Just as a sunflower is genetically programmed to turn toward the sun, many plants and animals are phototropic-they are genetically programmed to turn away from and avoid the Sun. Cockroaches are nocturnal. Most nocturnal species instinctively scurry when exposed to light. The urban roach has adapted will to its environment. While we are asleep, dreaming away, the roach is free to loot our kitchens. By roaming at night, it also avoids the possibility that rodents that might eat it during the day, are not around at night. At night, the only foes roaches have to worry about are Raid and Combat. It is impossible to know for sure, but we believe that roaches are genetically programmed to avoid predators. But according to an entomologist the speed of a given roach’s retreat is subject to many factors, including its species, the humidity, and how hungry it is. But why assume that the roach is running because of the light? Maybe it is running away from you!! Cockroaches have poor eyesight. Their main method of detecting danger is by sensing vibrations around them . Roaches have 2 hornlike structures on their back called cerci. So when you enter the kitchen for your midnight snack, chances are the roach senses you not from sight, or by sound, but by feeling the air currents your movement has generated.At the very least, the roach knows something is moving around it: when you flip the light switch on, an automatic physiological response ensues. If it hasn’t already bidden a hasty retreat, it decides that the better part of valor is to sneak back into the crevice it came from. When you go back to bed, it knows those bread crumbs will be right where you left them before, and it can snack away later in peaceful darkness. Submitted by Jill Davies of Forest, Mississippi |
