches. And because of the smallness of the insects, “Stas” was transformed into “Stasik”.
The third version is more complex in nature, due to the consonance of the name Stas with the not entirely censored name for “non-straight” men, as they are popularly called. When cockroaches are completely boring, they are called out of anger by a word that is considered shameful and offensive. Well, when the annoyance subsides, the cockroaches can be affectionately called Stasik.
The latter version is supported by the fact that in the south of Ukraine and Russia, the common people call “stasik” ploschits – pubic lice. There is a widespread belief in the navy and “in the zone” that they most often become infected during homosexual contacts. Therefore, insects were initially called an obscene word, which was later changed into a more politically correct one - “Stas” or more affectionately - “Stasik”. Well, then, by analogy with cockroaches, they began to call cockroaches that way.
There is a point of view that connects the nickname “Stasik” with a cockroach mustache. In many languages, the word “mustache” is pronounced similar to the word “Stasik”.
- So, for example, the English “mustache”, meaning “mustache”, ends in “stach” (almost “Stas”).
- The French "mostaccio" is pronounced "mostassio".
- The Italian “mustacchi” also ends in “stachi”.
In turn, these words were born from the Greek “mustak”, meaning the same mustache.
In fact, this version is also doubtful, since it is unlikely that the word meaning “mustache” translated by some not very literate reader was picked up by all people and entered into regular use.
It cannot be ruled out that several versions took part in the origin of the term “Stasik” - born from prison folklore, an obscene name for people of a certain group and a favorite anecdote. Somehow all this was intertwined and passed on in stories and legends. And linguists now have to unravel the intricacies of folklore, trying to get to the original source.
Insect feeding
Omnivorous cockroaches
Cockroaches are very voracious insects and have a variety of food preferences . They eat black bread, boiled potatoes, carrots, sugar beets, syrups, flour products, grains, leather, leather bindings, cotton wool, silk, wool, paper, glue, carcasses of animals and insects, feces, oil and other fats.
They chew solid food with powerful mouthparts and dissolve it with saliva. Cockroaches are not sensitive to the lack of food; adults can fast for 30-40 days , larvae for 9-22 days. But they are highly dependent on liquids and cannot live for long without drinking . This is important to consider when organizing pest control activities. Otherwise, the success of processing may be reduced to zero. You can read about other reasons for the reappearance of pests in the article “Why do they appear again after baiting cockroaches and bedbugs?”
Tarasik
It's a little easier here. Initially there was no such name; people preferred to call it stasik. But tarasik is closer in sound to residents of the Russian hinterland , so the more aristocratic name did not stick among them.
In the old days there was even a saying “to go to visit Taras or Tarasik,” that is, to the toilet . Nowadays, cockroaches rarely visit bathrooms, but in the old days it was impossible to get them out of there!
The other option also has the right to life, but is not entirely attractive to some people. the name Taras was very popular among the common population . Among such individuals there were many alcoholics, and simply unkempt people.
It goes without saying that there was no escape from cockroaches in their homes. This is how the old Russian name , which, due to the small size of cockroaches, became a diminutive .
Damage caused by cockroaches
Cockroaches can carry pathogens of various infections : tuberculosis bacillus, Staphylococcus aureus, diphtheria bacteria, typhoid fever, cholera. This happens not only mechanically - on the paws and integument of the body. Insects can also infect food with their secretions. However, the Prussians do not cause outbreaks of epidemics.
They cause more harm by spoiling food , polluting premises and interior items with their excrement and secretions. Also, in some cases, cockroaches and their metabolic products can cause an allergic reaction . It is usually unpleasant to be in rooms that have long been inhabited by cockroaches, since you experience constant discomfort from their presence.
Due to their rapid reproduction, secretive lifestyle and speed of movement, cockroaches rapidly spread both throughout individual rooms and throughout buildings as a whole. Therefore, when even individual individuals of red cockroaches appear, it is necessary to begin fighting them as soon as possible , before the problem becomes threatening.
How to fight
Of course, the cockroach does not make anyone happy in the apartment, and thoughts about how to get rid of the parasite are inevitable. There are several methods of struggle: from folk to specific, aimed at the complete destruction of “stasiks”.
Boric acid
The powder of this product has been used by people since ancient times; it is used to prepare a special dough, which is often sold by grannies on the street. Boric acid, when consumed by insects, causes dehydration of the pest and it dies. The dough is prepared like this: mix boron powder with crushed potatoes to make a thick dough, and place it in places where mustachioed enemies accumulate.
Surviving tenants using ultrasound
A popular remedy for cockroaches and cockroaches are special ultrasonic repellers. With the help of sound waves, which act only on cockroaches, you can push them out of your apartment. But there are several “buts” - the product is not cheap and is not effective in heavily infected areas.
Chemical agents: I see the target, there are no obstacles
Modern chemical agents against parasites have a wide range, but, unfortunately, many of them are harmful to human health. Therefore, it is important to take all precautions and follow the instructions for use of the drugs.
Basic chemicals:
- crayons - the most harmless in the fight against tenants, but effective for low infestation by tenants;
- sprays are effective and easy to use, but can cause allergic reactions;
- gels are an insecticide with high efficiency and minimal toxicity to humans.
But if not a single remedy gives the desired result, then it is better to stop experimenting and seek help from specialists in this field. The Prusak is a tenacious pest, and you cannot take it with your bare hands. The pest control service knows exactly which drugs are effective and do not harm human health.
Fourth version
Oddly enough, the last version is considered the most plausible. Many years ago, naval sailors were frequent carriers of pubic lice and believed that they owed this problem to men with non-traditional sexual orientation. And in prison circles, homosexuals were called swear words.
Sailors
The sailors borrowed this same word from the prisoners and began to apply it to pubic parasites. After some time, the fashion for swearing passed away and the strong word should have been replaced with something more correct. This is where the name Stas turned out to be useful, consonant with the obscene nickname. And subsequently the nickname migrated to other insects, since cockroaches have external similarities with pubic lice. So to this day, men and women shout out the famous modified abusive name when they see a nasty insect.
Over the years, people have changed the rough name “Stas” to the more gentle “Stasik”. Although a cockroach is an insect and has an unpleasant appearance, it is still harmless, and in some ways even useful. So why not give him an affectionate nickname?
Which version to lean towards is a personal matter for everyone. And what to call uninvited neighbors even more so. Soon all versions will be united into one beautiful legend and will be retold in different ways. Or maybe people will learn to live with cockroaches in peace and harmony and forget all the offensive nicknames.
