COCKROCH THE best-known pest species are the American cockroach, Periplaneta Americana, which is about 30 mm (1.2 in) long; the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, about 15 mm (0.59 in) long; the Asian cockroach, Blattella asahinai, also about 15 mm (0.59 in) in length; and the Oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis, about 25 mm (0.98 in). Tropical cockroaches are often much bigger, and, contrary to popular opinion, extinct cockroach relatives and 'roachoids' such as the Carboniferous Archimylacris and the Permian Apthoroblattina were not as large as the biggest modern species.
Etymology
The name "cockroach" comes from the Spanish word for cockroach, cucaracha, transformed by English folk etymology into "cock" and "roach". The term cucaracha (streak bug, sp.) originally was used for the wood louse (the sow bug), but later was used to mean the palmetto bug (the flying cockroach). It is from this later Mexican usage that English-speaking Americans began using the term for regular (non-flying) cockroach.The scientific name derives from the Latinized Greek name for the insect (Doric Greek: blátta; Ionic and Attic Greek:
Evolutionary history and relationships
A 40- to 50-million-year-old cockroach in Baltic amber
Evolutionary Relationships of Blattodea (cockroaches and termites) from Eggleton, Beccaloni & Inward (2007).The cockroach families Lamproblattidae and Tryonicidae are not shown but are placed within the superfamily Blattoidea. The cockroach families Corydiidae and Ectobiidae were previously known as the Polyphagidae and Blattellidae (see Beccaloni & Eggleton, 2011
Termites were previously regarded as a separate order Isoptera to cockroaches. However recent genetic evidence strongly suggests that they evolved directly from 'true' cockroaches, and many authors now place them as an "epifamily" of Blattodea. Blattodeans (cockroaches and termites) and Mantodea (praying mantises) are closely related and are combined by entomologists into a superorder called Dictyoptera.
Historically, the name Blattaria has been used largely interchangeably with the name Blattodea, but whilst the former name was used to refer to 'true' cockroaches exclusively, the latter also includes the termites. The current catalogue of world cockroach species (the Cockroach Species File Online uses the name Blattodea for the group. Another name, Blattoptera is also sometimes used for this group. The earliest cockroach-like fossils ("blattopterans" or "roachids") are from the Carboniferous period 354–295 million years ago. However, these fossils differ from modern cockroaches in having long external ovipositors and are the ancestors of mantises, as well as modern blattodeans. The first fossils of modern cockroaches with internal ovipositors appeared in the early Cretaceous.
Description
Cockroaches have broad, flattened bodies and relatively small heads. They are generalized insects, with few special adaptations, and may be among the most primitive living neopteran insects. The mouthparts are on the underside of the head and include generalised chewing mandibles. They have large compound eyes, two ocelli, and long, flexible, antennae.
The first pair of wings (the tegmina) are tough and protective, lying as a shield on top of the membranous hind wings. All four wings have branching longitudinal veins, and multiple cross-veins. The legs are sturdy, with large coxae and five claws each. The abdomen has ten segments and several cerci.
Etymology
The name "cockroach" comes from the Spanish word for cockroach, cucaracha, transformed by English folk etymology into "cock" and "roach". The term cucaracha (streak bug, sp.) originally was used for the wood louse (the sow bug), but later was used to mean the palmetto bug (the flying cockroach). It is from this later Mexican usage that English-speaking Americans began using the term for regular (non-flying) cockroach.The scientific name derives from the Latinized Greek name for the insect (Doric Greek: blátta; Ionic and Attic Greek:
Evolutionary history and relationshipsA 40- to 50-million-year-old cockroach in Baltic amber
Evolutionary Relationships of Blattodea (cockroaches and termites) from Eggleton, Beccaloni & Inward (2007).The cockroach families Lamproblattidae and Tryonicidae are not shown but are placed within the superfamily Blattoidea. The cockroach families Corydiidae and Ectobiidae were previously known as the Polyphagidae and Blattellidae (see Beccaloni & Eggleton, 2011
Termites were previously regarded as a separate order Isoptera to cockroaches. However recent genetic evidence strongly suggests that they evolved directly from 'true' cockroaches, and many authors now place them as an "epifamily" of Blattodea. Blattodeans (cockroaches and termites) and Mantodea (praying mantises) are closely related and are combined by entomologists into a superorder called Dictyoptera.
Historically, the name Blattaria has been used largely interchangeably with the name Blattodea, but whilst the former name was used to refer to 'true' cockroaches exclusively, the latter also includes the termites. The current catalogue of world cockroach species (the Cockroach Species File Online uses the name Blattodea for the group. Another name, Blattoptera is also sometimes used for this group. The earliest cockroach-like fossils ("blattopterans" or "roachids") are from the Carboniferous period 354–295 million years ago. However, these fossils differ from modern cockroaches in having long external ovipositors and are the ancestors of mantises, as well as modern blattodeans. The first fossils of modern cockroaches with internal ovipositors appeared in the early Cretaceous.
Description
Head of a Periplaneta americana Cockroaches are generally rather large insects. Most species are about the size of a thumbnail, but several species are bigger. The world's heaviest cockroach is the Australian giant burrowing cockroach Macropanesthia rhinoceros, which can reach 9 cm (3.5 in) in length and weigh more than 30 g (1.1 oz). Comparable in size is the Central American giant cockroach Blaberus giganteus, which grows to a similar length but is not as heavy. According to the Guinness World Records, the longest cockroach species is Megaloblatta longipennis, which can reach 97 mm (3.8 in) in length and 45 mm (1.8 in) across.[16] A Central and South American species, Megaloblatta blaberoides, has the largest wingspan of up to 185 mm (7.3 in).
Cockroaches have broad, flattened bodies and relatively small heads. They are generalized insects, with few special adaptations, and may be among the most primitive living neopteran insects. The mouthparts are on the underside of the head and include generalised chewing mandibles. They have large compound eyes, two ocelli, and long, flexible, antennae.
The first pair of wings (the tegmina) are tough and protective, lying as a shield on top of the membranous hind wings. All four wings have branching longitudinal veins, and multiple cross-veins. The legs are sturdy, with large coxae and five claws each. The abdomen has ten segments and several cerci.
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