Cocktail Party Cockroaches

Often, PMPs find themselves entertaining friends and associates at cocktail parties with interesting pest trivia.

Friends ask questions like: “Is it true a cockroach can survive for a week without its head?” (Yes, but eventually even a cockroach must eat).

Are cockroaches able to withstand higher doses of radiation than other animals?” (Yes, but not as much as some other insects). Partygoers are justifiably amazed when told about the cockroach’s ability to produce multiple offspring over extended periods of time after a single mating. In fact, female cockroaches can continue to fertilize eggs with sperm stored from a mating episode that took place months earlier.

Even more amazing is the method by which the Surinam cockroach Pycnoscelus surinamensis reproduces. The Surinam cockroach is a peridomestic cockroach that can be especially troublesome in the southern states, and inside greenhouses and interior plantscapes. This cockroach burrows into leaf litter, mulch or loose soil during the day and emerge after dark to feed on vegetation and other plant matter.

All that is needed to establish a new population of roaches is a single unmated female. Even a nymph can found a new infestation. In fact, these cockroaches never mate because Surinam cockroach infestations are entirely made up of females. These cockroaches are only known to reproduce through parthenogenesis, the process by which unfertilized eggs develop into fully functional adult females that are genetic clones of their mothers.

So the next time you want to impress your friends at the neighborhood cookout, tell them about parthenogenesis and the amazing reproductive feats of the Surinam cockroach. You’re bound to get gasps of amazement and incredulity … but maybe not an invitation to the next party.

You can reach Fredericks, technical director for the NPMA, at jfredericks@pestworld.org.