Anyone who has listened to me rattle on about insects for any amount of time knows of my fondness for cockroaches. I worked with cockroaches for many years while in college and grad school and now have the "pleasure" of being allergic to them. I still love them and know many of you are disgusted by the mere thought of them. Maybe this will change your mind. If not, maybe it will open your mind to the possibility that cockroaches are capable of being beautiful and amazing.
The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State has published their list of the Top 10 new species from 2012. On the list is....you guessed it....a cockroach! Lucihormetica luckae, also known as the Lightning roach, is known from a single specimen collected over 70 years ago. The cockroach was collected from Ecuador and it may now be extinct due to eruption and activty of the Tungurahua volcano.
The really cool part of the whole thing- to me at least- is that the cockroach mimics a poisonous click beetle. Basically when it glows it's pattern is similar to that of a bioluminescent click beetle. Wow...insects are so cool!
If you want to see pictures of the cockroach, you can click here. I think it looks like a Jawa (Utini!) from Star Wars when it glows, but that may just be my somewhat warped mind.
On a side note....there is a FREE webinar on Friday, June 7th on bed bugs. You can find more information on the webinar here.
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