The cockroach that emerged from your sink drain and scuttled under the fridge? The nocturnal critter was most likely a German cockroach, and its ancestors were pestering people more than 2,000 years ago in southern Asia, a new study found.
The research, published May 20 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that the insects’ journey from scavenging in ancient Asian civilizations to getting cozy beneath your kitchen floor closely aligns with major historical shifts in global commerce, colonization and war.
German cockroaches, scientifically known as Blattella germanica, are ubiquitous in cities in the United States and around the world. The hardy pests first appeared in scientific records from 250 years ago in Europe, hence the German moniker, but little is known about their origin.
The insects also demonstrate social behaviors, communicating with one another about where to find food.／Pexels
Humans have been making them at home ever since, she said. “The things that have allowed humans to thrive — indoor plumbing, indoor heating — are things that have also allowed cockroaches to thrive,” Ware said. “By creating sewers underneath our cities, we couldn’t have provided a better buffet.”
Next, Tang wants to sequence the full genomes of his hundreds of specimens to learn how German cockroaches have adapted so successfully to the human environment. “For example, the German cockroach has insecticide resistance that is not detected in many other pests,” he said. “How can they evolve so fast? Is it something that’s already in their genes, but has become revealed because of anthropogenic pressures?”
The insects also demonstrate social behaviors, communicating with one another about where to find food. Tang wants to find out if this ability, too, is a survival trait for which roaches have humans to thank.
