What are Those big, fat Cockroaches Called?
July 2nd 2009 21:00
Photo by Acatenazzi. Used in accordance with the terms of Wikimedia Commons’ GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
As a teenager, I liked to hang around our backyard, especially when I had two mischievous ducks to play with. This was when my father and I started noticing there were huge cockroaches outside. If you have ever seen them you will know exactly which ones I am talking about: they’re big, reddish brown with wings and they can fly. Every time my father saw them he would mutter in disgust, “Chinese cockroaches”.
I was telling one of my friends about these cockroaches when he insisted there were no such things as Chinese cockroaches.
“There are German cockroaches,” my friend said. “Are you sure your father didn’t get them mixed up those?”
Now I’ve seen pictures of German cockroaches and there is no way these are the same ones. German ones are smaller than the ones in my parents’ backyard.
“These are not German ones,” I insisted.
Several Googles have not yielded pictures of the ones I am talking about although description-wise, the American cockroach appears to be the closest.
The last time I saw a Chinese cockroach was when I was at my parents’ house a few months ago. My mum had one trapped inside a large soft drink bottle with the intention of releasing it outside. (Being Buddhist, she refuses to kill any living creature – except for crabs.) Why she had it in the kitchen is anybody’s guess but nevertheless, it was repulsive to look at.
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