🪳 COCKROACH
🪳 Classification
1. Cockroaches are brown or black-bodied animals.
2. They are included in the classInsectaof thePhylumArthropoda.
3. B
right yellow, red, and green-coloured cockroaches are also reported in tropical
regions.
4. Their size ranges from¼ inch to 3 inches (0.6–7.6cm).
5. T
hey havelong antennae,legs, and aflat extensionof the upper body wallthat
conceals the head.
6. Cockroaches arenocturnal omnivores.
7. They live indamp places throughout the world.
8. They have becomeresidents of human homes.
9. Thus, they are consideredserious pestsandvectorsof several diseases.
Morphology
10.The adults of the common species of cockroach,Periplanetaamericana, are about
34–53 mm long.
11.In males, thewings extend beyond the tip of the abdomen.
12.The body of the cockroach issegmented.
13.It is divisible intothree distinct regions – head,thorax, and abdomen.
14.The entire body is covered by ahard chitinous exoskeleton(brown in colour).
15.In each segment, the exoskeleton hashardened platescalledsclerites.
16.Tergitesare the dorsal plates, andsternitesarethe ventral plates.
17.These plates are joined to each other by athin and flexible articular membrane
called thearthrodial membrane.
🪳 COCKROACH
Head
18.The head istriangular in shape.
19.It liesanteriorly at right angles to the longitudinalbody axis.
20.The head is formed by thefusion of six segments.
21.It showsgreat mobility in all directionsdue to theflexible neck.
22.Thehead capsulebears apair of compound eyes.
23.Apair of thread-like antennaearises frommembranoussocketslying in front of
the eyes.
24.Theantennae have sensory receptorsthat help inmonitoringthe environment.
25.Theanterior endof the head bearsappendages formingbiting and chewing type
of mouthparts.
Mouthparts
26.Themouthpartsconsist of:
(a) alabrum (upper lip),
(b) apair of mandibles,
(c) apair of maxillae, and
(d) alabium (lower lip).
27.Amedian flexible lobeacts as atongueand is calledthehypopharynx.
28.The hypopharynx lieswithin the cavity enclosed bythe mouthparts.
Thorax
29.Thethoraxconsists ofthree parts – prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax.
🪳 COCKROACH
30.Theheadis connected with thethoraxby ashort extension of the prothorax,
known as theneck.
31.Each thoracic segment bearsa pair of walking legs.
32.Thefirst pair of wingsarises from themesothorax, and thesecond pairfrom the
metathorax.
33.Theforewings (mesothoracic)are calledtegmina.
34.Tegminaareopaque, dark, and leathery, andcoverthe hind wings when at rest.
35.Thehind wingsaretransparent, membranous, and areused in flight.
Abdomen
36.Theabdomenin both males and females consists of10 segments.
37.Infemales, the7th sternumisboat-shaped.
38.The7th sternum, along with the8th and 9th sterna,forms abrood or genital
pouch.
39.Theanterior partof this pouch contains thefemalegonopore,spermathecal
pores, andcollateral glands.
40.Inmales, thegenital pouch or chamberlies at thehind end of the abdomen.
41.It isbounded dorsally by the 9th and 10th terga,andventrally by the 9th
sternum.
42.It contains thedorsal anus,ventral male genitalpore, andgonapophysis.
43.Malesbear apair of short, thread-like anal styles,which areabsent in females.
44.In both sexes, the10th segment bears a pair of jointedfilamentous structures
calledanal cerci.
🧠 ANATOMY
🪳 COCKROACH
🍽️ Digestive System
1. T
healimentary canalpresent in the body cavity is divided into three regions —
foregut, midgut, and hindgut.
2. T
hemouthopens into a short tubularpharynx, leading to a narrow tubular passage
calledoesophagus.
3. T
heoesophagusopens into a sac-like structure calledthecrop, used forstoring
food.
4. Thecropis followed by thegizzard or proventriculus.
5. T
hegizzardhas anouter layer of thick circular musclesand aninner thick
cuticleforming six highly chitinous plates calledteeth.
6. Thegizzard helps in grinding food particles.
7. Theentire foregutislined by cuticle.
8. A
ring of 6–8 blind tubulescalledhepatic or gastriccaecais present at the
junction of foregut and midgut, andsecretes digestivejuice.
9. A
t thejunction of midgut and hindgut, another ringof100–150 yellow, thin
filamentous Malpighian tubulesis present.
10.Malpighian tubuleshelp inremoval of excretory productsfrom haemolymph.
11.Thehindgutis broader than the midgut and isdifferentiatedinto ileum, colon, and
rectum.
12.Therectumopens out through theanus.
❤️ Circulatory System
13.Theblood vascular systemof cockroach is of theopentype.
14.Blood vesselsarepoorly developedand open into spacescalledhaemocoel.
15.Visceral organslocated in the haemocoel arebathedin blood (haemolymph).
🪳 COCKROACH
16.Thehaemolymphis composed ofcolourless plasma and haemocytes.
17.Theheartof cockroach consists of anelongated muscular tubelying along the
mid-dorsal line of thorax and abdomen.
18.It isdifferentiated into funnel-shaped chamberswithostiaon either side.
19.Blood from sinusesenters the heart through the ostia and ispumped anteriorlyto
the sinuses again.
🌬️ Respiratory System
20.Therespiratory systemconsists of anetwork of tracheaethat open through10
pairs of small holes called spiraclespresent on thelateral sides of the body.
21.Thin branching tubes (tracheal tubes subdivided into tracheoles)carryoxygen
from air to all partsof the body.
22.Theopenings of spiraclesareregulated by sphincters.
23.Exchange of gasestakes place at thetracheoles bydiffusion.
💩 Excretory System
24.Excretionis performed byMalpighian tubules.
25.Each Malpighian tubule islined by glandular and ciliatedcells.
26.Theyabsorb nitrogenous waste productsandconvertthem into uric acid, which
isexcreted through the hindgut.
27.Therefore, cockroach is calleduricotelic.
28.In addition, thefat body, nephrocytes, and uricoseglandsalsohelp in excretion.
⚡ Nervous System
🪳 COCKROACH
29.Thenervous systemof cockroach consists of aseries of fused, segmentally
arranged gangliajoined bypaired longitudinal connectiveson theventral side.
30.Three ganglialie in thethorax, andsixin theabdomen.
31.The nervous system isspread throughout the body.
32.Thehead holds only a small partof the nervous system, whilethe rest lies along
the ventral (belly-side) part.
33.Because of this,even if the head of a cockroach iscut off, it cansurvive for up
to one week.
34.In thehead region, the brain is represented by thesupra-oesophageal ganglion,
whichsupplies nerves to antennae and compound eyes.
35.Thesense organsin cockroach areantennae, eyes,maxillary palps, labial palps,
and anal cerci.
36.Thecompound eyesare situated on thedorsal surfaceof the head.
37.Each eye consists of about2000 hexagonal ommatidia(singular: ommatidium).
38.With the help of several ommatidia, a cockroach canreceive many images of one
object.
39.This type of vision is calledmosaic vision, whichhashigh sensitivity but low
resolution, and iscommon at night (nocturnal vision).
🧬 Reproductive System
Male Reproductive System
40.Cockroaches aredioecious(sexes separate), and bothhavewell-developed
reproductive organs.
41.Themale reproductive systemconsists of apair oftestes, one on each lateral
side in the4th–6th abdominal segments.
42.From each testis arises athin vas deferens, whichopens into the ejaculatory
duct through a seminal vesicle.
🪳 COCKROACH
43.Theejaculatory ductopens into themale gonoporesituatedventral to the anus.
44.Amushroom-shaped glandis present in the6th–7th abdominal segmentsand
acts as anaccessory reproductive gland.
45.Theexternal genitaliaare represented bymale gonapophysesor phallomeres—
chitinous, asymmetrical structures surrounding the male gonopore.
46.Spermsarestored in the seminal vesiclesand areglued together in bundles
calledspermatophores, which aredischarged during copulation.
Female Reproductive System
47.Thefemale reproductive systemconsists oftwo large ovaries, lying laterally in the
2nd–6th abdominal segments.
48.Each ovary is formed of agroup of eight ovarian tubules(ovarioles), containing a
chain of developing ova.
49.Theoviductsfrom each ovary unite into asingle medianoviduct (vagina), which
opens into thegenital chamber.
50.Apair of spermathecaeis present in the6th segment,which opens into the genital
chamber.
51.Sperms are transferred through spermatophores.
52.Thefertilised eggsareencased in capsulescalledoothecae.
53.Theoothecaisdark reddish to blackish brown, about3/8 inch (8 mm) long.
54.They aredropped or glued to a suitable surface, usuallyincracks or crevicesof
high humidity near food.
55.On average,females produce 9–10 oothecae, each containing14–16 eggs.
56.Thedevelopment ofPeriplaneta americanaispaurometabolous,meaning
development through nymphal stages.
57.Thenymphs look very similar to adults.
58.Thenymph grows by moulting about 13 timesto reachtheadult form.
59.Thesecond-to-last nymphal stagehaswing pads, butonly adults have wings.
🪳 COCKROACH
💰 Economic Importance
60.Many species of cockroaches arewildandhave no knowneconomic importance.
61.A few specieslive around human habitats.
62.These cockroaches arepests, as theyspoil foodandcontaminate it with smelly
excreta.
63.They cantransmit various bacterial diseasesbycontaminatingfood material.