Various types of cockroaches are quite frequent guests of human homes. In addition to the fact that no one likes such a neighborhood, they are also dangerous, as they carry pathogens of various ailments on their paws.
The main factors are infectious or bacterial lesions of the human body. If they show up, all residents try to get rid of uninvited guests.
Basically, one or two types of cockroaches appear in a person’s home, although there are several of them in nature, including those that are kept indoors as exotic.
Black cockroaches (Blatta orientalis)
These types of cockroaches are quite common where a person lives or where he works. This mainly concerns catering establishments, as well as food industry enterprises, since they are interested in places where there is enough food.
Their favorite places to live are dirty and cluttered basements, landfills or sewers. Therefore, they easily penetrate a person’s house or apartment, grocery stores, warehouses, and so on, always in the heat and there is something to earn.
These insects grow up to 3 cm in length, are distinguished by an unpleasant odor and the presence of a black shell (chitinous layer). Depending on the conditions, their color can range from dark gray to dirty red.
This type of cockroaches does not reproduce so quickly, so timely control of them gives very positive results. If this is not done, the colony of these parasites can become rampant, making it much more difficult to get rid of them.
As a rule, they accumulate in special places, for example:
- Inside the trash can.
- There is a stove inside for cooking.
- Behind the refrigerator or kitchen cabinets.
- In pantries where food is stored.
Black cockroaches pose a serious danger to humans, since their favorite habitats are places with clear signs of unsanitary conditions.
Therefore, it is difficult to even imagine how many bacteria and infections move with these insects. Since they also crawl on food, there is a high risk of getting some kind of illness.
Red cockroaches (Blattella germanica)
Red cockroaches are also called cockroaches or domestic cockroaches, since they appear in homes more often than other species and regardless of the level of unsanitary conditions. The fact is that the main thing for them is that they have access to moisture and food debris.
Red cockroaches are considered to be quite tenacious insects that reproduce at an incredible rate.
They also develop resistance to various insect control chemicals, making them more difficult to control.
Red cockroaches are found in any conditions, for example:
- Living spaces.
- Hospitals.
- Public places.
- In utility rooms.
- And in country houses, dachas.
The red cockroach is distinguished by the fact that it has a slightly elongated body, the chitinous layer is colored red, and the shade can vary from light to dark.
As a means of subsistence, they choose places where there is free access to food and water. Without much difficulty they climb into the most inaccessible places in the house.
Red cockroaches are living creatures capable of independently finding food where, at first glance, there is none.
Humidity plays a special role in their lives. They can go a long time without food, but they cannot live without water. If cockroaches are poisoned, it is necessary to block their access to moisture, otherwise efforts may be in vain.
Red cockroaches are able to eat young shoots of indoor plants if they lack food.
How a cockroach is born
The reproduction process of cockroaches is quite rapid, so they quickly colonize a new territory.
At the first stage, adult individuals undergo a period of mating games. At this time, females try to stand out with pheromones or sudden movements of their wings, and males fly or fight for the female.
After fertilization, the mother carries the ootheca with her children for about a month. After this time, the capsule is left in a safe, hidden place, after which colorless larvae without wings and chitinous cover emerge from it.
It takes the larva from two to twenty-five months to grow and develop into an adult—an adult insect ready to reproduce.
The most common red cockroach gives birth to several hundred thousand larvae per year.
White species of cockroaches
Often, white cockroaches may appear in the apartment. This insect does not represent any new species, since the common cockroach may turn white after molting. Cockroaches die up to 10 times in their lifetime.
After molting, the beetle may have a white, almost transparent color, which often makes these insects difficult to find. After a while, when the insect grows a new shell, the beetle takes on a classic appearance. As a rule, it takes the insect about a couple of weeks.
Cockroaches can change color when exposed to chemicals used to control them. As a rule, this happens when using ineffective chemical components to which insects have developed immunity. After some time they return to their natural color.
The damage caused by cockroaches
Obviously, no one enjoys meeting whiskered insects, but the troubles from them do not stop there:
- Chitin shells fall off the cockroach after a period of molting and dry out, settling as dust on surrounding objects and causing allergic reactions in household members. Also, such dust is one of the causes of asthma;
- during sleep, in rare cases, a cockroach can bite a person;
- Having settled in the housing of household appliances, the insect becomes the cause of malfunctions and electrical short circuits;
- in the absence of food remains, cockroaches eat books, shoes, wallpaper, causing frustration and causing material damage to their owner;
- The cockroach carries infectious diseases, so you can get salmonellosis, helminths and gastroenteritis from it.
American species of cockroaches (Periplaneta americana)
Indeed, hot Africa is home to American cockroaches, and they arrived in America via cargo ships. After some time, they began to be found on almost all continents.
Food waste accumulating in huge quantities in garbage cans near houses, as well as a high level of unsanitary conditions in public places, has led to the appearance of this type of cockroach in our country.
The American cockroach can be easily distinguished from other similar species of insects by its large size, as well as by the shape of its body, which is oval in shape. In addition, this insect has a brown shell that looks like folded wings.
Another factor that helps differentiate this insect from other cockroach species is that the American cockroach is afraid of the cold.
Already when the temperature drops to 0 degrees, these insects die. In addition, the American cockroach is characterized by an increased level of aggression.
Therefore, it can attack both humans and domestic animals, which cannot be said about other similar types of insects.
The cockroach's place in the biological hierarchy
Cockroach
is an insect from the order cockroach, belonging to the phylum arthropods and the animal kingdom.
Please note that the detailed classification is much more extensive. Let's see how it will look using the example of the most common species - the red cockroach:
- domain (superkingdom) - eukaryotes;
- kingdom - animals;
- subkingdom - eumetazoans;
- phylum - arthropods;
- subtype - tracheal breathing;
- superclass - six-legged;
- class - insects;
- subclass - winged insects;
- infraclass - new-winged insects;
- clade - polyneoptera;
- superorder - cockroaches;
- squad - cockroaches;
- family - ectobiidae;
- subfamily - blattellinae;
- genus - blattella;
- species - red cockroach.
More than 200 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period, cockroaches already lived on our planet. It seems incredible, but cockroaches appeared even earlier than the well-known dinosaurs. Modern families of baleen insects are a little “younger”, since their age is more than 180 million years.
Furniture species of cockroaches (Supella longipalpa)
These insects were discovered in our apartments about 50 years ago, and since then residents have been unsuccessfully fighting them. These beetles are easily distinguished by their transparent wings with dark stripes and a bright red tint.
You won't find them in the kitchen as their diet consists of old books, paper, shredded paper and wallpaper paste. Therefore, very often they settle where there is a lot of paper, and these are libraries, archives, and so on.
Central Asian species of cockroaches (Shelfordella tartara)
This type of insect chooses the southern regions for its life. They are easily distinguished from other types of cockroaches by their yellow head and black belly.
They have another distinctive feature - the ability to jump from one object to another. If the distance is too great, they simply fly from one obstacle to another.
Egyptian cockroach species (Polyphaga aegyptiaca)
This insect is also found mainly in southern regions with warm climates. Parasites do not affect living conditions, therefore they inhabit both human and auxiliary dwellings, outbuildings where livestock are kept. They do not pose a particular threat to humans if their numbers are small.
Egyptian cockroaches have an unusual appearance and can grow up to several centimeters in length. The shell is smooth and shiny, almost black.
On farms where lizards are raised, Egyptian cockroaches are used as food for them.
A little exotic
As a rule, cockroaches cause a feeling of disgust and danger in humans. Despite this, there are families of cockroaches whose representatives are kept at home as pets.
Some decorative insects are very interesting in color. The chess beetle is one of the pets, so named because its coloring resembles a chessboard.
Leads a nocturnal lifestyle. During the day it hides in a shelter, and at night it actively moves around the house.
Death's head cockroach
The “Death's Head” cockroach is no less popular among exotic lovers. It got its name because it has a very interesting pattern on its back, reminiscent of a scary mask. This insect is capable of long flights.
Madagascar cockroach
The Madagascar cockroach is an amazing insect that can grow up to 10 cm in length. In addition, this is the only type of cockroach that can make sounds in the form of a loud hiss.
At the same time, experts claim that this insect breathes like this, making sounds.
Rhino cockroach
The rhinoceros beetle is another unique representative of this numerous genus of insects. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that they weigh up to 40 grams and are able to live for at least 10 years.
Cockroach - description and characteristics
With all the diversity of species, the body of cockroaches has a similar appearance for all, namely a flat body shape resembling an oval and a triangular head. The cockroach also has the following structural and appearance features:
- segmented abdomen, consisting of 7-9 parts;
- long mustache, allowing excellent orientation in space;
- Most insects living in bright habitats have one pair of large eyes, which give the cockroach an alarm signal, for example, when the kitchen light is turned on. The eyes of a cockroach have a mosaic structure, which allows it to perceive objects from different angles simultaneously;
- ancient cockroaches had a long ovipositor, but in modern individuals it is reduced in size;
- It is interesting that some species are able to fly, as they have wings securely hidden under the elytra. It’s good that this quality does not apply to “domestic” insects;
- When running, a cockroach uses six fast and strong legs with sharp claws, thanks to which it easily climbs any vertical surface. Moreover, a cockroach is able to run along the ceiling like a “spider-man” without losing speed.
The cockroach has a length of 2 to 10 centimeters.
