Cockroaches have been around since the beginning of time, well, not really, but pretty close. There isn’t just one type of roach either. These fast bugs have over 30 species, out of a staggering 4,600, that come inside your home to terrorize you. The other roaches are still out there, waiting for the right opportunity. They don’t want to be inside rocks; they are living their best lives in woods, jungles, and deserts. Let’s find out what the cockroach life expectancy is for those who are wild and those who live indoors.
The Cockroach Lifecycle: From Egg to Nuisance
Scientists have debunked the myth that cockroaches have been around for over 300 million years. They may not have been around 200 million years ago, either. The oldest fossils of cockroaches are 125 – 140 million years old. The first roaches appeared in the late Jurassic and beginning of the Cretaceous Periods. So, they were around the same time as dinosaurs but did not originate in the Carboniferous Period, as many publications have stated.
The actual lifespan of a cockroach is not in years but in weeks or months. These small exoskeleton creatures have very little time to grow up, breed, find food, and die.
Lifecycle: Egg to birth
During the first introduction to life, the mother cockroach lays eggs. She will do so in a secret hiding place that’s likely damp and warm, as roaches crave heat when it’s chilly out. The strange leather-like maroon-brown egg cases will be in small clumps, tucked away together. The mother cockroach will lay between 10 and 50 eggs at a time.
The eggs take roughly 1 – 2 months to hatch, though depending on the climate in their environment, the eggs could take as long as 3 months to hatch. The female roach uses sticky saliva to attach the eggs to your furniture, inside cabinets, pantries, and many other secluded spots.
A female German cockroach can produce more than 300 offspring in her lifetime. Infestation can happen very quickly with any type of roach. The American cockroach is a problem in areas along the coast. One female typically lays 16 eggs in each ootheca and can produce 150 or more offspring in her lifetime. An ootheca is the scientific way of saying egg case. She may produce six ootheca in her lifetime, which would cause trouble for the homeowner. Some species of roaches carry the ootheca around attached to their abdomen, while others choose to deposit them in a secret place. Some roach species carry their young in their abdomen.
Lifecycle: Larva
Once the cockroach eggs hatch, the teeny tiny larvae spill out and begin eating rotting wood as they grow into nymphs. Typically, the hatching takes place 24 – 38 days after they are laid. Once the roaches have successfully made it to the nymph stage, they may remain there for up to a year, depending on environmental conditions. Some grow quickly, while others may grow slowly, all from the same ootheca, just like most other types of offspring.
Lifecycle: Nymph
A cockroach nymph is a baby cockroach. They might not be as cute as some babies when hatching but don’t tell their mother. They will stick close to where they hatched as they grow into adult cockroaches. The mother cockroach generally leaves the eggs in a hidden spot and goes on her merry way. She does not stick around to raise the babies. However, some species of cockroach will stay with the young roaches as they grow stronger.
When a nymph molts and becomes a slightly larger, more adult-like roach, that is called instars. Depending on environmental conditions, young roaches may molt 13 times before fully growing, while other roaches may only molt 10 times before becoming mature. Anything with an exoskeleton grows like those with bones, but the exoskeleton must be shed before the new roach can take on the next instar. Cockroaches are vulnerable when they molt, and their new exoskeleton will be squishy and white before hardening and turning a dark mahogany color.
Lifecycle: Adult
Once the final molt has taken place, the young roach becomes an adult. Most adult cockroaches live for approximately a year, though some may not make it that long. Though many people think roaches are disgusting, they are still living beings and are out there just doing their best to survive, just like us. The survival rate of cockroaches depends on many things, like climate, available food, predators, and more.
Adult cockroaches are nocturnal unless they are starving to death or face overcrowding issues in the nest. That’s the only time you will see a cockroach during the daytime. If they are sick or injured and dying, they may also be seen in the daylight.
Over the course of one year, you could go from 3 cockroaches to 300, and it doesn’t take long for it to happen. If each female lays 15 eggs and there are 5 females, that will produce 75 more mouths to feed in 1 – 2 months. This is why they say that if you see one cockroach, there are hundreds you don’t see. At least they aren’t the prehistoric roaches that look like they are straight out of a nightmare and were four inches long!
It’s a Roach’s Life
It isn’t easy being a tiny insect and navigating the world. There are dangers around every corner and predators waiting to ambush your next meal. Cockroaches are food for many types of animals, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and most omnivore mammals. They are a great source of protein. If roaches didn’t exist, neither would all the animals that depend on them for survival.
Bearded dragons, iguanas, leopard geckos, monitor lizards, and even panther chameleons need the roach’s protein. Raccoons, opossums, squirrels, birds, weasels, rats, mice, spiders and so many more would struggle to have enough food if the pesky critters didn’t exist. Everyone has a place and a part to play in the food chain.
