Another name, Blattoptera, is also sometimes used to refer to extinct cockroach relatives. The current catalogue of world cockroach species uses the name Blattodea for the group. Historically, the name Blattaria was used largely interchangeably with the name Blattodea, but whilst Blattaria was used to refer to 'true' cockroaches exclusively, the Blattodea also includes the termites.
The scientific name derives from the Latin blatta, "an insect that shuns the light", which in classical Latin was applied not only to cockroaches, but also to mantids. The name " cockroach" comes from the Spanish word for cockroach, cucaracha, transformed by 1620s English folk etymology into "cock" and "roach". Currently, 4,600 species and over 460 genera are described worldwide. They are popularly depicted as dirty pests, although the majority of species are inoffensive and live in a wide range of habitats around the world.Ī 40- to 50-million-year-old cockroach in Baltic amber ( Eocene)Ĭockroaches are members of the Superorder Dictyoptera, which includes the termites and mantids, a group of insects once thought to be separate from cockroaches. Cockroaches have appeared in human culture since classical antiquity.
Some species, such as the gregarious German cockroach, have an elaborate social structure involving common shelter, social dependence, information transfer and kin recognition. Contrary to popular belief, extinct cockroach relatives ( Blattoptera) and 'roachoids' such as the Carboniferous Archimylacris and the Permian Apthoroblattina were not as large as the biggest modern species. Tropical cockroaches are often much larger than temperate species. They are common and hardy insects capable of tolerating a wide range of climates, from Arctic cold to tropical heat. Cockroaches are somewhat generalized insects lacking special adaptations (such as the sucking mouthparts of aphids and other true bugs) they have chewing mouthparts and are likely among the most primitive of living Neopteran insects. Those early ancestors, however, lacked the internal ovipositors of modern roaches. The cockroaches are an ancient group, with ancestors originating during the Carboniferous period, some 300-350 million years ago. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. A cockroach climbing up metal in Japan, 2018Ĭockroaches (or roaches ) are insects of the order Blattodea, which also includes termites.
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