Cockroaches

     Cockroaches are interesting bugs.  They live in various places. Some people think cockroaches look scary, however other people think they look amazing.  Cockroaches love food!  Like many creatures cockroaches lay eggs.  Some of them are kept as pets! Usually people think of these bugs as pests. Can you guess how many types of cockroaches are really pests?  

      Cockroaches live in areas where it is heated, dark, and moist.  A lot of them live in walls because inside the walls it is very warm and dark.  Places that have food already available is where they'll want to be. We don't see cockroaches often because they hide in these dark, enclosed spaces. However, some people think they are handsome insects.

American cockroach

     Cockroaches look really neat!  They possess two tiny compound eyes and six legs. Compound eyes are eyes that have numerous  mirror-like lenses that help the insect see in every direction.  Cockroaches are several colors.  In tropical places cockroaches can be red, yellow, and green.  Being bright colors helps them blend in with their environment.  Black and brown are the color of the cockroaches in other areas.  Like turtles cockroaches have a hard shell on their back to help protect them from predators.  The hard shell helps make them hard to kill.  Normally, cockroaches are about 15 millimeters (almost a half an inch) long.  They can grow up to be about an inch long.  Some roaches have wings.  They don't only look neat they eat heaps of food.
     Cockroaches eat a ton! But, they can survive without eating for at least a month.  That is probably why they eat a lot.   Cockroaches like to eat almost everything: cheese, sweets, meat, grease, starch, you name it.  They will eat household items like wood, leather, and book bindings.  Plants and vegetables are another thing they like to eat.  Cockroaches love to eat dead things. Eating is not the only thing they do; like every other creature they reproduce.

nymphs= smallest bugs with stripes on their backs

     Like every other animal on earth cockroaches must reproduce themselves.  Their offspring are called nymphs (nimfs).  Nymphs are born in egg-cases the size of a bean you'd find in chilly.  The egg-cases hold 16 to 50 nymphs.  The nymphs grow up to be adults and lay eggs of their own.  At this rate areas where they live could quickly become infested.

Oriental cockroach

Asian cockroach

    Only Four kinds of cockroaches are pests: the American cockroach, German cockroach, Asian cockroach, and the oriental cockroach are the four  household pests. They'll eat your food and destroy your walls and belongings that are made from natural materials.  They will leave a smelly odor everywhere they go.  Worst of all cockroaches can give you allergies, diseases, and asthma.  Some of the germs that they carry can kill you especially if you are unhealthy already.

American cockroach

     There are 4,000 species of cockroaches!  It's amazing that only 4 kinds of cockroaches are pests.    Most cockroaches live away from people and don't bother us. A small number of Madagascan hissing cockroaches are even pets!  People keep them as pets because the roach will eat leftover food, dead animals, and dead plants.  Most cockroaches live in places where they never encounter people.

German cockroach

      Don't you just love cockroaches?  Encountering these bugs is a little rare because they like to hide.  If you see one take a moment and look at how neat-looking they are.  Once you are done you should keep it as a pet because unlike some other pets it will eat almost anything.  Only keep it if it isn't a pest.  After the cockroach reproduces you can let it go out in the wild again.