COCKR OACH

1.4
aches are brown or black bodied
, . .,0 .
cocru secta of Phylu m Arthro poda aruma ·
ls th a t are in c Iu d e d m
8 'gh
c1ass In · n t yellow red d green coloured
• tr . · an
ches have also been report ed 10 opical region s Th ·
cockfOa · eir size ranges
. rn 1.~ inches to 3 inches (0.6-7 .6 cm) and ha 1
tro ve ong antenn a legs and
flat ~'\.iens ion of the upper body wall that concea ls h d ,
. d amp places throug h t th
. ores th a t live m ea . They are
tumal omruv ou e world They
nOC e reside nts of huma n homes and thus are . ·
ha ve becom senou s pests and
.
vectors of severa l diseas es.

7.4.1 Morp holog y

n1e adults of the comm on specie s of cockro ach, Periplaneta americana
are about 34-53 mm long with wings that extend beyon d the tip of the
abdomen in males . The body of the cockro ach is segm ented and divisible
into three distin ct region s - head , thorax and abdom en (Figure 7.14) .
The entire body is covere d by a hard chitin ous exoskeleton (brown in
colour). In each segme nt, exosk eleton has harden ed plates called sclerit es
(tergites dorsal ly and sterni tes ventra lly) that are joined to each other by
a thin and flexibl e articu lar memb rane (arthrodial memb rane}.

Filifor m antenn ae
Comp ound eye

Prono tum - -1-- -

Tegmin a
Mesot horax
Protho racic leg
Metath orax

Mesot horaci c leg

Me tathor acic leg

~ - ---.r--Anal cerci

}..[Link] feature s of cockro ach

Figure 7.14 E
 I n ·~h..ipl' ,uid Iles a nt eriorly a t righ t an rJ -. '
I 1e.1d Is l rl ai if.!t1 I•1r
. ts forn wrl by the fus ion of six seg ges to
I )(I\' ,..x ~-1 11 \ht
Joni.:1t u dltH1 I Jt ·. t • In ·i ll ctlre rllon s due to I1f.'[Link] le nec k (P· ment$ anr1
·
s hn,v s grr :11 1no!Jtll ·' ,.. • ·,, pair of com pou nd 1
' ~ulc 1)f.'n 15- eyes . A pair of gure th 7 -15)
nw h rud , ,IJ>- . L

emb rano us .sock ets lymg m fron t of ey . r rad likr

• •
' .
1 111se trou1 111
e:s Ant
L rs
recep o that help in mon itori ng Lhe envu·onmen·t ennct,,
.u 1tc1111 , e •
havt' sensory d b ·u-s· apne ndao es fann ing AI
I l e hca e, ,_ t' bitin g anct
ch . . llertor
g of a labru ni (u ewtng lyPe uf
i-- •
el)(1 o t
i Tl mou lhpa rts cons istin
th 1
n~ou ~arts . e. · of maxillae and a labi um (lower
ol m andi bles. a pau lip) Appe r_LJpJ. a Pair
ngue (hyp o phar
. .th. · median fl 'b
lobe. acting as tO ynx) . hes W1 · 111 lhe ca . exi le
,c-ig ure7 .15b . V1ly enclos ct
the mou t har t
p· s .\,'-. ) . Tho raxc ons1 sls oflh reep art . e by
·. . 8 - Prolh
mes a l1101 ax. and meta thor ax. The head 1s conn ecleci Wlth lh orax.
shor1 e:,.iension of the prot hora x know n as the neck . orax b
Each Lhora ck se Y"
bear s a pair ol·walking · legs . Th fl · l · f ·
e u s parr o ~ gs anse · s from
. m P,rnent
esoth orax
and U1e seco nd pair from meta thor ax. Forewmg
. s (mes olhoracic) c ll
tegm ina are opaq ue dark and leath ery and cove r . a ect
the hmd wings when at
rest. The hind wings are tran spar ent, mem bran ous
and are used in 11ight.
The abdomen in both male s and fem ales cons ists
of 10 segments . In
females. the 7 111 ster num is boat shap ed and toge
ther with the 8lh and 9lh
sterna form s a broo d or genital pouc h who se ante rior
part cont ains female
gonopore , spen nath ecal pores and colla teral glands.
lri male s. geni tal pouch
or cham ber lies at the hind end of abdo men bou nded
dors ally by 9 th and
10th terga and ventrally by the 91h stern um. It cont ains
dors al anu s. ventral
male genital pore and gonapophysis. Males bear a
pair of shor t, thread-
like anal style s which are abse nt in females. In bolh
sexe s, the l 0 11i segment
bear s a pair of join ted filamentous stru ctur es called
anal cerci.

Ocell us
Comp ound eye

Q
u Labr um
fe1o ~ing
Incis ing
Man dible regio n
\J
•

Hypo phar ynx

0
Man dible

Maxilla

Man dible

(a) Max illa

Labium Maxilla
(b)
Figure 7. 15 Head region of cock roac h : (a) part
s of head region (b) mou u ~art s
1
 113
,AJ1atomy
7.4. 2 S11 llv,1 ry J.U.i nrt
a.Un1entaI}' canuJ p N'sen t in Uw hc)( lv t·
111e .1 dt>d into [Link] region s : foreg, l I . .<tV1t v
I" di"' 7 16) . lll ld g111 S ull vary
. d 1undgn t (Figure . . The mo11th u .>
I t>n ~ r<' '-l<' rvotr
,i fl short tubula r ph a ry nx . k nctt
11 11 0 a ng lo a (ksoph ai,.tu ~
trfOW tubula r passage called oes uph
tl• " 111 turn opens int o a sac like st agus.
f hl~ - - ruct\lre Crop
- A croP us~d tor storing of food 'T'1....
cj\Jjc-u · 111 e rrop
-t'-']o,'-'-ed by gtzzard or proven trtculu s · It Ilas
t" UJ Gta a rd
· uter Iavrr of thick circula r muse)es anct..
.
,u1 o · .
· "'' tnner
1, cuticle formin g six highlv chiU nous He pa llr c•,1pc•a <_
u u~ . J

ptate called teeth. G~d h~lps in grtndin g the I

Mesente ron ~ •
·)
taod particl~s- The entire toregu t is lined by or uuctgut _ ---
cuticle . A nng of 6 -8 blind tubule s called Malpighia n ' r '-;---
hepatic or gastric raecae is presen t at the tubules ~ ·
...,
junction of foregu t and midgu t , which secrete
Ileum - -~
·digestive juice. At the jun ction of midgu t and
hindgut is presen t anothe r ring of 100 -lS0 Colon - - ~
vellow coloured thin filame ntous Malpighian
tubules . They help in remov al of excretory Figure 7 .16 Aliment ary canal of cockroa ch
products from haemo lymph. The hindgu t is
broader than midgu t and is differentiated into
ileum. colon and rectum . The rectum opens ·:'.Hlll"--t. -- - Ante rior aorta
out through anus .
Blood vascul ar system of cockro ach is an
open type (Figure 7. 17). Blood vessels are
~ -+-- _,,7 Alary muscles
poorly develo p ed and op en in t o s p ace
(haemocoel). Viscer al organs located in the
haemocoel are bathed in blood (haemolymph) .
The haemo lymph is compo sed of colourl ess
plasma and haemo cytes. Heart of [Link]
consists of elonga ted muscu lar tube lying
along mid dorsal line of thorax and abdom en.
It is differentiated into funnel shaped chamb ers
With ostia on either side. Blood from sinuse s Chamb ers
enter heart throug h ostia and is pumpe d -;, of heart
anteriorly to sinuse s again.
The respir atory system consis ts of a
network of trache a, that open throug h 10 pairs
of small holes called s piracle s presen t on the
lateral side of the body. Thin branch ing tubes
(tracheal tubes subdiv ided into trache oles) Figure 7 . 17 0 Pe n ctrrulal ory system of rockroa 1

·
carry oxygen from the air to all the parts . The
 ope nlng oft he spu ad es Is regu lat ed by the s phincters. Exc ha nge of gases
tclke plJ rt' a l t Ile 1rac heolcs by diffu s ion . '
F~xcrrtlon b perl onnecl by Ma lpighia n tubules. Each tubul e is lin ed
by gl,mdular and cilia ted ceJls. They a bsorb nitrogenou s wast e products
and co11vert Lhem into uric acid which is excreted out through the Wndgut.
Therefore. lhis insec t is called uricotelic . In ad dition , th e fat body.
nephrocytes and urecose glands a lso help in excretion.
The ne rvous system of cockroach co ns iSt s of a series of fu sed,
segmenlally arranged gan,eJia joined by paired longitudinaJ connectives
cm the ventral side. Three ganglia Lie in the thorax. and six in the abdomen.
The ne1Yous system of cockroach is spread th rou~ho~ t th e body. The
head holds a bit of a nervous system while the reS t is Situa ted a long the
ventral (bell_v-side) part of its body. So, now you understand th at if the
head of a cockroac h is cut off, [Link] still live for as long as one week. In
the head region. the brain is represented by supra-oesophageal ganglion
which supplies nerves to antennae and compound eyes . In cockroach,
the sense organs are antennae . eyes, maxillary palps. labial palps . anal
cerci. etc. The compound eyes are situated at the dorsal s urface of the
head. E ac h eye consists of a bout 2000 hexagona l omm atidia
(sing.: ommatidium) . With the help of several ommatidia, a cockroach can
receive several images of an object. This kind of vision is known as mosaic
vision with more sensitivity bu t less resolution , being common during
night (hence called nocturnal vision) .
Cockroach es are dioecious and both sexes have well developed
reproductive orga ns (Figure 7 . 18). Male reproductive system consists of ,
a pair of testes one lying on each la teral sid e in the 4 Lh -6 111 abdominal
segments. From each testis arises a thin vas deferens. which opens into
ejaculatory duct through seminal vesicle. The ejaculatory du ct opens into
male gonopore situ a ted ventral to anus . A ch aracteristic mushroom -
shaped gland is present in the 6 th - 7 th abdominal segments which functions
as an accessory reproductive gland . The external genitalia are represented
by male gonapophysis or phallomere (chitinous asymmetrical structures,
surrounding the male gonopore) . Th e sperms are s tored in the seminal
vesicles and are glu e d togeth e r in . t h e fo rm of bundles called
spermatophores which are disch arged during cop ulation. The fe male
reproductive sysytem consists of two large ovaries, lying laterally in the
2 □d __ 6 a bdominal segments . Each ovary is fo rmed of a group of eight
th

ov~nan tubules or ovarioles . containin g a ch ain of develop ing ova.

OVI~ucts o_f ea ch ovary unHe into a s ingle median ovid uct (also called
vagma) ~ h1ch 0 ~ens in to the ~enital ch amber. A p air of spermatheca is
1
present m the 6 segm ent which open s in to the genital chamber.
Sperms are trans ferred through s permatophores. Their fertilised eggs
are encased in caps ules called oothecae. Ootheca is a dark reddish to
blackish brown cap s ule. a bo u t 3/8" (8 mm) lon g. They are dropped or
 Tr <, t li-,

_ Pll a ll k g la nd
S rn..u l lu bu l e'-4
Lo n g tu bu le s

--- Se mi na l ve sicle
Va s d efer e ns

- -Ej ac ul a to ry du ct
- - - Ri gh t ph a llo
me re
Ve nt ra l ph all om e re
s
~ - - - An a l ce rc u
Ca u d a l s ty le
Ps eu do pe n is
T itilla lo r (a)

Ov id uc t
Sp er m at he ca Co m m on ov id uc t
or va gin a

0 ===--- Colla te ria l gl an ds

.0
Ge n ita l ch am be r 1Genital
I· I' po uc h
IS Ve st ib ul um
d l go na po ph ys es (b)
female
,. I uc tiv e sy ste m of co ck ro ac h : (a) m al e (b)
Fi gu re 7 .1 8 Re pr od
i1 lative
rf ac e, us ua lly in a cr ac k or crevice of high re
d glued to a su ita bl e su av er ag e, fe m al es pr od uc e 9- 10
so ur ce . O n an
e hu m id ity near a food . Th e de ve lo pm en t of P. an1ericru1a
ng 14 -1 6 eg gs
e oothecae. ea ch co nt ai ni e is de ve lo pm en t th ro ug h ny m ph
al
m ea ni ng th er
1( is pa ur om et ab ol ou s, ad ul ts . Th e ny m ph grow
s by
ok ve ry m uc h lik e
1. stage . Th e ny m ph s lo ad ul t fo rm . Th e ne xt to la st nyn1phal
to re ac h th e
i mouJting ab ou t 13 tim es ac he s ha ve w in gs .
st age has Wing pa ds bu t on ly ad ul t co ck ro
f
e w ild an d ar e of no ec onomic importance.
he s ar
M ~y species of co ck ro ac an ha bi ta t. Th ey ar e pe st s beca us e
an d ar ou nd hu m
A few species thrive in th ei r sn1elly ex cr eta. They
ca n
nt am in at e it w ith
lhey destroy food an d co by co nt am in at in g food mat
erial.
ba ct er ia J di se as es
transmit a vartety of