Know the Body Parts of Cockroach
Cockroaches belong to the order Blattodea, the family of Blattidae, and the Genus Periplaneta. There are around 4000 different species of cockroaches around the world. However, only a few of them can be found in the Indian subcontinent.
Some of the common species include –
German cockroach (Blatella Germanica),
American cockroach (Periplaneta Americana),
Oriental cockroach (Blatta Orientalis), and the
Brown-banded cockroach (Supari Longipalpa).
To know more about the different species of cockroach and their scientific names, refer to our morphology and anatomy of cockroach notes.
Fun Fact: it is said that cockroaches run faster than any other insect
Morphology and Anatomy of Cockroach
In this section, you will delve a bit further to examine the morphology and anatomy of cockroaches. A cockroach has three main body parts, namely the head, thorax, and abdomen. It also has a hard outer-body covering known as the exoskeleton. The three main body parts along with cockroach anatomy have been discussed in detail below
Head – The head contains the eyes, pair of antennae, and mouth. It also contains the brain.
The antennae are also known as antennal flagella. It is a threadlike object which is movable. Cockroaches use them to smell and feel.
The eyes are made of photoreceptor cells and are surrounded by a ring, which is known as ocular sclerite.
The mouth is made up of labrum and labium which act as lips. It has teeth like objects for cutting and chewing, which are called mandibles.
The mouth also has an organ that helps in moving food around while chewing.
Fun fact: the body of a cockroach can live on for several weeks without the head.
Abdomen – this is one of the crucial parts of cockroach anatomy. The abdomen is divided into ten segments. It contains the heart, the digestive organs, trachea or respiratory tubes, reproductive system, and sensory organs.
The heart pumps blood and transports it to other organs through a hollow space known as hemocoel. Blood is colourless since it does not contain hemoglobin.
The digestive system forms another crucial part of cockroach anatomy. It has an alimentary canal and digestive glands. The canal is further divided into several sections which include the mouth, oesophagus, buccal cavity, crop, and proventriculus. The digestive system of a cockroach is specially developed to consume all kinds of food particles, including cellulose and wood.
The abdomen also contains sensory organs which help it to detect air movement.
The respiratory or air tubes open on the side through respiratory pores called stigmata. These tubes bring in the air directly to the tissues. You can read through on anatomy of cockroach class 11 to learn in detail about respiratory functions.
The excretory organs in cockroaches are known as Malpighian tubes. Male and female cockroaches can be differentiated based on their sex organs.
Male cockroaches have a pair of testes, genital pouch, vasa deferentia, seminal vesicles, ejaculatory duct, and conglobate gland. Female cockroaches have a pair of ovaries, oviducts, median vagina, a pair of colleterial glands, and spermatheca. Go through our anatomy of cockroach class 11 ppt to understand the reproductive process in cockroaches.
Thorax – A cockroach has three pairs of legs that are attached to the thorax. The three pairs of legs are:
Prothoracic - These are situated near the head.
Mesothoracic - These legs enable the insect to increase its speed or to slow down.
Metathoracic - These long back legs help the insect to move forward. Thus, this insect may be small in size, but the morphology and anatomy of cockroaches are significantly complex. To learn in detail about cockroach anatomy, you can download the anatomy of cockroach pdf available at our website. You can also install Vedantu’s app on any smart device to take your notes with you wherever you go.
The exoskeleton in cockroaches is brown in color, they are thick and hard and made up of two compounds Cuticulin and Chitin. It provides rigidity and protects the body from loss of water. Sclerites are the hardened plates of the exoskeleton. Being a dioecious animal, it has separate male and female sexes. The length of a female species of a Cockroach is smaller as compared to the male.
Conclusion
For the past 300 million years ago cockroaches have occupied and will continue to be present on earth. This content gives you a brief idea about the external morphology and body anatomy of this interesting creature.
FAQs on Note on Cockroach Along with their Fun Facts
1. What is a fun fact about Cockroaches?
Cockroaches generally prefer to live in warm conditions but can survive and adapt to a number of environments. Cockroaches can live for about 3 months without food and for over a month without water. It can also survive for almost a week without its head. Cockroaches tend to feed on human and pet food. There are almost 5000 species of cockroaches but only a few can be seen in our homes namely American, Oriental and German Cockroaches.
2. Do cockroaches have bones?
No, cockroaches do not have bones. They instead have skeletons that are made up of plates on the outside of its body. The Skeleton of a cockroach seems like a suit of armor that covers the insect entirely. The Cockroach Exoskeleton is made up of a substance known as Chitin, unlike bones that are made up of collagen and Calcium. For more details on this topic, you can register yourself at Vedantu.com.
3. Do cockroaches have teeth?
Maxillae are the secondary chewing parts which help to further grind the food into smaller pieces, are basically the tooth of the roaches. For nutritional purposes, the food is then pulled into the digestive areas. The primary part of their mouth is known as the mandible with the help of which they tear the food into smaller parts to pull it down to their throats. The labrum is ultimately a different part of the amount as it helps them to pull the intended food towards their mouth.
4. What is Cockroach antennae?
The antennae help them to sense the world around them. It helps them to search for their food and estimate any kind of distance or height of obstacles that may lie in front of them. Through antennae, they can also detect pheromones, which enables them to find mates. Antennae can also interpret odors, sense vibrations, and pressure changes. Cockroaches rely on navigating through their antennas.
5. What does a cockroach eat?
Cockroaches are generally omnivorous scavengers and can consume any organic food source available. Cockroaches are also known to consume items such as books, hair, and decaying matter. They mostly prefer sweet meats and starches. Cockroaches will also consume other creatures, but not living ants. They will, however, eat dead ants. Roaches also like moldy, fermented, protein, and greasy food.
6. Mention the three main parts of the alimentary canal?
The three main parts of the alimentary canal are the foregut, midgut, and hindgut. The canal is further divided into several sections which include the mouth, oesophagus, buccal cavity, crop, and proventriculus.
7. What is the fat body, and what is its purpose?
The fat body is a loose tissue present in the body cavity. This fat body stores surplus food in the form of fat, glycogen, and albumen.
8. How many nervous systems are there in cockroach anatomy?
There are three nervous systems – the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and sympathetic nervous system. These extend throughout the length of a cockroach’s body.
