A type of Asian cockroach has spread throughout the world

We often make fun of creatures like them the Beatles, hated by many but considered the true “Highlanders”. You’ve probably heard that they can withstand a nuclear disaster (which is partly true) or they can continue to walk around without their heads or survive without food for up to a month. Will cockroaches bury us all? Maybe it won’t be quite the case, but thanks to a recent study, we’ve finally solved the mystery of one of the most widespread species on Earth and in Europe: Platella germanica. Which, apparently, has very little “German” about it.

New study on Blattella germanica

There are more than 4,000 species of cockroaches worldwide, but among these species there is undoubtedly the most widespread. Platella germanica, also widely present in Europe. Quite simply, it’s about The common cockroach is the classic light brown/reddish colourIt is also called the “breadeater” or “stoker” because it prefers warm, moist environments.

The scientific name of this species indicates a European origin, German to be exact. However, when the Swedish biologist Linnaeus listed it Second half of the eighteenth centuryThis cockroach arrived in Germany only two decades ago. there Platella germanica It is not our species, and has spread throughout Europe and the Americas over a long period of time Immigration This is what a team of international researchers has finally confirmed.

According to what appears from the research Solving the mystery of the origin of the German cockroach and its spread globally 250 years ago, Published last May 20 in the magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesI The “dominance” of this genre began in Asia.

The mystery of the common cockroach’s origins has been solved

Scientists have already discovered species related to Platella germanica between Africa and Asia and hypothesized that in fact there could be a genetic link. Many believe that the typical European species could be the result of migration and adaptation The evolution of ancient species from far away places. There was only one problem: they couldn’t prove it.

“we took DNA samples from 281 cockroaches in 17 countries around the world. We then compared the DNA sequences of a specific genetic region called CO1. This is known as “DNA barcoding,” as the lead authors of the study explain. When we compared the German cockroach with similar species from Asia, We found the match. The sequence of the German cockroach was almost identical to that of the German cockroach Platila Asahinai to the Bay of Bengal. More than 80% of the German cockroach samples were an exact match. The remaining 20% ​​hardly differs. This means that the two species diverged from each other only 2,100 years ago: the blink of an eye in evolutionary terms.

How did Platella germanica spread?

Therefore, the research team discovered that the “German” cockroach is closely related to the Asian species Comparing them on the evolutionary level to the dog (first) and the wolf (second). According to the analysis published in the study, the Asian cockroach first spread from Asia to Europe about 1,200 years ago, then faced a second wave of migration about 390 years ago.

Part of the responsibility for all of this will be on us. live in a Warm and humid habitatThey needed a new environment with similar characteristics and at the same time humans developed better home heating technologies and faster means of transportation. Therefore, these two factors contributed to the spread of the Asian cockroach in Europe and then in the Americas. But there is more because this species has proven to have a tremendous ability to adapt, developing strong and intelligent abilities Insecticide resistance (Which it continues to do, with the introduction of new material) those Forage strategy This allows them to feed themselves even in conditions of deprivation.