Current Events- Brobdingnagian Roaches (Huge Roaches)

                

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            Finding a big bug inside your house is usually very unpleasant. Finding an enormous cockroach in your house is extremely unpleasant. New studies show why these cockroaches are so large nowadays compared to a hundred years ago. First we need to do some research about these insects.  Did you know that cockroaches have white blood? Or that they can live a week without water with their head chopped off? This creature is not only a pest to people; it is also some people’s appetizer. Many people in Cambodia enjoy the light snack of a crunchy cockroach, let me guess, does it taste like chicken? Back to the topic, so why are cockroaches larger than they were years ago? Well, studies show that cockroaches shrink their breathing organs and redirecting their energy to other vital tissues, they do this by taking the extra oxygen in the air. Quite smart, don’t you think? That isn’t all; many insects become larger after the air around them has more oxygen in it. The roach’s air tube become narrower but still allows them to breath. "Our main interest is how paleo-oxygen levels would have influenced the evolution of insects," Said the researchers from Geological Society of America “The next step is to examine the tracheal tubes of insects fossilized in amber to determine whether their side reveals past oxygen levels.”

        When I first stumbled upon this article I found it to be gross, but as I read on I found it to be amazing! A bug that small can enlargen itself by just being in an area with a lot of oxygen! I found this to be crazy, I never knew that these bugs can adapt so well! Learning about something that I don't really find very interesting was super cool! What I am very interested about now, after reading and summarizing the article is, what other insects can do this? Did they evolve over time? Did the pollution from factories decrease the amount of growth of a population of insects in an area? Could this animal shrink instead of grow?

Sites that I used

Pappas, By Stephanie. "Why Today's Cockroaches Are the Biggest Ever | Insects: Roaches, Dragonflies & Bugs, Fossils | LiveScience." LiveScience | Science, Technology, Health & Environmental News. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. <http://www.livescience.com/animals/cockroaches-giant-insects-101101.html>.

Vbright105, By. "Cockroaches Facts and Myths." Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. <http://www.squidoo.com/cockroaches-facts-and-myths>.

Pictures Shown Links

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