Cockroach Life Cycle Quiz

Study Notes

Cockroach Life Cycle

The word cockroach comes from the Spanish word "cucaracha," meaning "crazy bug."
There are approximately 4,000 cockroach species worldwide.
About 50-60 cockroach species live in the United States.
Cockroaches prefer warm, humid, dark areas.
A cockroach can survive without its head for a week.
German cockroaches are small, able to squeeze through cracks about 1/16th of an inch wide.
Cockroaches are omnivores, consuming a wide variety of materials, including human food, paper, wood, leather, cigarette butts, toothpaste, coffee grounds, glue, soap, feces, fabric, shoes, paint, and even the glue on wallpaper, human hair, and fingernails.
The cockroach life cycle has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult.
Some cockroaches keep their eggs internally, while others carry the egg case (ootheca) until hatching.
The young cockroaches, called nymphs, are initially small and white, then turn brown as their exoskeletons harden.
Nymphs undergo several molting stages.
Each time a nymph molts, it gets larger, changes color, and resembles an adult more closely.
The nymph stage can last anywhere from a month and a half to several years, depending on the environment, the type of cockroach, and the prevalence of cockroach diseases and parasites.
In some cockroach species, the process of becoming an adult takes only a few weeks; however, in some, like the oriental cockroach, it takes one to two years.
Some cockroaches live for only a few months, while others live for more than two years.
A German cockroach can produce 300,000 more cockroaches in one year.
An American cockroach can produce approximately 800 new roaches annually.
The cockroach life cycle consists of an egg, nymph, and adult stage, with the nymph stage involving numerous molts. Typical lifespans vary, but can take anywhere from 6-7 weeks to 9-13 months.