If a cockroach walked by you right now… would you step on it?
If so I get it but you should know cockroaches are cooler than you might think.
Hey guys What’s up I’m Sapna here at DNews.
Today we’re answering a question that came from our subreddit page r/dnews-- The user
“semihc” wants to know if cockroaches have any benefit to nature?
Well yes they do, Semi!
Despite their bad reputation most roaches play an important role in the natural world….and
we humans may even be able to learn a thing or two from these resilient creepy creatures.
I know it’s tough to see cockroaches as anything BUT AWFUL and no matter what we do
to try and get rid of them, they often outsmart us.
For example, cockroaches eat pretty much anything- your leftover steak, the soap scum in your
bathtub - even the glue on an envelope.
Which is actually pretty incredible.
Roach poison takes advantage of that, and tastes sweet to the little buggers, they eat
it and die.
But, according to a recent study in the journal Science, some cockroaches EVOLVED new body
chemistry so the poison no longer tastes good, thus no snack and no death.
Most people think of cockroaches as household pests, but there are actually about 4500 different
species of cockroach around the world, and less than 1% of them are the freaky ones that
scatter when we turn on the lights.
Those in our homes are often covered in bacteria and fecal matter- it sticks to them, they
ingest it and defecate everywhere.
And proteins in their feces, saliva, and eggs are one of THE BIGGEST causes of allergies
and asthma for people living in urban environments.
Yuck.
And maybe that’s more than you wanted to know about cockroach feces…
Beyond the cities where we live though, it gets better!
Cockroach poop is actually beneficial to the environment!
It plays a role in the earth’s nitrogen cycle.
Forest roaches consume decaying organic matter and release its nitrogen back into the soil
through their feces…
so it can be used again by plants.
Most cockroaches -99.7% of them- live far away from people….
Mostly in wooded areas .. and they actually do some good in the world.
In some environments, they serve as pollinators for flowers.
And by consuming the decaying vegetation- the microbes inside their gut break down plant
materials that are often indigestible by most mammals which is why some experts call cockroaches
nature's janitors or decomposers.
Now, roaches are also an important source of FOOD for some species- like centipedes,
lizards and birds.
And at least one species of wasp couldn't live WITHOUT the cockroach.
I think this is really cool!
The parasitic emerald wasp stings a cockroach and injects venom into a specific part of
its brain which blocks voluntary movement.
The wasp then leads this zombie roach back to its burrow, lays an egg on it, and when
that egg hatches- the larva eats the roach from the inside out and emerges as a mature
wasp . I know it’s kind of disgusting but isn’t that awesome?
Cockroaches can help humans too, by the way.
Because they survive in the filthiest of conditions, their central nervous system produces natural
antibiotics.
We've found that their natural defenses work even against antibiotic-resistant bacteria
like staph aureas, also known as MRSA.
And scientists at Harvard's Biorobotics Laboratory are studying the LEGS of cockroaches, too.
Cockroach legs are not only springy and flexible-but they also work together seamlessly so the
insect can run at really fast speeds on uneven ground.
By copying these evolutionary advantages, scientists hope to design new prosthetics
and mechanical hands!
So there you go Semihc.
We love your question and yes cockroaches really do play an important role in our ecosystem.
And….get this- engineers are actually turning roaches into robots….
You can see how and why in this video
So what do you think about cockroaches now?
Tell me down in the comments section down below