Why cockroaches are so resilient

Cockroaches are insects that evoke only unpleasant feelings. There are more than 4,500 species in the world, but only 30 of them live near humans – they can only exist under such conditions because they feed on artificial waste and cannot withstand temperatures as low as 0 degrees.

So, if there were no humans, cockroaches would cease to exist. At the same time, these insects are extremely resilient – they can live even without their heads and often survive even after the room has been treated with chemicals.

What explains the persistence of cockroaches

These insects have a special body structure. Slender and hardy, cockroaches have the ability to support a weight that is 900 times their body weight. With a naturally strong and flexible exoskeleton, cockroaches can remain unharmed even after being stepped on with a slipper. It is because of this property that they are able to crawl into the smallest cracks, where they wait for the threat to their lives to end.

Other reasons for cockroaches’ persistence are as follows:

• Placement of miniature holes throughout the body. Thanks to them, the cockroach can breathe even when its head is torn off. Of course, in about a week it will die of dehydration, but during this time the insect will still be able to lay eggs.
• It has a huge speed. It reaches up to 5 km per hour. In terms of human capabilities, this figure would be equivalent to 338 km per hour. This ability, combined with an extraordinary sense of vibration, enables cockroaches to hide from potential danger long before it arrives.
• Same-sex reproduction. These insects do not need to mate to produce a new generation. In the absence of males in the female’s body, the process of parthenogenesis is triggered – when an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg. Thus, just one female cockroach will be enough to lay a bunch of eggs to breed harmful insects.

There are also some peculiarities of cockroach DNA. Scientists call the cockroach body a real genetic miracle. Their genome has about 20 thousand genes that are responsible for survival in extreme conditions. For example, they have 154 olfactory receptors and 522 taste receptors. In addition, a number of other genes allow them to cope with food poisoned by chemicals. Still other DNA strands provide protection against microorganisms that inhabit unsanitary areas where insects usually “graze.”