What are cockroaches in nature for?

When a person notices Prusacks scurrying around the house, he does not think about how useful they are. cockroacheswhile experiencing a natural desire as quickly as possible get rid of from a nasty neighborhood. With a newspaper or spraying for an uninvited guest insecticide, we do not think about what threatens nature and humanity with the death of a cockroach tribe.

The role and importance of an insect in nature

In the children's fairy tale by V. Bianchi "Owl" it is clearly shown how all species are interconnected in an ecosystem. The destruction of one will entail the death or reduction of the number of others. So the destruction of a useless cockroach, in our opinion, can lead to an imbalance of the ecosystem.

Not all types of cockroaches are synanthropic, which in the process of evolution have adapted to live only in the house of man. The squad of cockroaches has more than 7,500 species of various insects. Many of them serve as food for birds, small insectivorous animals and even a treat to humans.

Cockroaches

Interesting!

Professor Srini Cambhampati argues that if a man wins the war with Prusak and other members of a large family, the death of the insect will affect almost 10,000 species of animals. Loss of only one link from the food chain will hit the number of birds mice, ratswild cats, wolves and even reptiles. And some species, such as emerald cockroach wasps, will completely disappear from the face of the Earth.

Cockroaches living in the forest under the bark of dying trees, in the litter of fallen leaves and burrows of rodents eat plant and animal debris. Decomposing remains emit nitrogen, eating them, insects with feces make it into the soil.Professor Kambhampati argues that with their death, nitrogen deficiency in the soil will affect not only the condition of the forest, and, consequently, its inhabitants, but also indirectly on humanity.

The role of cockroaches in nature is so important that the curator of the exposition of orthopteroid insects in the London Museum of Natural Science, scientist and zoologist George Beccaloni calls it a mission. The scientist emphasizes that the bias against "Kukarach" unjustified. After all, only 1% of the cockroach detachment is adjacent to a person, causing harm to him, and he can be forgiven, taking into account the benefit from 99% of the representatives of this species.

Cockroach as a food resource

Madagascar hissing cockroach

In the culture of some countries of the world, the cockroach plays an important role as a food product. Scientists say that a cockroach contains three times more protein than chicken meat. "Cockroach cuisine" has become popular in some European countries. Gourmets in England enjoy eating in restaurants Madagascar cockroachesdeep-fried with garlic and pepper. The British claim that insects taste like crispy bacon. The fashion for dishes from insects is rapidly spreading in Europe.The demand is so great that in China very profitable cockroach farms are opened, which are engaged in the supply of canned cockroaches.

The traditional cuisine of China and Thailand offers many recipes for exotic dishes from cockroaches. Insects are eaten in Cambodia, South America, in Vietnam.

Interesting!

Nutritionists believe that the delicacy cockroach pate deserves attention. After all, with a high content of healthy protein, the "carcass" of a cockroach does not contain fats rich in harmful cholesterol. This dish will be useful to those who want to lose weight without harming their health.

In the diet of primitive people, these insects occupied a prominent place. Food preferences changed over time, and cockroaches remained “domesticated.”

Eating cockroaches

Cockroach Medicine

In China today, the most profitable business is the breeding of "kukarachey" for the pharmaceutical industry. Of them prepare pasta and powder, which is used to treat hepatitis, burns, heart disease. Getting cheap protein and amino acids from such available raw materials allows you to get an income without any special investments.After all, 1 kilogram of raw materials costs 16 dollars, which makes it possible to get a “cockroach farmer” more than 24 thousand dollars a year.

There are also insect farms in the USA. The largest enterprise in Georgia supplies insects for food to aquarium fish.

Do not disdain the original medicine in Russia. Tincture of black cockroaches - a cockroach treated kidney disease (glomerulonephritis), tuberculosis, bronchitis, and even cancer.

Powder from dried cockroaches is poured with water and this tincture is treated for pleurisy and pneumonia, rubbing into the chest and sides.

More recently, an enlightened Europe traded in pharmacies Pulvistarakan - a drug with an expressive name that spoke of its composition and consistency (“pulvis” from the lat is dust and powder). The drug was used to treat diseases of the lungs and heart.

Jamaican healers treat oncology and skin diseases with an ointment of arthropods. Cooked with sugar insects expelled from the body of worms.

Interesting!

The ancient recipe for the preparation of therapeutic tincture of dropsy reads as follows: take 1 spool of black cockroaches wiped into dust (4.3 g), pour 3 scales (about 400 ml) of vodka and leave for three days in heat. Give the patient to drink a quarter of a spoon three times a day.

And today, some use in the treatment of the experience of traditional healers. In the literature there was such a case, the woman was in the hospital with Botkin's disease. In the hospital there were many different cockroaches, which literally fell from the ceiling and walls into a glass of water, juice, tea. The woman was not squeamish, as she pulled out the "drowned" and drank the liquid. Surprisingly, on the fifth day only she had normal tests in one of the wards.

Cultivation of decorative insects

What are cockroaches in nature for? But today insects are specially imported from the tropics to be bred as decorative "animals." Especially popular are Madagascar cockroaches, which are most huge in the world. Unpretentious insects in food that reach 6-7 cm, feel great in an aquarium with sand and pebbles. Slow giants make real fights - they “butt” horns on their heads and hiss loudly.

Aquarium for Madagascar hissing cockroaches

Terrariumists breed exotic animals as a live food needed for feeding lizards, tarantulas and amphibians. Ash cockroaches are fed even to animals with diseased liver, as a low-fat dietary product.

Different types of arthropods with a unique color are popular - marble, harlequin, cockroaches-turtles, bright six-point, chess, etc.

Since ancient times, cockroaches are bred for gambling. Cockroach races, with a tote, favorites, mini-hippodrome cause no less excitement than horse races. The ancient Romans, Byzantines, Egyptians made bets on pets. In Turkey, cockroach races are very popular. Sailors from Russian ships brought exotic entertainment to this country.

Interesting!

The most frisky "stars" in the underground institutions specializing in cockroach races, supplied the Kurd Shahin Fesah. On his "farm" at the same time contained up to half a million running cockroaches. He managed to keep his craft secret for a long time, until, in the middle of the 20th century, the ubiquitous journalists wrote about the exotic item of income of the resourceful Kurd.

The most unexpected use of cockroaches was the study of scientists from Caroline. They suggested the use of insects in rescue operations. Cockroaches perform the role of rescuers due to their ability to penetrate the most inaccessible places. Equipped with a microchip that performs remote control, equipped with sensors and a microphone, insects penetrate under the rubble, helping to find people.

The importance of cockroaches in nature and human life is enormous.Destroying annoying Prusaks, we do not think about how useful and interesting the look of these relict insects live side-by-side with a man for more than one thousand years. Answering the question: “Why do we need cockroaches in nature?” - it is worth remembering that the insect has remained unchanged since the time of the Carboniferous period, which means it is so completely and necessary that the ancestor of the dinosaur still populates all the warm places of the globe.