Monday, January 17, 2011

Cockroaches can live for 30 days after their head has been cut off.

Cockroaches can live for 30 days after their head has been cut off.


While it is more average for a cockroach to only live headless for 9 days or so, they can live for extremely long amounts of time. Cockroaches breathe through spiracles, which deliver air to each cell of the body through a set of tubes called tracheae. The brain does not control the breathing through the spiracles. So they don't need a head to breathe!

Also, the cockroach does not have blood pressure the way a mammal does, so cutting off the head does not lead to uncontrolled bleeding. What about food? They need much less food - single meal is enough to last them a whole month! This ability isn't all its cracked up to be, however - without a head, the cockroach would just sit around without doing much.

No comments: