Bugs, insects they’re all the same! The kind that are the most bothersome are cockroaches, six-legged, dark brown, disease spreading little creatures. Cockroaches are disgusting, horrifying, and need to be researched on. Here are four questions on cockroaches that will soon be uncovered.
Do cockroaches live longer than humans? A myth that has been humans think twice about the lives they are living. An article called “Will Cockroaches Inherit The World?” by Daniel Riley said, “ Cockroaches are more resistant to radiation than humans and nearly all other non-insect animals. The reason for this is because cockroaches have very simple organisms with a lot fewer genes that give them more time to heal from problems caused by ” For example, If there was a nuclear explosion and it was over a 1,000 rads humans would instantly die. Whereas cockroaches can survive a radiation dose of 10,000 rads. But we still can’t come to a conclusion from this. To know if cockroaches live longer than humans, we must know the average lifespan of a cockroach which is, 2-3 ½ years. This shows us that, even though the average lifespan of a cockroach is very long for an insect, cockroaches do not live longer than humans since, the majority of humans has lived or will live longer than 2-3 ½ years.
Have you ever wondered how cockroaches spread diseases? If you have, there are surely answers for you. cockroaches spread diseases by eating rotten food/ rotting matter. They have tiny reservoirs of bacteria in their body such as salmonella, staphylococcus and streptococcus and also can store viruses inside their “reservoirs” like polio and pneumonia.
Srini Kambhampati, professor and chair of the biology says, "Most cockroaches feed on decaying organic matter, which traps a lot of nitrogen, Cockroach feeding has the effect of releasing that nitrogen (in their feces) which then gets into the soil and is used by plants. In other words, extinction of cockroaches would have a big impact on forest health and therefore indirectly on all the species that live there." Nitrogen is important because its an element that is needed for both plants and animals to grow and reproduce. Nitrogen also takes up four fifths of the volume on Earth. Releasing nitrogen in their feces (manure,poop) is important because it helps plants grow. Because cockroaches are alive, insects don’t overpopulate the world. Whereas if cockroaches were extinct, insects would overpopulate the world causing animals to slowly disappear one by one. You would think that the crops would still be here but no. The insects would feed on whatever is left which would be fruits and vegetables. If the animals and crops disappeared then, humans would become extinct because of the little amount of food that was available in the world. This tells us that we clearly would not be able to live without cockroaches.
Why do these revolting creatures exist you ask? Although cockroaches infest houses, buildings, etc., cockroaches may be the ones to save the world. Cockroaches feed on the dead and rotting matter that would pile up if they didn’t eat them and make plants die from loss of nutrients. At the same time, there isn’t a reason why cockroaches exist or why they should “serve nature” because they are nature. Which is a reason why it is not necessary to have a purpose for existing.
There are a variety of cockroaches on Earth, about 4,600 types in total. So many shapes, sizes, colors. Some types of cockroaches are, Blattellidae, Blaberidae, Ectobiidae, and Cryptocercus.
After all these answers to all these questions what do you think of cockroaches now? Are they good or bad? It’s all up to you, your decision and what you think tells yourself if they are. Seeing a cockroach isn’t a problem really...the real problem starts when it disappears!
S O U R C E S:
Do Cockroaches live longer than humans?
https://www.reference.com/pets-animals/long-roaches-live-e663d27e02f3d0fc
https://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120127090337AAj7B3y
How do Cockroaches Spread Diseases?
http://www.gopetsamerica.com/diseases/diseases-spread-by-cockroaches.aspx
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/cockroaches
Why do Cockroaches Exist?
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071230153654AAL7CsY
Would we be able to live without them?
http://www.livescience.com/33995-cockroaches.html
Are there Different Kinds of Cockroaches?
WORD BANK
Feces : Manure
Decaying : Rotting
Nitrogen : a colorless, odorless, gaseous element that constitutes about four-fifths of the volume of the atmosphere
Salmonella : a bacteria mostly found in your guts
Staphylococcus : A group of bacteria that cause a multitude of diseases. Under a microscope, staphylococcus bacteria are round and bunched together. They can cause illness directly by infection or indirectly through products they make, such as the toxins responsible for food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.
Nuclear : A nucleus of a cell
Nucleus : The most important part of a object, movement or group :
Streptococcus : A bacteria that includes agents of sour milk and dental decay. Also bacteria that causes scarlet fever and pneumonia.
Polio : (also known as poliomyelitis) A contagious disease that are mostly caught by young kids and young adults. Polio invades your brain system and spinal cord that causes you to not be able to move parts of your body.
Pneumonia : A lung infection caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites.
Rads: A unit dose of absorbed radiation.
Credits:
Created with images by Dalomo - "question mark help symbol"