Cockroach History

Where do roaches come from?

The cockroach, having been present on the planet amongst the first insects, currently has no proven origin. Scientist know that most roaches have come from the tropical regions all over the world and adapted to colder conditions - having over 300milion years to do so. The roach is suspected to have come onto the scene around 355 million years ago with the earliest roach-like fossil. They call this specimen a roachid, or the blattopteran. The fossil doesn’t exactly mimic todays roach with it being remarkably close to its cousin in evolution, the praying mantis, which does share features in this fossil.

The distribution of cockroaches is worldwide. They have evolved to live alongside humans and they do it well. The cockroach, like most insects, gained passports to any country through the aid of man. During the early centuries through trade routes, the Roach species became an invasive species on every continent humans inhabited. They are more prevalent in the tropical regions, but they can survive anywhere humans have established homes and food sources.

The Cockroach has been on the planet for approximately 250 to 300 million years. This dates back to as early as the Carboniferous times. Theories have speculated that the ancient ancestor of the cockroach predates the dinosaurs. During this insect order’s time on Earth, it has changed very little, keeping its features primitive or ancient like previous generations. It was said that the cockroach was amongst the first great expansion of the insect species.

The roaches appear to have achieved the optimum body form and other key features early in their evolution history. The theory is that the cockroach evolved the feature to fold their wings over their body to allow them the vital protect they needed. The traits gave the roach the ability to hide from predators and to escape various dangers to survive extinction where most insects were not successful.

Scientists also state that the development of the ootheca or egg sac carried by the female cockroach gave critical parental care and protection to sustain numerous generations allowing the species to survive countless millennia. Cockroaches have been clearly traced back to ancestral fossils that have remarkably almost the same morphology as current day roaches. Roaches have the innate ability to adapt to any situational condition that arises.

Another helpful adaptation is that cockroaches harbor a wide variety of symbionts in their gut as well as fat bodies. Scientific theories make the association that the microbes present have played a large role in the adaptation, evolution, and survival of cockroach species. The hindguts of most cockroaches, apart from one family of five species that have been examined, harbor a wide variety of microbes, including ciliates, amoebae, flagellates, and various prokaryotes. These microbial organisms all are believed to play a major role in digestion and the efficiency of the roach.

Why Do We Call Them Cockroaches?

The term “blatta” is derived from several branches of Greek languages for cockroach. Cockroaches are featured in literature and songs throughout history.

The Cockroach is featured in the "La Cucaracha" meaning "The Cockroach" that is a traditional Spanish  folk-corrido or song that became popular in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. The song is about the concern of a cockroach that has lost one of its six legs and is struggling to walk with the remaining five.

source: domyownpestcontrol.com