home Makeup and visage Reproduction of domestic cockroaches - conditions for the reproduction of cockroaches. How many cockroaches hatch from one egg? What differences do the clutches of individual parasite species have? How many cockroaches are born at a time?

Reproduction of domestic cockroaches - conditions for the reproduction of cockroaches. How many cockroaches hatch from one egg? What differences do the clutches of individual parasite species have? How many cockroaches are born at a time?

If people could reproduce like cockroaches, natural population growth would long ago have become the main problem of our planet. High fertility is due to multiple pregnancy of the female. The pest produces about 30 larvae per offspring.

Meetings with a Prussian in the kitchen are the impetus for an unequal fight, where the insect emerges victorious.

You should know how quickly cockroaches reproduce and whether they can live without food and drink, so as not to feel upset when baiting does not produce the expected results.

What does a longhorned beetle that often lives in an apartment look like? Domestic cockroaches are recognized by their special coloring. The apartment is inhabited by red and black individuals.

Black ones are exclusively kitchen pests and differ in size from their red counterparts. The length of the body reaches 3 cm. The large size does not allow one to get into the narrow genital crevices, but the voracious insects live well:

In kitchen cabinets;
Near the trash can;
Sink drain hole.

You will rarely see an even Prussian in the bedroom or living room, of course, if the rest room is not a dining area.

The black locust lives in places with an abundance of food and water. When poisoning pests, special attention is paid to:

Cabinets for storing food products;
Garbage bins;
Kitchen stove. Oven;
Plumbing.

What is bad for a person is good for a Prussian! Moisture, dirt and debris are favorable habitats and breeding grounds.

They live in the bathroom, behind the refrigerator, under peeling wallpaper and baseboards. Nimble and cunning insects easily overcome obstacles.

The narrowest cracks in the floor do not pose a problem for the Prussian. The size of the individual ranges from 1 to 2 cm. The female is larger than the male.

Moisture, thermophilicity and abundance of food waste are a favorable environment that affects the rate of reproduction and the period of reaching a mature creeper.

The difference between a male and a female

You can distinguish a female from a male by characteristic habits and external signs.

The male is smaller in size than the female insect.
There is a stylus on the body of the insect - the genital plate.
There are convex growths on the body of a sexually mature male, but they are absent in the female.
You can distinguish a female from a male by its wings.

Males have developed wings, allowing them to fly short distances.

In females, the wings are underdeveloped and smaller. Their only function is a slight waving, indicating the male’s call for mating.

Features of insect reproduction

How do cockroaches reproduce, do they reproduce sexually or otherwise?

They do not lay eggs, but carry them around with them. Having received the necessary liquid only once from the male, the female domesticated Prussian subsequently reproduces without his participation.

Cockroaches reproduce sexually. Unscrupulous apartment owners create conditions for favorable mating and reproduction of individuals.

Imagine, if cockroaches produce several dozen cockroaches from one egg, then within a couple of months the home will turn into a breeding ground for arthropods.

Readers of the site write to us

Subject: We got rid of cockroaches! Thank you!

From whom: Vlad Burov(vl**** [email protected])

To whom: Admin

Hello!

Oh, we are tired of cockroaches in our apartment!

They are so disgusting, and it is difficult to eradicate them. My wife tried a lot of things! Nothing took them :(

I was fed up with all this and I took up the matter myself.

And I accidentally discovered it on one site.

Without thinking twice, I did as it advised. And literally after 5 days we were able to live in peace!! We don't have any cockroaches anymore!

Please give it to others, maybe it will help them too!

Before “planning” their offspring, insects practice “mating games.” The male’s sex gametes “enter” the female’s body in reserve.

Without a male, a female can become fertilized several times.

The number of cockroaches in one egg reaches 30 larvae in red cockroaches, and 20 in black cockroaches. Small embryos hatch in 15–20 days. The abundance of food and water contributes to an increase in the number of insects by 1.5 - 2 times.

Prussians have about 35 larvae. Small individuals live together with adults.

The female helps the babies adapt to external conditions of existence. Considering that about 30 cockroaches hatch from one cockroach egg, the pest leaves 150 babies during its life cycle.

There is no seasonal reproduction for domestic insects. In both winter and summer, the fertilization process is no different and the number of larvae is reduced. Life expectancy and the number of eggs laid are influenced by external factors - food, heat and water.

The lack of measures to destroy arthropods leads to lightning-fast reproduction of insects.

Period from egg to adult

During the life cycle, the female lays an average of 5 capsules, from each of which hatch from 20 to 40 larvae. Until a certain time, the individual wears a shell with larvae inside the body, it grows and increases in size.

The deposited sac, covered with a dense shell, contains embryos; after a few days, the larvae are born. Cockroach eggs look like a small oilcloth package covered with a film that is difficult to break.

How many cockroaches hatch from one egg depends on the living conditions of the arthropod.

From the moment the eggs are laid until the small crawlers appear, 15–20 days will pass.

The stage from egg to adult proceeds according to the following scheme:

The fertilized female carries the embryos until the larvae mature;
After 2 - 3 weeks, larvae hatch from the egg (a sac with a dense shell);
The stage of transition from a larva to an adult is accompanied by molting (change of chitinous cover);
A molting individual is a nymph of a cockroach, vulnerable to insecticides, it is difficult to encounter an insect during this period of maturation;
The transition time from nymph to adult (sexually mature individual) is 45 days.

What is the time of gestation of an egg called and what is its duration?

The incubation period lasts 4 weeks. All this time the female carries eggs in a shell.

After birth, molting begins, which can be repeated up to 7 times.

The nymph will become an adult insect in one and a half to two months.

Full life cycle and developmental features

Residents of apartment buildings know how quickly cockroaches reproduce and what the crawlers look like. If you lose sight of the fertilized female, in a month your apartment will be replenished with an additional 30 new settlers from one Prussian during the breeding season. The scale of infection can be assessed at night by turning on when hungry individuals leave their shelters in search of food.

Without food and drink, the life cycle of insects is shortened. The man did everything to ensure that the development of the Prussians was favorable. Pests are safe, the room temperature is stable and comfortable to multiply in countless numbers.

Their offspring reaches hundreds of larvae, and this is from one domesticated Prussian. The embryos are securely packaged in a film bag that is resistant to damage and insecticides.

Adult longhorned beetles can live without a head. There are pores on the body of the pest, through which the respiratory function is carried out.

In the absence of a threat and adequate nutrition, the life expectancy of the slider reaches 4 years. The main part of the life cycle is the period of sexually mature individuals.

How many cockroaches hatch from an egg depends on external factors. Conditions also matter for development.

With insufficient nutrition and constant exposure of the female to insecticides, the gestation period increases, the growth and development of the larvae slows down. Under favorable conditions, domestic red cockroaches reproduce faster.

Prussians can survive without food. Kitchen inhabitants, black cockroaches, are particularly survivable. Without a source of food and drink, they live 2.5 months. Red brothers - 1 month.

When there is a threat to life and hunger strike, stasiks open the hunt for humans and small insects. The pest attacks people at night, tasting the skin of their lips and nails.

Prussians mutate, which is associated with resistance to insecticides. In case of mass infestations, it is advisable to entrust the work to professional pest control services.

When treating the area yourself, pay attention to the composition of the toxic substance, the name of the drug and its effect. Choose one that acts on the cockroach and its offspring.

Not every insecticide can cope with larvae. The dense shell is resistant to chemicals. The wrong choice of drug leads to meaningless.

After all, knowing the rate of reproduction of arthropods, thanks to properly selected insecticides, a person will be able to prevent and destroy entire colonies of pests.

To understand how to deal with impudent invaders, you need to thoroughly understand the features of their life cycle. Find out how cockroaches reproduce and what they look like at different stages of their development.

Features of the life of cockroaches

All representatives of the cockroach order belong to insects with an incomplete metamorphosis cycle. This means that there is no pupal stage in the chain of their development. Let's take a closer look at what this means and how else they differ from other insects.

Life cycle

The entire life cycle of cockroaches can be divided into three periods:

larva
adult insect.

Cockroach eggs are almost always enclosed in a special leathery sac - an ooteca, where the babies are reliably protected from the effects of the external environment. A toxic substance is unable to penetrate through such a membrane, the durable cradle will not be flooded with water, and there is no danger of it being accidentally crushed.

In such a capsule, the larvae develop safely for several weeks, and then emerge into the light fully adapted to life in the external environment. Some representatives of the cockroach order produce live young, but this is rather an exception to the rule.

What do small cockroaches look like? Let us consider this issue in detail, since out of ignorance they are often confused with other insects. For example, with house bugs.

So, the larvae of cockroaches - nymphs - are practically no different from adult individuals, except that they are more modest in size and, as a rule, they do not have wings.

In some species, insects have different colors at different stages of development. The larvae are mostly darker and more saturated in color. The coloring of adult individuals is usually lighter. Nymphs eat the same food as adults, live with them, and lead the same lifestyle.

Adult insects are equipped with genital organs and very often have wings, although with rare exceptions they practically do not use them. Many cockroaches in the adult stage are equipped with glands capable of producing odorous substances. With their help, insects look for a sexual partner or scare away enemies. Very often, this feature becomes the cause of household allergies in people who are forced to share living space with cockroaches.

Interesting fact! In folk medicine, dried cockroach carcasses were often used in the past. For dropsy they drank tea infused with these insects. And a dish of mustachioed residents fried with garlic was taken for indigestion.

Features of development

The lifespan of cockroaches ranges from 4 months. up to 4 years. Insects spend approximately half of this time in the adult stage. Sometimes even most of it, since the larvae grow quickly. Cockroaches in the nymph stage can stay from 1.5 months. up to several years. During this time, they manage to molt several times, increasing in size after each shed skin. As a rule, this procedure is repeated 5 to 9 times over the entire development period.

Having reached sexual maturity, the nymphs turn into an adult insect, with its inherent behavioral characteristics. Sometimes the period of growing up drags on indefinitely. As a rule, this happens due to unfavorable external conditions. For example, such as:

low ambient temperature;
poor nutrition;
exposure to toxic chemicals.

Larvae may slow down their development while still in the egg if the air temperature is below room temperature. This feature helps the young to survive a difficult period under the protection of a dense capsule - the ooteca. Under favorable conditions, small cockroaches hatch within 2-3 weeks after laying. They wait for some time until their soft infant cover acquires the strength of chitin, and then they scatter in different directions, getting used to a life full of anxiety and danger.

Advice! In order to get rid of insects, it is enough to maintain the room temperature below zero. At -5 0 C they die within half an hour. Ambient temperatures below -7 0 C kill cockroaches in one minute.

Features of reproduction

So, how does the process of reproduction itself occur? How do cockroaches reproduce? Let's look at this issue in more detail.

Having reached the age when mating becomes possible, females attract males with odorous substances secreted from special glands located, as a rule, in the back of their body. Males who respond to the call fertilize the female using the genital plate located at the end of the abdomen between the cerci - articulated processes found in all representatives of this order. Some species court females for a long time before copulating with them.

After fertilization, the partners separate. The males go in search of food or new ladies of their hearts, and after a while the females lay eggs in a durable sac formed for this purpose - the ooteca. A clutch can contain from 15 to 60 eggs, depending on the species. And throughout their entire life, females lay from 20 () to 90 (in the American cockroach) ootheca.

Females carry a capsule with eggs in their body for some time - a day or several weeks, dragging the end protruding beyond the abdomen behind them. She then leaves her in a safe, dark place and leaves. After a short time, small cockroaches hatch from the eggs.

Sometimes cockroaches reproduce asexually, when the eggs of the female develop without the participation of the male. This method is called parthenogenesis. They are able to reproduce in a similar way. These same insects have another feature - caring for their offspring in the first days after the larvae hatch.

An interesting fact is that for successful reproduction, a female cockroach only needs to meet a male once in her life. Subsequently, the eggs are fertilized by seed material preserved in special parts of her body. This feature is another factor contributing to the spread of these insects, because just one fertilized female is enough to establish a colony.

Interesting fact! In the old days in Rus' it was believed that cockroaches brought prosperity to the house. When moving to a new place of residence, they took them with them “for good luck.” This factor greatly contributed to the spread of insects throughout the territory of modern Russia.

How to prevent insects from breeding in a city apartment?

We found out how cockroaches reproduce, but is it possible to somehow prevent this process in order to naturally reduce the insect population?

Unfortunately, there are currently no methods to control the reproduction of representatives of this order of insects. At one time, however, drugs were sold that promised to sterilize female cockroaches using some volatile substances. However, they are not widely used, perhaps due to their low efficiency. Therefore, there is only one radical way to get rid of uninvited guests - their complete destruction using chemicals.

We must not forget that oothecae can withstand the effects of most chemicals. To destroy young animals hatched from eggs, the premises are re-treated 2-3 weeks after the first disinfestation.

Knowing how cockroaches reproduce, you can achieve their complete disappearance from your home in a short time. Most often in a city apartment you can find Prussians, or red cockroaches. Sometimes their black relatives also coexist with humans. In any case, these unpleasant insects appear suddenly and in large numbers. Why is this happening?

Literally translated, this word means “egg storage.” This is true: a small chitin capsule reaches a size of only 10-12 mm (in domestic red cockroaches), but inside it can contain 30-40 cockroach eggs filled with a protein substance. This mass reliably protects future insects from adverse external influences.

When apartment owners poison cockroaches, only the larvae and adults that come into direct contact with pesticides die. Deferred oothecae are invulnerable to many of the agents that are currently known. They can retain their contents even when insects are frozen: the dense shell and the filling mass are able to provide a temperature acceptable for the life of the eggs for a long time.

After the owners have finished treating the apartment and are quietly enjoying the absence of harmful neighbors, a new colony of cockroaches is preparing to be born somewhere in a secluded place. The maturation of eggs lasts for 14-30 days from the moment they are laid in the capsule. But the female cockroach carries it on herself for some time, leaving it only in an ideal place for this. Therefore, it is impossible to predict for sure when the birth of cockroaches will occur.

Growth and development of cockroaches

The larvae (nymphs) are born very small. Their size before the 1st molt is only 1-2 mm, and they are not very similar to their restless parents. The main difference is the absence of wings. The larvae will acquire them only at the stage of transformation into an adult.

Nymphs practically do not leave the place where they hatched, feeding on the remains of the contents of the capsule and possible crumbs of other food that fall into the nest. After molting once, they become larger and more mobile, begin to explore the kitchen area and actively search for food. At this time, only a very attentive housewife can notice them, but it is still difficult to identify impudent domestic cockroaches in small brown bugs.

And only 1-1.5 months after birth, in harmless-looking bugs, it will be possible to guess the traits that domestic red cockroaches possess. And after another 1-2 weeks, the larvae will molt for the last time, and the owners of the apartment will only have to contemplate in surprise the newly appeared disgusting neighbors.

Sometimes you can come across the statement that a cockroach is a hermaphrodite. This is not so: like all insects, the red neighbors of humans are dioecious. Both males and females are required for reproduction. But the secret of how cockroaches multiply in an apartment, getting there in a single copy, lies in the characteristics of the female.

After copulation with a male, she can retain his seminal fluid for almost her entire life. During this time, she will have time to lay about 10 oothecae. About 30 new cockroaches are born from each.

Reaching sexual maturity at the age of 4 months, red cockroaches (domestic, or Prussian) are able to reproduce exponentially in a short period of time. Therefore, even clean apartments in new buildings are occupied by these residents very quickly. After this, it is almost impossible to completely destroy them, since they can breed in garbage chutes or garbage cans in the warm season and move to warmer basements and apartments in winter.

Interesting facts about cockroach reproduction

The reproduction of cockroaches is regulated by the external environment. If the apartment is too cold or too hot, there is little food available, or there are other reasons for dissatisfaction with life, insects may lay eggs much less often than usual. The female can also carry the capsule on herself for a long time if there is no suitable place for breeding the cubs. How many days the nymph grows depends on the availability of food, water and warmth. And it would be much easier to deal with insects if they did not consider the same conditions that humans provide themselves as ideal.

In the average kitchen, cockroaches find an abundance of food (crumbs, garbage, food in accessible places, soap, leather goods or paper), and an ideal temperature of about +25 ° C, and access to water sources, and the absence of natural enemies. This makes it possible for even the smallest larvae to survive, and it also determines how quickly cockroaches reproduce. After all, after each female grows to adulthood, she also finds these conditions suitable for laying eggs, and the process repeats.

Red cockroaches have the ability to increase their population faster than black ones. This is due to their rapid maturation: blacks become sexually mature only at the age of 2-4 years.

Red Prussians, in addition to the difference in growth rate, also do not hesitate to snack on the cubs of their relatives. Thanks to this, the population of black cockroaches in Russia is gradually declining.

Domestic cockroaches have absolutely no seasonality in breeding offspring. Insects can reproduce almost all year round, because the conditions for each small larva to grow quickly are maintained in the apartment both in winter and summer. Both black and red neighbors of a person behave this way.

No less interesting is that female black cellar cockroaches carry an ootheca in their abdomen. When the time comes, they give birth to small, live young. Nymphs are not colored, have a light shade of chitinous body cover and are very vulnerable to adult rufous individuals.

How to cope with the invasion of the Prussians and prevent their appearance in large numbers? Considering that the breeding cycle of cockroaches is not regular, and the capsule with eggs remains unharmed during disinfestation, we can only rely on the destruction of already hatched nymphs and adults.

But in order to prevent insects from growing quietly during the period between treatments, it is very convenient to use traps and gels. These products are unnoticeable, harmless to humans and animals, do not smell, but contain either strong poisons or bacteria and fungi that can kill a cockroach within 1-2 days. Even growing larvae that begin an active search for food can be affected by fatal diseases without having time to grow and give birth to new offspring.

Man and cockroaches.

Cockroaches are the first conquerors of human habitation, for the prosperity of which 3 conditions are necessary:

Many years ago, some representatives of this group found refuge next to humans against the latter’s wishes, for which they received the title of domestic, although the order itself includes more than 4,500 species. Today they are an integral part of comfortable apartments. The conditions of the Russian winter are lethal for these insects. In a heated apartment building, it is very difficult for residents to solve a pest problem on their own, but it is possible.

Lifestyle and structural features.

In order not to conflict with a person, and also to be less visible to him, pests have the appropriate devices:

are nocturnal;
incredibly agile, which is ensured by three pairs of running limbs equipped with suction cups and claws;
They have a flat body that can penetrate the narrowest crack, thereby quickly disappearing from the view of the homeowners.

Many have wings, but are not flyers, which is not really required in a confined space. Among the sense organs, antennae are well developed and scan the environment. The organs of vision are poorly developed.

In terms of food items, these are omnivorous insects. The gnawing type mouthparts with many chitinous teeth on powerful jaws deftly grind any hard food. Arthropods can survive without food for about a month, without water for a week. Judging by fossils, as well as objects sealed in drops of amber, the ancestors of cockroaches, who lived about 300 million years ago, remained virtually unchanged.

Types of six-legged pests.

Among all the diversity of the detachment under consideration, only some species with the status of pests have been declared a merciless war by humans. But first, it is necessary, at a minimum, to know the enemy by sight, so that when meeting him he can easily recognize him and then destroy him.

Prusak.

Almost all residents of the northern hemisphere know the red cockroach (Blatella germanica). During the Napoleonic Wars, it received the name “Prussian”, since it was believed that the insects were brought from Prussia, although the Germans themselves called the red pest “Russian”.

Adults have a brown body with two dark stripes, 10-16 mm long. When falling from the ceiling, they plan by controlling the movement. Mobile males are distinguished by a narrower abdomen, the last segments of which are not covered by wings.

Photos of pests allow you to examine the morphology of pests in all details. Thus, a pair of appendages (cerci) were identified on the abdomen of adult individuals - evidence of a primitive organization.

Blatella germanica develops with incomplete transformation. From fertilized eggs, larvae emerge as small copies of the parents. After multiple moults, they acquire the size and coloring characteristic of adult individuals. Development can be represented as a chain:

egg - larva (nymph) - adult insect (imago).

At a temperature of -5℃, heat-loving insects die; in cold climates they survived thanks to prolonged heating.

A species of black cockroach pest.

Another no less unceremonious synanthrope, the second most common, is the black cockroach (Blatta orientalis). It has a dark brown, almost charcoal body color, about 30 mm long. Its appearance often frightens residents, especially those on the lower floors. Gives off an unpleasant odor. Leads a secretive lifestyle, choosing for this purpose bathrooms, garbage cans, storage rooms, and heating pipes. Males jump far, helping themselves with their wings, but cannot fly.

What does the American periplanet look like?

In the basements you can find a less “domesticated” inhabitant of the tropics - the American periplaneta (Periplaneta americana) 30-40 mm long. In the 17th century, red-brown insects, along with Cuban sugar cane, spread throughout the world. In the wild they live on palm trees. They are similar to Prussians, but have a more elongated body, as well as a characteristic pattern similar to the spotted pattern of a cobra.

American periplanet is an extremely aggressive species, physically exterminating its competitors. Capable of flying. In summer it is found outside human habitation: in foliage, hollows, and attics under tiles. For food, it prefers decomposing organic matter, sweet syrups, cotton fabrics, paper, and book bindings.

Lesser-known six-legged pests.

In the southern regions of Russia, 2 more species of “barbel” can be found:

Both species, in addition to human habitation, also inhabit outbuildings intended for livestock.

Relatively recently, the smallest cockroach appeared in apartments - the furniture cockroach. It is characterized by a bright red color with two transverse irregular stripes and has transparent wings. Does not need constant drinking, so it prefers living rooms. It feeds on starch, which is why it damages the bindings of old books. Finds remnants of the epidermis even on stockings made of nylon. Groups of insects can often be found behind peeling wallpaper, in cabinets, chests, chests of drawers, switches, behind lamps, picture frames, for which the species received its corresponding name.

Intensity of reproduction of cockroaches.

The reproduction rate of domestic cockroaches is incomparably higher than that of their wild counterparts. At one time, the female German lays up to 40 eggs, for the incubation of which a special capsule (ootheca) is protected, protected by a durable shell. During her life, a female can produce about 10 such chambers or 400 eggs. Fertilization occurs once, after which the female gradually uses the seed material to carry out the reproductive function.

In the Prussian, the ootheca is up to 8 mm long. Females carry it with them for 2-5 weeks until the larvae appear. Nymphs hatch directly in the capsule. The body of wingless nymphs does not contain pigment. Within a few days, the integument of the larvae hardens, acquiring the color familiar to the species.

In order for a nymph to turn into an adult, it molts 6 times over the course of 2 months. After the last molt, insects' wings finally form. Prussian colonies consist mainly of nymphs. The population is growing at an incredible rate. In the absence of favorable conditions, the female carries the ootheca longer than usual.

The incubation process for black cockroach eggs depends on environmental factors and can take up to a year. Under favorable conditions, steaming eggs lasts several days. The cameras are then left unattended. Prussians willingly eat the oothecae of competitors, thereby displacing their black relatives from the occupied territory. The juveniles themselves develop very slowly.

In the American periplanet, the incubation process also depends on environmental factors. It can last from a day to several weeks. The ootheca is usually shed by the female within the first day. The insect chooses a secluded place for this, closer to the food source. Under natural conditions, egg development occurs inside rotting damp wood. The number of capsules can reach 90, with 14-16 eggs in each. Under comfortable conditions, incubation lasts 50 days, after which the hatched larvae scatter, occupying new territories. Over the course of 9-13 molts, periplanet nymphs transform into adults. Insects do not tolerate cold well. At a temperature of 0℃, the American periplanet dies.

Lifespan of cockroaches.

Cockroaches are one of the most resilient pests. Prussians live from 20 to 30 weeks, black relatives up to 2 years due to their slow development, American periplanet up to 14-15 months, and furniture brethren up to 10 months.

How long pests will live in a particular apartment depends on the residents themselves. You can block insects' access to water by wiping all surfaces dry, which will reduce the number of uninvited guests. That is why it is important to know the biological characteristics of the pest in order to competently organize disinsection, as a series of measures aimed at exterminating the first invaders of apartments.

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Domestic cockroaches: what they look like, reproduce and grow, diseases they carry, harm and benefits to humans + photos and videos

Cockroaches have been living with people for a long time. To get rid of such a neighborhood, find out what insects look like and reproduce. And the preventive measures described in the article will help you to encounter them as little as possible or not at all.

Background: how long do cockroaches live on the planet?

Cockroaches on planet Earth live much longer than humans. Already 300 million years! They survived dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, mammoths. Therefore, attempts to lime insects with Dichlorvos and Mashenka chalk seem pathetic to many. What kind of chalk can we seriously talk about if it is known that after baiting in this way, only 5% of the previous number remains, and after a month the number increases by 15% compared to the original figure.

Cockroaches reproduce very quickly

Most myths about the survivability of cockroaches are true.

They can withstand radiation of 6,400 radians, compared to humans' 500.
They adapt well to poisons. If, nevertheless, a portion of the poison falls, they fall into a stupor, but do not die. Naive people throw a “dead” cockroach into a bucket, and after two minutes it comes to its senses and returns to its interrupted business. Opossums have the same habit. True, unlike pretend possums, cockroaches are actually paralyzed for a while.
They may not breathe for 45 minutes.
Cockroaches can survive without water for up to 10 days and without food for a month.

Having fallen on its back, the cockroach cannot turn over and dies

But these record holders for survival also have an Achilles heel - their back. If they fall on their backs, they can no longer turn over and die of hunger and thirst. Mutual assistance in this community is not very developed, so the rest of the colony members are in no hurry to come to the aid of a comrade in a hopeless situation.

Features of reproduction

Cockroaches live mainly in the tropics and subtropics in the wild. Not everyone lives with a person, but those that settle in stay for a long time, or even forever. We create the same tropics in our apartments - the air temperature is 25 ºС, there is enough moisture. Excellent conditions for reproduction: live and be happy!

A female cockroach lays 35-45 eggs at a time, makes 8 clutches during her life, and lives from six months to a year. After a few days, the eggs hatch into larvae under the poetic name “nymphs.” Nymphs grow rapidly and develop into adults within two months after birth, which means they are able to take over the baton of childbearing from the older generation. From one time fertilization can be multiple. This is explained simply: the male’s gametes are stored in the female’s body for a long time.

Insects of different species can be distinguished by their external characteristics. This diverse brethren is united by belonging to insects with an incomplete cycle of transformation. This means that they are born in the form of an egg, then become a larva, and only at the third stage of development do they turn into an adult. The eggs are stored in the ooteca - a chitinous capsule, which, in turn, is stored on the female.

Insects are unpretentious. Any food (food, glue or soap, paper or skin particles contained in dust), water, warmth and a dark corner is all that a cockroach family needs to live and thrive in peace. In the old days, the stove served as a penthouse for them; nowadays, they have to be content with the corner behind the refrigerator, washing machine, stove or baseboard, but that suits them.

Stages of development (eggs, larvae, female with ooteca) - photo

The first stage of development of a cockroach is an egg. The second stage of development of a cockroach is a “nymph” larva. Eggs are stored in the ooteca of a female cockroach

Types of insects: what they look like and how to distinguish them

There are more than 4,500 species of cockroaches on Earth, but only the species described below are found in homes.

Red cockroach (domestic Prussian)

This type of cockroach is popularly called "Prusak"

The most widespread are red cockroaches, which in Russia are called “Prussians”. Unfortunately, most people don’t need to explain what a domesticated Prussian looks like: a red-brown back with folded chitinous wings, long whiskers, size from 1 to 1.5–2 cm. Females carry an ootheca with them. For the time being, eggs are peacefully stored in it, from which one day a new generation will emerge - a litter.

Black beetle

The black cockroach has a very hard chitinous coating.

The black beetle does not get along with the red one, and therefore is not so common. It is much larger in size: the female grows up to five centimeters, and the male - up to three. The male has wings which he does not use, the female does not. Each individual has a hard chitinous coating. Such a shell is not easy to destroy mechanically, that is, to slam it down.

Periplaneta Americana

Periplaneta Americana is the only species of flying cockroach

Not to say that it is a very common species in our country, but it is not listed in the Red Book. This type of insect arrived to us relatively recently with gifts from the American continent - sugar, coffee, tobacco. Spread through sewers, greenhouses, and pipe wafers in sewers. The main and most unpleasant difference from other species is the presence of active wings, which the beetles actively use. It does not get along with other species, which gives some optimism.

Exotic species like Madagascar, Egyptian, and Turkmen cockroaches are rarely found here. They have not become widespread, and their place of residence in our latitudes is terrariums, including private ones.

Exotic species of cockroaches - gallery

The largest domestic cockroach This type of cockroach is considered exotic in our latitudes. It is almost never found in the middle zone.

What harm does such a neighborhood cause to a person?

Desperate to defeat the red-haired invaders, people reassured themselves that, apart from the disgust of the view, they did not bring any other troubles with them. Unfortunately, it is not.

Due to the fact that their paths of movement pass through sewers, pipes, garbage chutes and other not very sterile premises, on their numerous paws and abdomens they bring various infections into a person’s home in the form of pathogenic bacteria, worm eggs, fungal spores and much more. .

Diseases from insects

Scientists have chosen a name for the harm cockroaches cause to human health - blattopterosis. This includes a number of diseases that arise due to forced proximity to these insects: allergies, asthma, dysentery, salmonellosis, mycobacteriosis, infection with helminths (worms) and even pneumonia and meningitis.

Cockroaches in the house can cause allergies or even asthma.

Do cockroaches bite?

Yes, one more detail worthy of fans of the horror style: these beetles bite and are capable of gnawing the skin above the lip and on the fingers. But bites are quite rare. In the absence of water, which they vitally need, these creatures do not disdain any means of obtaining it.

To avoid all these horrors, in a room infested with Prussians, you need to block their possibility of contact with food and water. To do this, store food in tightly closed containers without any restrictions. If you find a cockroach in a kitchen cabinet or refrigerator, immediately throw away all food in open packages.

Small benefits from insects

In the old days they were even proud of having cockroaches in the house. It was believed that this was a rich house in which there was something to profit from. True, then black individuals were bred in the houses of our ancestors. They did not cause disgust; on the contrary, they were even added to medicinal potions as a diuretic. They also bring benefits for indigestion: beetles were fried with garlic and this remedy was consumed. In Asia, beetles are still happily eaten fried, like seeds. They contain a lot of protein - why not nourish the body?

Traces of presence in the house

Cockroaches are nocturnal inhabitants, but they can stay awake during the day. They go fishing mainly in the dark. This is more of a tribute to tradition, because they are not afraid of daylight. However, this behavioral feature allows them to remain unnoticed for quite a long time. How can you determine that you and your family are no longer the only residents of your apartment?

The answer is the same as in the question about the existence of Bigfoot - you need to find traces of life activity. If cockroaches have settled in your house, traces will definitely be found, and this is their main difference from the elusive Yeti.

They can leave the products of their vital activity, in particular brown excrement, near a water source.
Where they get into the habit of feeding, sometimes you can even find an ootheca - a capsule with eggs.
In the cracks under the plinth one comes across translucent chitinous covers - skin shed by the younger generation. They do this about 5 times during their, frankly speaking, not short life by the standards of insects, and therefore there is a real chance of stumbling upon these things and realizing that the seizure of territory has begun.
Black individuals emit an unpleasant odor, which becomes noticeable when the population is large. So if there is a nasty smell for no apparent reason, there is reason to worry about searching for possible uninvited guests.

If any of the above was found or you personally came face to face with the impudent redhead, urgently stock up on insecticides and use them without mercy.

How to find an insect nest?

The most likely place is near water. Where small individuals appear, beetles breed and feed, traces of their vital activity can usually be found. Where their concentration is maximum, there may be a nest.

Frequent guest of city apartments

Cockroaches are the scourge of city apartments. Indeed, insects have more opportunities for survival in an apartment building than in private housing. In the old days, for example, a procedure was carried out that was called “cockroaching” the hut. It was arranged in winter and was simple, like everything ingenious. When it was cold, they stopped heating the stove for a day, opened the windows and doors, as a result of which the hut froze out. The resulting temperature was so far from tropical that it forced heat-loving “bakers” to leave their homes and go in search of a more hospitable home.

No matter how you get rid of beetles in village houses, the risk of getting them again there is much lower than in city apartment buildings, where residents become hostage to their neighbors. For experience shows that if dangerous neighbors appear in at least one apartment, very soon they will appear in all the others.

Preventing the appearance of cockroaches in the house

Regular cleaning in hard-to-reach places is a good prevention against the appearance of cockroaches

There is a popular saying: “A good housewife has clean corners.” I would like to add: if you keep your apartment clean, do regular cleaning in hard-to-reach places, monitor the working order of the taps, close the trash can at night and do not keep food in the public domain, you can count on the fact that cockroaches, even if they appear, will not breed for a long time. you won't be delayed.

Why cockroaches are dangerous and how to quickly get rid of them - video

Even if there are cockroaches, there is no reason to be depressed. This is a signal to start action. Use available preventative measures, keep your apartment clean and do not quarrel. It is believed that no insecticides will remove cockroaches from a house where irritation and dissatisfaction with each other hangs in the air. Perhaps a joint fight against these shameless invaders will unite the family, and you will emerge victorious from this battle.

legkovmeste.ru

Life cycle of a cockroach and interesting facts

The diversity of cockroaches in the world is amazing - more than 4 thousand species! The birth of cockroaches is an active process. The ones that are closest to humans are the red (Prusak) and black cockroaches, since you often have to share living space with them.

A little about the life of insects

How do these insects live? These are quite mobile creatures, they love warmth and moisture, and are nocturnal (they hide in a dark place during the day and crawl out at night in search of food). Winged birds can fly to the light at night. They feed on plant and animal remains. And, of course, they multiply quickly.

These are the hardiest insects: certain subspecies and individuals can go without food for a very long time! The body of the insect is oval and flat. The length of an adult cockroach ranges from 1.7-2 cm to 9.5 cm or more. The structure of the body allows it to hide in any crevice.

Lifespan

How many years do these insects live? The lifespan of cockroaches depends on external conditions. If there is enough moisture, food and warmth, then an adult red locust can survive for 1 year. The lifespan of the black one is 2 years (the development of this species is slower), and the Madagascar one (in a terrarium) can live from 3 to 5 years, depending on care.

The life cycle of a cockroach can be divided into 3 stages of development: egg, larva, adult insect. The most important thing for this beetle is to be fruitful and multiply, giving life to new cockroaches. The female attracts the male with odorous substances secreted by special glands. Some individuals court females for a certain time, but the result is the same - fertilization.

Reproduction

It is important and interesting that it is enough for female representatives to mate with a male once in their life. Subsequently, the eggs are fertilized by seed material stored in a special section of her body. After some time, the female cockroach lays eggs in a dense bag of foamed protein substance formed for this purpose (the protein hardens, turning into reliable protection for future babies: such a capsule does not allow water and toxic substances to pass through, and is difficult to crush). For some time - a day or several weeks (depending on the type of individual) - the female carries this capsule within herself, dragging behind her the part that protrudes beyond the edges of the abdomen. This happens while the masonry is increasing. Then she dumps the container in a secluded place where there is enough moisture and warmth.

The development of larvae takes a short period - only a few weeks. As a result of this process, absolutely healthy individuals are born, adapted to life in the surrounding world. The insects are very prolific - one clutch can contain up to fifty larvae. Small insects, whitish in color and about 3 mm long, quickly scatter in search of food and to grow (a growing organism requires strength and energy). After some time, their skin hardens, turning into chitin. Before they fully mature, several molts will pass, and the cockroaches will acquire the color characteristic of their species.

The development process is directly related to environmental temperature. If it fluctuates within 30°C, then all molting takes place in 2 months, and if it is around 20°C, in six months.

Cockroaches are not viviparous insects, although this may be the impression about some of them. They don't have to give birth. There are species in which the eggs develop inside the female's body. An example of this is the Madagascar cockroach. The capsule with eggs remains inside the insect throughout its development, and only a few times a day a pregnant cockroach puts them outside for ventilation. The larvae have to be born from the egg also inside the mother’s body and quickly leave the brood chamber. An outside observer gets the impression that the cockroach is giving birth. As a rule, the birth process of cockroaches lasts from several minutes to several hours.

Life of a cockroach

These insects are cold-blooded, which means they do not need to spend energy maintaining body temperature, and their metabolism is slow. Therefore, cockroaches live without food for quite a long period of time - up to two and a half months. It is not so easy to starve them: they hide and wait for the moment when the opportunity to eat well presents itself. But water is vital for a cockroach. High humidity helps them avoid overheating. A cockroach is unlikely to survive more than a week without water. The liquid evaporates from the surface of the insect's shell, and it threatens to dry out and die if there is a lack of moisture.

These amazing insects have one more feature - they can live for a certain time without a head! Scientists conducted experiments and found out how long a headless cockroach lives.

Black and red individuals can exist without it for up to 9 days. This is due to the fact that they do not have a closed circulatory system; they cannot die from blood loss. In this case, the separated head tries to feed, and the body lives autonomously until it dies from mold or attacking microorganisms.

For the most part, cockroaches do not care about children in any way. But there are exceptions: some types of insects that live in conditions of high humidity and temperature, for example in the tropics, monitor their newborn cockroaches and take care of them. The female Madagascar cockroach does not let go of her offspring during the first day. The babies cling to their mother, hide under her, and she protects them from enemies, hissing threateningly and making frightening movements. But by the end of the first day, the cockroaches crawl away, and this is where maternal care for them ends. Only relict cockroaches pay special attention to children. They live in small colonies and are very protective of their offspring.

At ambient temperatures below zero, cockroaches die: at -5°C - within half an hour, and at -7°C - within a minute. The larva can slow down its development while still in the egg if the air temperature is below 15°C. This feature helps the young to survive a difficult period under the protection of a dense capsule. The adult dies at sufficiently low or very high temperatures. Indicators -3...+42°С are detrimental for them. But a capsule with larvae can relatively comfortably survive even a short 10-degree frost and high temperatures.

If the mother dies when people disinfect the home, the eggs in the capsule continue to develop, and later they will still hatch into healthy young.
If there is little moisture, cockroaches are able not to breathe for up to 40 minutes, so as not to evaporate the water in the body. These insects are not afraid of a dose of radiation that is fatal to humans. Lack of food and moisture shortens the lifespan of a cockroach.

The life of a cockroach is remarkable in that every day it very quickly runs away from its enemies, prowling in search of water and food. At the same time, insects reproduce very quickly, bringing numerous offspring. His vitality is amazing.

vreditelistop.ru

How long do domestic cockroaches live without food and water?

Cockroach... This word itself evokes not the most pleasant associations for most people, not to mention the sight of a Prussian crawling along a wall or table, when it appears, as a rule, the first thing you want is to immediately take off your slippers and slam the nasty insect. However, it must be recognized that cockroaches are very interesting creatures, with an ancient history and almost incredible abilities that help them survive in almost any extreme conditions. What kind of abilities are these? This is what we will talk about today.

Description of the insect

It is perhaps difficult to find a person who does not know what an ordinary domestic cockroach looks like. Even if fate saved someone from personal acquaintance with these insects, then, probably, everyone in childhood read the fairy tale “The Cockroach” or watched a cartoon based on it.

So, what does an ordinary domestic cockroach look like and what is it like? First of all, a cockroach is an insect belonging to the order Cockroach. In addition to it, termites also belong to the same order, and in total there are more than 7570 species. Moreover, there are more than 4,640 species of real cockroaches alone.
The world's largest cockroaches live in Colombia and reach a length of 97 mm and a width of 45 mm. These giants crawl faster than all insects - at a speed of over 4 km/h.

Three hundred million years ago, cockroaches already lived on our planet. They crawled among the giant horsetails and mosses of the Carboniferous period, and now some of these unimaginably ancient creatures live alongside people.
During the day they hide in cracks, and at night they crawl out for food - bread crumbs, kitchen waste, not necessarily fresh. For lack of anything better, they can chew a dry rag, shoe polish, or drink ink. Their intestines, like those of their termite relatives, contain protozoa that help them digest this non-nutritive food.

Types of cockroaches

The most common “tenants” in human housing are the red cockroach (Prusak) and the black cockroach, the population of which had greatly thinned out by the beginning of the 21st century.

Red cockroach

Also known as Prusak. This insect received its second name because in Russia it was considered to come from Prussia, which is not at all true. In fact, the homeland of red cockroaches is not Germany or even Europe, but... southern Asia. It was from there that this insect came to European countries in the 18th century and, having chosen human dwellings as its habitat, began to actively reproduce, so much so that it soon supplanted its main “competitor” - the black cockroach.

The body length of an adult is from 1 to 1.6 cm. Both males and females of this species have very well developed wings, thanks to which cockroaches can glide, although they cannot really fly.
The body of males is narrower than that of females, and the wings of males do not cover the last segments of the abdomen. The color of the red cockroach, strictly speaking, is not entirely red, but rather brownish in a variety of shades, sometimes they can even be almost black.

Prussians are omnivores: in addition to the “traditional” cockroach food - the remains of human food, they can eat paper, leather, textiles, wood glue, and will not even refuse ordinary soap if they do not come across any other food. But their most favorite delicacies are bread, baked goods, as well as sugar and various sweets. The cockroach does not disdain meat or porridge, but he does not like fruit too much, although he eats them if there is nothing else available, and the freshness and quality of the fruit does not bother him too much.

Black beetle

Nowadays it is not such a frequent visitor to our homes, but in the past it was very common. Noticeably larger than the red cockroach: the length of an adult insect can be from 2 to 8 cm. The color is either black-brown or tar-brown with a pronounced metallic sheen. The males of this species have longer wings than the females, but black cockroaches cannot fly or even glide. But they run very fast. So quickly that before you have time to look back, there is no trace of him.

THIS IS INTERESTING! In Germany and the Czech Republic, black cockroaches are called “Swabians”, since they believe that these insects were brought from Swabia, a region in southern Germany.

Life stages of a cockroach

Cockroaches are characterized by an incomplete development cycle, which includes the following phases of the insect’s maturation:

larva or otherwise nymph
adult or imago

The life of a young cockroach begins, as they would say in Ancient Rome, “ab ovo,” that is, from an egg. It is from this that the larva hatches, differing from its parents only in size and color, or rather its absence, since newborn cockroaches are born white due to the fact that they do not yet have a chitinous cover.
In total, a female cockroach lays 20-30, and sometimes up to 50 eggs and carries them in a special ooteca capsule located at the end of the abdomen, while she herself can regulate the number of offspring, so that sometimes the number of eggs laid differs sharply from the number of hatched cockroaches. By the way, although rarely, there are cases of twins, when two larvae develop in one egg. The “pregnancy” of a cockroach lasts from 2 to 4 weeks, after which it leaves an ootheca somewhere in a secluded, damp place. And then for 2 weeks she looks after her offspring, who have not yet acquired chitinous “coats” and are therefore very vulnerable.

THIS IS INTERESTING! It happens that under unfavorable conditions a female cockroach has a “miscarriage”: she sheds the oocyst ahead of schedule. In this case, its offspring either die or hatch underdeveloped.

Newborn larvae are white in color, but after a few days they darken noticeably, and the cover of their body becomes hard. Now, in order to grow, an insect is often forced to shed its chitinous “skin”; this process is called molting and, on average, a cockroach molts from 6 to 10 times during its life. In the warm season, cockroaches become adults in 2 months, but with a noticeable drop in temperature this process can take up to 6 months.

After the last, no matter what kind of molt, the insect stops growing and turns from a larva into an adult. Which, having given birth to numerous offspring, will either leave this world in due time, or at the wrong time - ending its days under the sole of a slipper or swallowing some poison.

How long can they exist

If we do not consider the unfavorable course of events, when the untimely end of a cockroach's life occurs for reasons completely independent of the insect - be it the notorious slipper, poison, or some predator, such as a toad, bird or even an ordinary cat who decided to dine on our barbel , then these insects live quite a long time - at least 7-9 months after reaching sexual maturity.

THIS IS INTERESTING! The lifespan of each subsequent generation of cockroaches in a single house or apartment is longer than the lifespan of their predecessors and can be a maximum of 4 years.

How long can a cockroach live without food and water?

Like any living creature, a cockroach cannot do without water and without food. And, if it is almost always able to find something to “chew”, then, once it is far from water sources, the insect is certainly doomed to death.
But why is water so important for a cockroach? It turns out that it is important for its thermoregulation. If a cockroach overheats, the surface of its chitinous cover will be covered with moisture evaporated by the body. If there is nowhere to replenish water supplies, the insect will die after 7 days, literally drying up. High air humidity and coolness will slow down this process somewhat, but not for long.

IMPORTANT! When fighting cockroaches, the main thing is to deprive them of access to water and those products from which they could obtain moisture, then they will not have a single chance of survival.

As for food, it is not so important for cockroaches, since they are cold-blooded creatures and not too active. Even if they are completely deprived of food, they will simply hide somewhere in a secluded place and wait there until conditions become more favorable for their existence. However, sooner or later, without food, they will die. But this will not happen very soon - approximately 50 days after the start of the total hunger strike.

How quickly does a headless cockroach die?

A cockroach that has lost its head does not die immediately, but after 9 days. At first glance, it seems incredible that a headless creature can live for so long. However, such incredible vitality of cockroaches is explained by the fact that they have an open circulatory cycle, and therefore death from loss of blood is clearly not in danger even in this case. The fact that nerve endings are literally everywhere in their body contributes to the preservation of motor reflexes and, as a result, the continuation of life.

In the end, a cockroach left without a head will die, but this will only happen due to lack of water and food, since it simply will not be able to eat or drink.

THIS IS INTERESTING! Not only will a cockroach that has lost its head be able to live for several more days after this, but the head that is left without a cockroach can also survive for quite a long time. To do this, just place it in a cool place and feed it with a special solution.

Life of cockroaches in other extreme conditions

Radiation

The statement that cockroaches can live in places with any level of radiation without harm can be considered controversial. Yes, of course, these insects are incredibly tenacious and adapted to any seemingly unfavorable conditions.

However, with very strong radiation, cockroaches will certainly die. Another thing is that the safe dose of radiation that they can endure without harm to themselves is quite high. It exceeds 15 times the maximum dose allowed for humans.

Low temperatures

They are the “Achilles heel” of these almost indestructible creatures. It would seem that they shouldn’t even care about frost, but no! Already at a temperature of -5°, cockroaches die. This is due to their cold-bloodedness, which, while incredibly useful in conditions of absence or lack of food, in this case plays a bad joke on them, reducing the resistance of cockroaches to temperature changes.

THIS IS INTERESTING! All insects of the order Cockroaches can live either in a heated home or in a tropical climate.

As you can see, cockroaches are incredibly tenacious creatures, but still they are not immortal. These insects can easily endure a long hunger strike and a dose of radiation fatal to humans, and even if left without a head, they will live for several more days. But at the same time, they cannot tolerate low temperatures at all, and even without water they die quite quickly. These two unbearable conditions should be of help in the fight against cockroaches. Well, in combination with pesticides or mechanical traps, they will not leave them a single chance of survival.

In this article, we will consider the answer to a question that may be of interest to people who are faced with their invasion - how many cockroaches hatch from one egg? Many people mistakenly think that their number can be quite impressive. However, this is not true.

Regardless of the type of cockroach, it is important to know that only one individual is born from one egg. A rare exception may be the “birth” of twins, which develop from paired fertilized eggs, but this happens very rarely.

The main reason for this opinion remains that people often confuse eggs with the ootheca - the small capsule in which they are stored. Such a “bag” can contain many future insects (from 20 to 60 on average).

Eggs and their capsules (oothecae)

After insect oocytes are fertilized by sperm, they go through a series of gradual stages. At the end, small eggs appear, from which new individuals hatch in the future. However, this process is not instantaneous. The eggs still need to mature. For this purpose, a special capsule is formed in the female’s body - ootheca.

It is a fairly rigid “bag” that performs a number of important functions:

Reservoir for eggs. One ootheca can contain up to 50 small future cockroaches.
Protective. Thanks to the hard shell in such a capsule, the eggs are not afraid of temperature changes and the effects of insecticides.
Nutritious. Embryos develop inside the eggs, having a certain supply of necessary substances. Only after they are exhausted does the process of young individuals emerge.

Given these features, it becomes obvious that the question: “How many cockroaches hatch from one cockroach egg?” is not complicated. One egg - one cockroach, that's the correct answer.

Ootecae come in different sizes. It all depends on the type of particular insect. On average, it is 8-12 mm long and 4-6 mm wide. The eggs in it are “packed” into tight 4 rows - two in height and the same in width. Most often, such a capsule protrudes slightly from the female’s abdomen and creates the appearance that she is “pregnant.” Some species (black cockroach) leave their “bag” to the mercy of fate. Other (Madagascar) representatives of this group of insects carry clutches constantly in the abdomen.

Over the course of her entire life, the female lays on average up to 4-5 oothecae. Sometimes this figure rises to 9, and the total number of young representatives of the genus is 250 individuals.

The process of “birth” of cockroaches

If how cockroaches hatch from an egg remains less clear, then the question of the timing of this process remains open. The fact is that a lot depends on environmental conditions. Thus, a new generation of insects is born most quickly at high temperatures (+30 o C) and humidity levels. At the same time, when the temperature regime changes to +15 o C and below, a slowdown in metabolic processes is observed, and the “birth” of offspring is postponed.

For those who don't know how long it takes for cockroach eggs to hatch, the average answer is 30-75 days. It all depends on the specific type of insect and the conditions in which small individuals develop.

It is also important to know that absolutely all types of pests lay eggs. Sometimes when observing a female Madagascar cockroach, you may mistakenly think that she is literally “giving birth” to her young as they emerge from her abdomen. However, it is not. The female simply lays eggs and stores them in a soft ootheca inside her body. When they hatch, the abdomen opens and new individuals emerge.

When “born,” the larvae are small in size (several millimeters) and have an almost transparent outer shell. Over time, chitin forms on the surface of their body, which darkens and gives the insects the corresponding color.

Features of the appearance of larvae

Quite interesting is the fact that some pests demonstrate a certain maternal instinct towards their offspring. When cockroaches hatch from the eggs of a Madagascan representative, they crawl under the mother’s abdomen and remain under her direct protection for some time. The female hisses and makes threatening lunges when potential danger approaches. However, such care is only enough for 1 day.

Classic Prussians practically do not care for their young. The offspring simply stays near the female for a few more hours, after which they scatter to secluded corners.

One of the interesting exceptions remains the species of relict cockroaches. In their case, after the “birth” of young individuals, they are looked after and provided with food. Upon reaching a certain degree of maturity, new members of society take their assigned place in the hierarchy of the colony. In this case, it is somewhat reminiscent of a termite mound with different ranks and its own complex hierarchy.

Where do females hide their eggs?

In order to effectively combat pests, a person should know where, most likely, the female will leave her clutch. She mainly chooses secluded, inaccessible places where her offspring will not be disturbed.

These are:

Knowing the location of the eggs, it is possible to do better. If even a hint of unwanted guests appears, it is worth taking action. Fortunately, at the moment there are quite a lot of different ways to destroy this type of insect.

And this is what the process of “birthing” cockroaches into the world looks like: