The Amazing Cockroach Trivia Quiz

Answer: Medicine

Pedanius Dioscorides, an early Greek physician, prescribed the use of ground cockroaches for open sores, earaches, and female problems in his writings.

Answer: Cretaceous

While fossils have been found of insects that are related to the modern cockroach in rocks from the Carboniferous era, the first modern cockroach did not appear until the Cretaceous period. Their evolved form is so successful that very few changes have taken place through time. You would be able to look at a fossil specimen and it would look just like a modern cockroach to the untrained eye.

Answer: true

Most insects are edible. Cockroaches are not poisonous but are not a very popular food item around the world. There are some Thai recipes that use cockroaches and various other insects.

Answer: Australia

Queensland, Australia is the home to the giant burrowing cockroach. This is the world's heaviest cockroach and can weigh in at over 1 oz. and be over 3" long. There have been reports of roaches 6" long. Locals in this area will sometimes keep this animal as a pet and they are known to live as long as 10 years in captivity!

Answer: the offspring will be female

Parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction that occurs in females without the assistance of a male for fertilization. The resulting offspring will always be female. These offspring are usually healthy and fertile. When males become available a female will go back to fertilizing with male assistance.

Answer: egg cases

Oothecae are the egg sacs that are dropped by female cockroaches. They hold an average 15-20 offspring. The word comes from the Greek word ootheke which means ovary.

Answer: Green banana cockroach

The green banana cockroach is a small light green cockroach with yellow stripes on the sides. It is found on some Caribbean islands and in the American states that border the Gulf of Mexico. They are not usually found indoors, and can climb and fly well. They are often kept as pets due to their attractive coloring.

Answer: False

While there are other insects that do glow under black lights, cockroaches are not one of them. Stories that purport glowing by cockroaches are just urban myth.

Answer: anything organic

Cockroaches will eat anything that is organic. That includes any human food, paper, wood, and body fluids. Basically a cockroach will eat anything that is not metal. They will eat almost anything regardless of scent, texture, age, and taste.

Answer: False

Antarctica is the only continent that does not have cockroaches. It also does not have flies, fleas, ticks, centipedes, or millipedes. Any cockroach that is found on this continent hitched a ride on a boat or airplane. It will die very quickly after arriving.