How long can a cockroach live with its head chopped off?

Question

i found this fact on animal planet that says that a cackroach can live with its head chopped off for a week or more. But, my mom doesnt think thats true! Iv looked it up online and there are lots of websites that say that they can live for a long time with its head off, does any one know if this fact is true or not?

Answer 1

"[A] cockroach could live a long time, perhaps a month, without its head. The only reason we [humans] need our head for basic survival is:

(1) We [breathe] through our mouth or nose and the breathing rhythm is controlled in our brain. Cutting off our head would interphere with breathing although that could be maintained with a respirator.

(2) Cutting off our head could lead to blood loss and a drop in blood pressure which would result in death due to lack of blood transport of oxygen and nutrition to our tissues.

(3) Cutting off our head would prevent us from eating and we would die of starvation pretty quickly.

All of these reasons for dying are not present in cockroaches and many insects in general:

(1) Cockroaches [breathe] through spiracles which are in each body segment and the blood does not carry oxygen to the tissues. The spiracles 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.

(2) The cockroach does not have blood pressure the way a mammal does and so cutting off the head does not lead to uncontrolled bleeding.

(3) The cockroach is a poikilotherm or cold blooded animal. They need much less food and a one day meal would be enough to last them a whole month as long as they were not extremely active. Without a head the cockroach would just sit around without doing anything much.

All this along with a cool temperature could allow the cockroach to last about a month without need for their head, as long as they did not get infected with a mold, bacterium or virus, which could kill them prematurely."

Answer 2

I watched a special on cochroaches, they can live a LONG time without a head, well over a month.

Answer 3

30 days why did you

Answer 4

1 month.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 5

The cockroach can live for more than a week with it's head chopped off. They have brains in their feet instead of in its head. They only reason it dies is because of lack of food, water, and air.

Answer 6

why would you just cut off it's head, instead of squishing/killing the whole thing? they are nasty little bugs!!

Answer 7

3 weeks

Answer 8

When a roach looses it's head it is DEAD. They don't lay eggs after they are dead they are just dead. They can survive a lot of things that would kill other creatures, but decapitation KILLS them. How many of the RUMMER MONGERS have actually seen a headless roach?

Answer 9

intill it starves to death if they could eat without its head it would carry on living thats the only reason they die is because they starve

Answer 10

yes, it is very true, they also can finish laying eggs if they are pregnant

Answer 11

Well, to me it is dead once its head gets chopped off......what’s the sense/purpose to say living without a head anyhow?! LOL.

Answer 12

When you chop a cockroach's head off it is brain dead within minutes. The body will continue to survive for several days but the cockroach itself is very dead.

Answer 13

1 can live for a very long time longer than a week and chockrach can live after you put TNT on 1....!!!!(10 poins plz i need it)

Answer 14

yes its true but i dont how long they can live