cockroach
(also known as ‘roach’; plural: ‘cockroaches‘; pronunciation: the first ‘c’ and the second ‘c’ with ‘k’ are said with a ‘k’ sound as in “king”, and the last letters ‘ch’ rhyme with the letters ‘ch’ in “church”)
cockroaches
a kind of insect – medium-sized to large with a shiny flattened oval-shaped body, black or brown in colour; two long slender antennae, spiny legs and transparent wings; feeds on anything – decaying or fresh animal and vegetable matter, and things like the gum or glue on books, pastes, kitchen garbage, etc.; sizes range from 2-3 mm to 80 mm, and weight also rages from a few mg to 33 grams; live for 1-3 years; 4,000 species (kinds) found all over the world
female ~~ female
baby ~~ nymph
group ~~ intrusion
voice (call) ~~ hiss, chirp (only very few kinds)
Some of the common names of the ‘roaches’ are: American cockroach, oriental cockroach, Asian cockroach, German cockroach, Florida woods cockroach, Madagascar hissing cockroach (also called Madagascan hissing beetle), brown cockroach, Australian cockroach, Surinam cockroach, giant burrowing cockroach, dusty cockroach People and other animals are lucky in a way for the simple reason that, of the 4,000 species, only 30 species (kinds) live near human settlements, and out of the 30 species only 4 kinds are well known pests! It would be beyond anybody’s imagination of what would happen if most of them were pests and lived near humans!! Cockroaches are very difficult to control because they can live for months without food, water and air. And the egg cases, called ‘ootheca’ (singular) and ‘oothecae‘ (plural), in which the females carry their eggs are well protected. The structure of the cockroach’s leg, with spines and joints, has been used as an inspiration for constructing the modern robot legs. It has been found out that cockroaches are capable of making group decisions which helps them to survive better than other insects. (Group decisions in matters of where to get food, how to get there and how to live in ‘intrusions’.) The world’s heaviest cockroach is the wingless Australian rhinoceros cockroach which is 33.5 grams in weight, 80 mm in length, and lives for more than 10 years which feature makes it the longest lived of all the insects! The giant Madagascan hissing cockroach is a popular insect pet. The hissing it makes is its breathing activity.
as game as a cockroach (‘game’ = cunning, very careful approach at doing something; high in spirit; ready and willing to take a challenge) 2. hopping like a roach in a skillet (‘skillet’ = a small saucepan) 3. a cockroach = [used to refer to a mean or nasty person; a term used as an insult] If you are interested in knowing more about cockroaches, please click here. BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language.
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Cockroaches are a very persistent pest. They are believed to have been in existence for about 250 million years, virtually without any physical changes!
a cockroach
a cockroach tough egg case
a cockroach leg
Madagascan hissing roach
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About the Author:BC Kumar
