http://worldmeets.us/images/ny-high-line-park_pic.jpg

New York's lovely High Line Park, ground zero for a monumental infestation

of cockroaches from Japan - the periplaneta japonica. These recent immigrants

to the Big Apple are more resistant to cold than Periplaneta americana - which

has been in NY since the 1600s. Neither have been eliminated by recent cold.

 

 

Even 'Polar Vortex' is No Match for New York Cockroaches (Die Zeit, Germany)

 

"In the northeast U.S., it was even colder than the South Pole. In New York, there was drop in temperature of nearly 30º - to 3º Fahrenheit at the beginning of the week. So - was that too much for the cockroaches? ... 'No,' says Dominic Evangelista, a doctoral candidate in biochemistry at Rutgers University. ... Because they are so fast, the rate at which the temperature drops doesn't really matter. Scientists have observed that cockroaches need only a second to cover a distance of 1.6 yards. 'I’m sure they have found a warmer location,' Evangelista says."

 

By Dena Kelishadi

                               http://worldmeets.us/images/Dena-Kelishadi_mug.jpg

 

Translated By John Goodall

 

January 15, 2014 

 

Germany - Die Zeit - Original Article (German)

Luckily, while New York cockroaches are hardy creatures - they aren't really this big! And luckily for New York's army of exterminaters - the polar vortex has done little to diminish their numbers.

THE DAILY SHOW, U.S.: The Global Warming Hoax, Jan. 6, 00:03:41RealVideo

New York is a city of immigrants, and the same is true of the animal residents of its underground. Periplaneta americana, the American cockroach, only arrived in the Big Apple at the end of the 17th century - by sea from Africa. Today there are only two regions they have yet to conquer: the North and South Poles. The reason: cold is the cockroaches' worst enemy. They can cope with anything else - whether you rip their legs off, administer poison to them or subject them to radiation.

 

Is it possible that the 24-hour a day cold that recently gripped the northern United States has finished off the otherwise hardy cockroach? In the northeast U.S., it was even colder than the South Pole. In New York there was drop in temperature of nearly 30º - to 3º Fahrenheit at the beginning of the week. So - was that too much for the cockroach?

 

"No," says Dominic Evangelista, a doctoral candidate in biochemistry at New Jersey's Rutgers University. The cockroaches are likely to have survived the extremely icy weather - even though they normally experience life-threatening paralysis when temperatures drop to 4º above zero. “The insects are clever enough to get to safety. In winter, animals change their behavior. The colder it is, the deeper they hide,” says Evangelista.

 

Antifreeze in their blood

 

With their reasonably-flat bodies, cockroaches can crawl into the tiniest cracks. They are particularly partial to subway tunnels, heating ducts and the basements of homes, because such places provide damp air as well as heat. Because they are so fast, the rate at which the temperature drops doesn't really matter. Scientists have observed that cockroaches need only a second to cover a distance of 1.6 yards. “I’m sure they have found a warmer location,” Evangelista says.

 

An antifreeze has even been discovered in a species of cockroach endemic to Yamato in Northern Japan - periplaneta japonica - which protects the insects from freezing to death. Evangelista and his colleague Jessica Ware have demonstrated for the first time that this species has also likely reached New York. In their recently published article in the Journal of Economic Entomology, they write that the cockroaches likely reached New York by way of imported flower pots. The habitat of the Yamato cockroach, Manhattan's High Line Park, is a mile-and-a-half long promenade of green that was planted on a former rail platform. The insect was investigated by Lyle Buss of the Insect Identification Lab at the University of Florida.

 

The resistance to cold of the Yamato cockroach is extraordinary. In various experiments, researchers have frozen and thawed the creatures, embedded them in snow and left them there for days - and thanks to a sugary fluid in their blood, the animals withstood temperatures up to -22 º.

 

“Our Japanese colleagues have found that even in their juvenile stages, these cockroaches can survive in snow,” Ware says.

 

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SEE ALSO ON THIS:
News, Switzerland: Polar Vortex: To Warm Up - Move to Alaska!
Nachrichten, Swtzerland, Spain: Science Explains Global Crises: People are Nuts!
Carta Maior, Brazil: Will Humanity Allow itself to be Excized Like a 'Cancer'?
The Tribune, India: Developing Countries Demand 'Climate Equity' from Wealthy
El Espectador, Colombia: U.S. Climate Change Deniers are a Threat to Other Nations
Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace, France: Obama Hits on Greatest Danger: The Way We Live

 

Although cockroaches can be found everywhere in New York, so far there has been little research into their behavior. One could say that Ware, Buss, and Evangelista, are cockroach research pioneers. Only in recent years have more researchers shown an interest in the hard-to-control vermin.

Posted By Worldmeets.US

 

“Cockroaches are fascinating from a genetic point of view because their DNA is so incredibly diverse,” Evangelista says. “There are countless mutations that look really cool.”

 

Competition from Japan

 

The National Cockroach Project at New York's The Rockefeller University is another participant in the new research into cockroaches. This past summer, Americans were called on to mail in American cockroaches - preferably dead, or to bring them in person. With these specimens, a DNA database is being established.

 

Cockroaches also appeal to Michael Scharf of Indiana's Purdue University.

 

“They are so tough and have such reproductive power,” he says.

 

It isn't yet clear to what extent the better-adapted Yamato cockroach will compete with New York's more native species. In Scharf's view, the scuttling immigrants from Japan should definitely be observed further.

 

“Though an invasion is not yet in sight,” he notes, “that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t worry.”

 

CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN VERSION

 

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Posted By Worldmeets.US Jan. 15, 2014, 4:39am