(Editor’s note: Summer may be over for kids, but it’s still really hot outside- so watch out!)
Because summer weather (which has been extended thanks to El Nino) brings us hot, sticky and uncomfortable days, if you haven’t already seen it, the upcoming hot days of September could cause cockroaches to take to the skies. Yep, flying cockroaches.
From the article:
“Cockroaches, like all insects, are cold-blooded, meaning their activity rate increases with temperature,” said Jules Silverman, an entomologist and professor at North Carolina State University, in an interview with Live Science. (Cold-blooded creatures are ectothermic, which means they depend on external heat to keep their bodies warm.)
And that means it’s likely the species of cockroach that are able to fly are probably more likely to do so in warm places. Yuck, but true. I live in Florida and they do fly.
In bigger cities, the insects have access to lots of food so they don’t have to fly to get it. This means that the muscles required for flying aren’t as primed. However, these early fall heat waves could see them spreading their wings for various reasons: to find mates, find food, or to escape a predator (or a stomping foot).
More from the article:
“No matter where you live, don’t expect cockroaches to fill the skies. They aren’t exactly ace flyers. “It’s relatively controlled, but not as graceful as something like a butterfly,” said Bentley. What they do is more of a controlled glide, although their wings do flap. The distance and heights they reach are more akin to those of a cricket than a bird , according to Bentley.
The small roaches that live in homes, German cockroaches, have wings but can’t get airborne. But American cockroaches, the less common and much larger one, can fly. However, it’s really not that big of a deal. They aren’t trying to attack you and they aren’t dangerous.
Enjoy the rest of this heat and look out for flying cockroaches!
Source: CBS
