Yes, you heard me right. Would the world be a better place without cockroaches at least the common pest species…? Or would some people be crying their eyes out if there weren’t any?
I started thinking about this question when a friend, who breeds very expensive predatory fishes, complained to me that there are almost no more “wild cockroaches” (by that he means the ones in our homes) that are not polluted by insecticides. This implies that we are doing a good job. He feeds his fish with cockroaches, and has now has become a cockroache breeder. It’s a strange world.
Personally, I am convinced pest controllers all over the world would be sad, because a main business opportunity would have been gone. But ok, there would be no more cockroach-related allergies and diseases, so the “Pest controllers’ blues” is a price worth to be paid for the sake of overall well-being.
And what would happen to Katsaridaphobia, the fear of cockroaches (or other pest fears)? What about all the beautiful species of cockroaches, like the domino roach (Therea petiveriana) or the glow-in-the-dark roaches of the genus Lucihormetica? Would we still see the emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa) nature’s “Rentokil” for the American cockroach?
I am sure only a few people know that there are many enthusiasts that keep cockroaches as pets. I have to admit that even I have bred a few species and found it quite enjoyable (Never any of the common pest species though!)
Maybe we could live without cockroaches. Maybe the world would be a cleaner place. No, let me refine this statement: our homes and cities would definitely be a cleaner place and our health would be a bit safer in the absence of cockroaches. Still, some people would be sad.
My suggestion (supposing I had a say in it): Get rid of the common household pests, such as American cockroach, German cockroach, oriental cockroach and whatever their names are, but spare the nicer looking ones… What do you think?
9 Comments
Yes, i would agree with your last statement. I had never seen a domino cockroach before – it looks really amazing. Anyone got a picture of a glow-in-the-dark cockroach? i would be interested to see that too!
Me too, and wondering that be some interesting topic for the people to be aware of all the types of cockroaches. I hadn’t seen any glow-in-the-dark type too. But for the rest of the domestic pests I rather cast a curse on them “Die, Die, Die”
Hi Brig,
Yes, actually there are some pictures on the web.
The sad thing is that in captivity these roaches lose their ability to glow.
Regards
Ben
That is very interesting about the glow in the dark cockroaches. But I still feel that they are not neccesary to have around.
Everything has its place and I guess even cockroaches should have a chance. I guess I would miss them if they were all gone
@Jamie: maybe not necessary to have around in your home, but they do a good job in nature, if at least only as foodsource for some other animals
Keith: I guess it’s the same for me, everyone deserves a fair chance, and obviously they have made excellent use of their opportunities. remaining almost unchanged over so many millions of years, shows we can learn from them in one way or the other
Well, the thing is, a lack of roaches WOULD upset nature in some way. Every living creature has a purpose, even if it doesn’t seem like a good thing to our eyes. Even criminals have a purpose, teaching us what is right, what is wrong and what will be done to you if you do the same crime, they set examples, and give people job oppertunities, as well as teach us the things we shouldn’t do. Roaches, of all kinds DO have a purpose…what’s REALLY going on here? WE have invaded THEIR territory, WE have spread them around, so we are to blame, not the pests. If anything, humans are the pest, not those we blame, rats, mice, birds, bats, roaches…we are responsible for them being here. We provide food, drinks, and habitats for them to live in, such as our sewers. WE are truely the ones responsible for the pests being here, so, in effect, it’s HUMANS who are the pests, not the other pests we try to blame.
Itm ay seem ackward, but it’s truthful once you look at it. Another thing to add, roaches do serve purposes in the wild (before humans came along, that is) cleaning up the rotting animal carcasses that were laying around, eating waste, and keeping the cirlce of life in check.
Yes, if they were to all suddenly die off, there may not be a big change…in the short run, it would be nice for poeple not to live with roaches, but, if in the wild areas, birds and other animals who are dependant on eating these insects would suddenly be deprived of a food source, throwing the food chain into chaos. it would NOT be good thing to do it on THAT great of a scale!
Yup, I agree with you. If we see it from that point, clearly humans must be considered pests. But then again, there is always some species that somehow manage to spread better than others. There are two basic evolutionary patterns; one is to specialize and become successful in a niche, the other is to become a generalist and manage to survive everywhere. The generalists often cause problems when they are spread to new territories.
By the way, I think “pest” cockroaches have specialized on humans. Should we become extinct somewhen, pest cockroaches would also struggle for survival. This is because our cities are largely free of natural predators, and our garbage is a fantastic food source. Out in nature, American, German and oriental roaches would have a much tougher time. I am often in the field, and wherever there is no human settlement, these cockroaches are nowhere to be found.
Furthermore, even if we wanted to (and I can assure you, at least I do not want cockroaches to go, what would I feed to my snakehead fishes otherwise), it would be impossible to extinguish cockroaches. They are in a way God’s perfect creature, because they survived pretty much everything, ever since they came to existence, and I am pretty sure that they will still be there long after humans have left the planet :J
One last thought. Since humans have come into existence, and even if we could consider ourselves as the real pests, we somehow have to deal with those pests who trouble our daily life. I really admire cockroaches, but then again, I do not want them in my home. I had food poisonings quite a few times, and it is not a nice experience.
Haha, even criminals have their place? Yeah, behind bars!
Maybe the cockroaches can stay with them?
gb