by GEETHA IYER
Flies, cockroaches and mosquitoes feature high on the list of creatures that humans wish they could banish from the earth.
i will admit that some
of the insects do not lead
noble lives but is every
man s hand to be against them
yours for less justice
and more charity ?
– Archy and Mehitabel by Don Maquis
ONE of the first questions I am invariably asked is about my attitude towards cockroaches; flies are added as an afterthought. Flies, cockroaches and mosquitoes feature high on the list of creatures that humans wish they could banish from the earth. These three are among the most common images that arise in the mind when one utters the word insect. For eons, they have survived shifting land masses, meteorite hits, climate changes and predatory species, and human assault is just another event insects have adapted to. The proof of this: despite decades of research, we have not been able to eradicate them. We fret and fume and suffer the poisonous concoctions created to kill them, while they remain free, get stronger and continue to enjoy their feast on humans. Is there something that our research has missed altogether? How much do we really know about cockroaches, flies and mosquitoes?
Cockroaches
A common urban myth is that in the event of a nuclear holocaust, the cockroach will be the sole survivor. There is no scientific proof to justify this belief. If one were to go by available research1, then it would seem that only the tiny beetles that infect grain, flour and wood (and about whom we rarely get as bothered as we do about cockroaches) would survive; they would not only do so but reproduce with greater gusto. Cockroaches may be able to withstand higher radiation levels than humans, but they are no match for the aforesaid beetles.
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