The other night I was hanging out with friends at an apartment when I heard a loud shriek from the kitchen. Naturally, as a concerned friend, I rushed over to see what was going on. Expecting a knife-related injury or emergency, I was amused to discover the source of such traumatic noises to be a small cluster of dead cockroaches in the corner. Fortunately, my semester in Insect Biology had prepared me well to save the day as I walked over and calmly picked up the dead roaches. In need of a couple more specimens for my insect collection, I carefully examined the individuals. Unfortunately, one was missing an antennae while the other was missing a couple legs. Disappointed, I casually tossed the two roaches in the trash and turned around to somewhat disgusted looks from my friends.
In middle of my justification for getting so excited about the dead insects, one of my classmates suggested that there were probably many more cockroaches living inside the apartment. Much to the dismay of my tenant friend, he claimed he had just read an article about the social nature of cockroaches and how they communicate with each other to infest homes. Eventually, the conversation shifted back to regular shenanigans but I tucked away that information for later.
A few days later, I remembered thinking that cockroaches were more of a “lone wolf” solitary type of insect and did some research on the “social cockroach” theory from the other night. With a quick Google search, I discovered that cockroaches are indeed social insects that can recognize members of their own families and actually live within multigenerational families (BBC). In fact, I was surprised to learn that a cockroach can actually suffer from being alone by a condition known as “isolation syndrome” (BBC). Research has found that isolated young cockroaches may struggle to join a community and find mates without contact with other members of its species. As I learned to adjust my perception of cockroaches, I continue to find pleasure in a never-ending education in the amazing world of insects.
