Since my catching-up posts are going to be short, let’s get straight to debunking the myth that cockroaches are prehistoric insects. A look-into the detestable, 6-limbed, sanitation threat of a cockroach.
Dear Patient Reader,
It’s true that the proto-cockroach, who is classified in the Blattoptera group[1] existed in prehistoric times. “Cockroaches originated on [the supercontinent of] Pangaea over 300 million years ago. In fact, they were 3.5 inches long at the time”[2] (compared to the present average length of 1.4 to 1.6[3] inches nowadays). And with over 4,500 species of cockroaches walking around, the various species share common ancestors.
The misconception that a cockroach is an ancient insect living with us in 2022 may be tempting to believe. Though it is true that cockroaches remain as very hardy insects having survived extinction while the dinosaurs they shared their home with were dying off. Remember that they originated on Pangea? Which is before the giant landmass broke up into the two continents, Laurasia and Gondwanaland, which further split up into the present-day continents through continental drift. Which is the reason behind their ancestral distribution. Which is why they’re everywhere and a favourable factor of why there are 4,500 cockroach species.
Cockroaches have been around. Do all cockroach species fly? No, only a handful of them do. Thankfully. But that hasn’t stopped them from being boss insects in the insect world. Plus, being an evolutionary feat of adaptation and survival. Each species has a unique evolutionary clock, and with a speedy and efficient one, cockroaches soon populated the world like all pests do.
With a near fascinating history of longstanding, cockroaches do not disappoint. Note that cockroaches are the earliest known cave-dwellers.[4] Yes, freakishly easy to believe. “Before the dinosaurs were wiped out 66 million years ago cockroaches were the first and only creatures to be discovered living in caves.”[5] They were crawling around doing their thing.
There’s the popular joke that when the world is perishing the last species you’ll still have crawling around will be cockroaches. They’re just that mighty. And they may be able to fly. It may not be true that a cockroach can survive a nuclear explosion, but they are biologically resistant to a number of hazards. In opposition to our complex design and biological structure, the body and functions of a cockroach is a million times simpler. That is in comparison to the human body. The highly developed human brain and body makes us fragile and sensitive to drastic change. “Cockroaches would certainly [not be able to] tolerate the high amount of heat energy produced immediately [after a nuclear] explosion. But, they [would have much more probable chances of being] able to withstand extreme radiation exposure.”[6] Why so? “Because of the simple design of their bodies and slower cell cycles.” [7]
Simplicity brings key virtues, and chances of survival along with it.
Till the next.
P.S. Keep well, and stay clear of boss cockroaches.
P.P.S. The next post is titled “Adapting to Change”.
References
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blattoptera#:~:text=Blattoptera%2C%20or%20proto%2Dcockroaches%2C,like%20appearance%20and%20possibly%20habit.
[2]https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/cockroaches-seem-to-have-existed-way-before-dinosaurs-says-new-study-1170969-2018-02-16
[3] https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/cockroaches/american-cockroaches/
[4] https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/dinosaur-age-cockroaches-are-the-earliest-known-cave-dwellers/
[5] "Ibid." [4]
[6]https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/revealed-can-cockroaches-really-survive-nuclear-explosions.html#:~:text=No%2C%20cockroaches%20cannot%20survive%20a,produced%20immediately%20following%20the%20explosion.
[7] "Ibid." [6]
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