How Old Is the Cockroach Species?
WouterThe life cycle of a cockroach varies depending on the species. Adult males and females are approximately the same size, with the female being about a quarter of an inch longer than the male. Adult males have wings covering seventy-five percent of their abdomen, and the female lacks wings, except for a pair of small wing pads. The young nymphs are reddish brown and darken in color as they advance through the stages of their life cycle. In total, a female produces around 280 eggs in her lifetime.
The adult female carries her egg cases for about three months or so until it is ready to hatch. A single egg case contains thirty to forty young, and development from nymph to adult takes around three months. The three-lined cockroach, which is native to the Mediterranean, lives in leaf litter and has been found in irrigated landscapes. The species is primarily found in the San Francisco Bay area and central and northern coastal California.
Cockroaches have evolved from very primitive insects that date back to the Carboniferous period (280 million years ago). They are omnivorous, meaning that they feed on anything with nutritive value. As such, they require human food, shelter, and water to survive. The most common cockroach species in homes and commercial establishments is the German cockroach.
