Friday, August 11, 2006

La Cucaracha

I just wanted to post another bug picture. Mostly because we have someone in our beloved extended family who expressed a fear of this type of bug. I won't mention his name but it begins with "J" and ends in "red." The cockroach in the picture below is about as long as the typical index finger. We have seen many species of cockroach here in Ecuador as well as in Costa Rica. There are no cockroaches in our part of Colorado because of the altitude. I did some research on them a few months ago to either verify of debunk some of the myths Rebecca and I had learned about them. Here are a few of the facts...
  • Cockroaches can live up to a week with their head cut off
  • They can survive a nuclear blast
  • There are thousands a species worldwide, ranging in size from about 2mm to the huge Madagascar hissing roaches which reach over 6 inches long
  • They usually cannot survive above 6,000ft.
  • They like dark, dank places, like under you kitchen sink.
  • They are repelled by light, thus you rarely see them in the daytime, or they run when you turn on the light
  • One "female" can have over 2 million offspring in one year

Hope you all sleep well tonite!

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