Mention a cockroach and most people picture the brown or blackish insect in a kitchen corner. Yet cockroaches are so varied that some species carry a bright bluish sheen. A photo story in the Kolkata daily Ei Samay looks at one of them.
The humid tropical forests of the Guiana Shield, which spans Guyana and neighbouring territories in South America, are home to a great range of insects. A survey published in the journal ZooKeys in 2015 recorded data on 234 cockroach species in the region, and it was then that the blue cockroach came to light.
The precise scientific identity of the insect known as the 'sky blue neotropical cockroach' is still not settled, and research continues, the report says.
Nor is there a firm explanation for its blue colour. Some scientists think the blue in certain insects comes from the way light interacts with very fine structures on the body, known as structural coloration. Insects also use bright colours for defence or camouflage. Which explanation applies to this cockroach has not been shown.
The report concludes that however striking its name and looks, the insect should not be claimed as a particular species until its identity is confirmed through observation, specimen study and reliable research.
Reporting: Prasmita Dey, Ei Samay
Source: Ei Samay
Comments
(0)