Cockroach Pictures - Cockroach Facts

Don’t we all just love Cockroaches. Just to remind you what endearing creatures they are, we have included some cockroach pictures together with a few cockroach facts. In Thailand cockroaches seem to be everywhere, in the markets, restaurants and in our homes. The very sight of a cockroach fills us with horror and if we should find one in our own home we also feel shame and embarrassment especially if visitors are present. Nothing does more to tempt a good Buddhist’s resolve to follow the 1st of the Five Precepts ( that’s the one about not killing things) than the presence of a cockroach. So what’s so terrible about the cockroach or do humans give them a bad deal. We decided to take a closer look.

The first discovery we made is that Thais don’t eat cockroaches. This fact on its own should be enough to start alarm bells ringing when you think about some of the things that Thais do like to eat. Secondly, their very appearance does little to soften our hearts. Many people can’t even bring themselves to touch a cockroach. We share our homes, albeit unwillingly, with a variety of pests including Flies, Mosquitoes, Ants and even sometimes the occasional Rat but nothing does more to incite panic and disgust than an infestation of cockroaches. Movies such as Joe’s Apartment, which tried to give a Disney like appeal to the cockroach, have done little to reverse our opinion that cockroaches are dirty, smelly and disgusting.

Some Cockroach facts and figures gathered from the www

Cockroaches are members of the Blattaria family.
Common varieties are American, German, Asian and Oriental Cockroaches
Cockroaches have been around for about 350 million years. (They must be doing something right)
There are more than 4000 species of Cockroach. ( fortunately not all of them in Thailand)
Cockroaches can live up to 4 years.
Cockroaches can live without a head for up to 1 month.
Cockroaches can survive without air for up to 45 minutes
Cockroaches can survive under water for up to 30 minutes.
Cockroaches could survive a nuclear war, being far more resistant to radiation than humans. (They also seem to thrive on pollution)
Cockroaches can run at up to 3km per hour. (Just try catching one).
Female cockroaches can remain pregnant for life after mating just once.
Male cockroaches make a hissing sound when courting.
Female cockroaches prefer to mate with the least dominant males as they are not so aggressive in their love making.
Cockroaches mate facing away from each other. ( and who could blame them)