cockroach

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The name cockroach (also cockroach , English cockroach , Spanish cucaracha ) is used for a number of species of cockroaches in the Blattidae family . These types of cockroaches mostly live in human dwellings and are considered to be storage pests there .

This relates in particular to:

There are also some species less common in Europe that are also called that, and some similar-looking cockroaches that only occasionally get lost in buildings.

Way of life and distinction

In the temperate latitudes they are neozoa that were introduced from warmer regions and therefore live as cultural successors in human dwellings ( eusynanthropy ). All cockroaches live hidden, are predominantly active in the dark and avoid light. Since cockroaches live comparatively socially in large groups, a cockroach infestation is usually invasive. Roaches are consistently moving and are known for their exceptional speed.

Distinction

As cockroaches also be about Braunbandschabe ( Supella longipalpa ), brown cockroach ( Periplaneta brunnea ) and the Australian cockroach ( Periplaneta australasiae ) called.

The Lapland cockroach ( Ectobius lapponicus ), the wood cockroach ( Ectobius sylvestris ), the amber wood cockroach ( Ectobius vittiventris ) (none of which are domestic pests), the Turkestan cockroach ( Shelfordella lateralis , synonym Blatta lateralis , Shelfordella tartara ) are easily confused with the German cockroach. , English Red Runner , also known as the "chocolate cockroach", which is bred as a food animal for reptiles.

  • German cockroach

    12–15 mm

    ♀♂ brown with two dark vertical stripes on the chest; Wing covers cover the entire body and can even protrude a little

  • Oriental cockroach

    25–30 mm

    dark brown to black;
    ♀ wings underdeveloped,
    bedeckt about ¾ of the abdomen covered

  • American cockroach

    28–44 mm

    red-brown, with pale yellow area on the fore chest; Wings well developed (airworthy)

Harmful effect and control

After using insecticides in a hospital in East Timor

The German cockroach, the oriental cockroach and the American cockroach are omnivores that consume any organic material (such as textiles, leather and paper), preferring moist and soft materials, as well as rotting food. In addition, through their way of life they also transmit pathogenic germs such as Helicobacter pylori , salmonella and parasites such as Entamoeba histolytica and other intestinal parasites , worms such as dwarf threadworm , roundworm , whipworm and tapeworm .

In Central Europe, since the animals only spread infections, the generally good hygienic conditions make them a vector of diseases of no particular importance.

Feces , moulting and saliva residues can cause allergies , eczema and asthma . In a study of children with asthma in the United States, cockroach allergens were among the most common risk factors associated with the disease.

A cockroach infestation is usually extensive because the animals largely live in secret and are only discovered late. It affects at least an entire building throughout. The control is mainly carried out professionally with food poisons .

Cultural history

Cockroach races have been handed down since the 16th century.

In powder form, cockroaches were used at the beginning of the 20th century as a means against dropsy . The drug was named Tarakan powder ( Latin Pulvis taracanae ). The active ingredient was called antihydropin .

The cockroach became known through the Mexican song La Cucaracha , in which a general of the revolutionary era is denigrated as a drug-addicted cockroach. In the film Joe's Apartment - The Great Crawl , the action focuses on "talking cockroaches". In the movie Men in Black , the protagonist's opponent is an alien cockroach. In the episode Sandbox Love of the TV series The Last Witness , cockroach races are discussed. In the book " La Cucaracha or the hour of the cockroaches " by Daniel E. Weiss , a colony of highly intelligent cockroaches plays people against each other. In the 1988 horror film Nightmare on Elm Street 4 , the fourth part of the famous film series about the horror character Freddy Krueger , who wears a razor-glove , a girl named Debbie Stevens , played by actress Brooke Theiss , turns into a cockroach.

The story that cockroaches are particularly resistant to radioactive radiation is widespread. In the Cold War nuclear war scenarios, they were considered the last survivors. Like many modern sagas , this one is also untrue. It is true that cockroaches ( Periplaneta americana was tested ), like all insects, are far more resistant to radiation damage than humans. However, cockroaches are less resistant to other insects. The legend goes back to a misunderstood quote from the renowned American geneticist H. Bentley Glass from 1961, which developed a life of its own in a variant that was wrongly attributed to him.

literature

  • Jörg Hess, Regula Hess (illustrations): Secret lodgers . 4th edition, Reinhardt, Basel 1993, ISBN 3-7245-0795-X .
  • Hannes Sprado: gnawed, super-fast, indestructible. The fantastic life of the cockroaches . Ullstein Taschenbuch, 2012, ISBN 978-3-548-37413-0 .

Web links

Commons : Cockroaches (Blattodea)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: cockroach  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wiktionary: Cockroach  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

proof

  1. ↑ a b Blattidae. Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007, accessed July 3, 2007 .
  2. ↑ We live with cockroaches IVA-Magazin, Industrieverband Agrar, June 9, 2005
  3. ↑ A. Cloarec, C. Rivault, F. Fontaine, A. Le Guyader (1993): Cockroaches as carriers of bacteria in multi-family dwellings. Epidemiology & Infection 109 (3): 483-490. doi: 10.1017 / S0950268800050470
  4. ↑ Shigeyoshi Imamura, Masakazu Kita, Yoshio Yamaoka, Toshiro Yamamoto, Atsushi Ishimaru, Hideyuki Konishi, Naoki Wakabayashi, Shoji Mitsufuji, Takeshi Okanoue, Jiro Imanishi (2003): Vector Potential of Cockroaches for Helicobacter pylori Infection. American Journal of Gastroenterology 98 (7): 1500-1503. doi: 10.1016 / S0002-9270 (03) 00298-3
  5. ↑ Hossein Fathpour, Giti Emtiazi, Elham Ghasemi (2003): Cockroaches as Reservoirs and Vectors of Drug Resistant Salmonella spp. Iranian Biomedical Journal 7 (1): 35-38.
  6. ↑ YM Tatfeng, MU Usuanlele, A. Orukpe, AK Digban, M. Okodua, F. Oviasogie, AA Turay (2005): Mechanical transmission of pathogenic organisms: the role of cockroaches. Journal of Vector Borne Diseases 42: 129-134.
  7. ↑ Pennapa Chamavit, Panupong Sahaisook, Nunthawadee Niamnuy (2011): The majority of cockroaches from the Samutprakarn province of Thailand are carriers of parasitic organisms. Expermental and Clinical Sciences 10: 218-222. PMID 27857676
  8. ↑ M. Faulde, G. Hoffmann: Occurrence and prevention of vector-associated diseases in humans in Germany with consideration of zoonotic aspects. In: Bundesgesundheitsblatt 44 (2), 2001, pp. 116-136, doi: 10.1007 / s001030050422 .
  9. ↑ G.Liccardi, M.Cazzola, M.d'Amato, G.d'Amato (2000): Pets and cockroaches: two increasing causes of respiratory allergy in indoor environments. Characteristics of airways sensitization and prevention strategies. Respiratory Medicine 94 (11): 1109-1118. doi: 10.1053 / rmed.2000.0922
  10. ^ Peyton A. Eggleston, Luisa Karla Arruda (2001): Ecology and elimination of cockroaches and allergens in the home. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 107: 422-429. doi: 10.1067 / may 2001.113671
  11. ↑ David L. Rosenstreich, Peyton Eggleston, Meyer Kattan, Dean Baker, Raymond G. Slavin, Peter Gergen, Herman Mitchell, Kathleen McNiff-Mortimer, Henry Lynn, Dennis Ownby, Floyd Malveaux (National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study) (1997 ): The Role of Cockroach Allergy and Exposure to Cockroach Allergen in Causing Morbidity among Inner-City Children with Asthma. New England Journal of Medicine 336: 1356-1363. doi: 10.1056 / NEJM199705083361904
  12. ^ Ref. Sprado 2012; According to Die Unkaputtbare Küchenschabe , Kurier.at, April 11, 2012 (review of the book).
  13. ↑ Tarakan powder . In: Adolf Beythien, Ernst Dressler (Ed.): Merck's Lexicon of Goods for Trade, Industry and Commerce. 7th edition. Gloeckner, Leipzig 1920. (Reprint: Manuscriptum, Recklinghausen 1996. ISBN 3-933497-13-2 )
  14. ↑ Daniel Evan Weiss: La Cucaracha or The Hour of the Cockroaches. ISBN 3-442-09578-6 .
  15. ↑ New York nuclear target: A chance for cockroaches - DER SPIEGEL of October 20, 1980
  16. ^ Mary Berenbaum (2001): Rad Roaches. American Entomologist 47 (3): 132-133. doi: 10.1093 / ae / 47.3.132 , more popular: Mary Berenbaum: The Nuclear Cockroach. In: The Earwig's Tail: A Modern Bestiary of Multi-legged Legends. Harvard University Press, 2009 ISBN 978-0-674-05356-4 . Pages 96–101
  17. ↑ Sarah Brady Siff (2015): Atomic Roaches and Test-Tube Babies: Bentley Glass and Science Communication. Journalism & Communication Monographs 17 (2): 88-144. doi: 10.1177 / 1522637915577107