- Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known pests.
- The cockroaches are an ancient group, with their ancestors, known as “roachoids”, originating during the Carboniferous period, some 320 million years ago.
- Some species, such as the gregarious German cockroach, have an elaborate social structure involving common shelter, social dependence, information transfer and kin recognition.
- It is popularly suggested that cockroaches will “inherit the earth” if humanity destroys itself in a nuclear war. While cockroaches do, indeed, have a much higher radiation resistance than vertebrates, with a lethal dose perhaps six to 15 times that for humans, they are not exceptionally radiation-resistant compared to other insects, such as the fruit fly.