New advice for cockroach-squashers
Cockroaches beware
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Thursday, 13, Nov 2008 05:00
Those seeking to kill cockroaches are among those benefiting from new research out today.
Research published in today's Current Biology publication finds cockroaches confronted with a head-on attack tend to retreat along four primary escape routes at fixed angles from the threat.
As a result Paolo Domenici, one of the study's authors, recommends targeting a squashing attempt at a 90-degree or 180-degree angle from the attack.
"This is where squashing could be aimed," he said, before adding: "We like cockroaches and would recommend no squashing."
Scientists have been studying cockroaches for years but the team publishing today's report has remained unconvinced by theories about whether their behaviour is random or not.
They do not run away in random directions, but did not seem to run away in any predictable manner either.
The results show that "unpredictable" behavioural patterns in nature can actually be quite structured. Animals that may seem to be carrying out a single behaviour pattern with wide variation could instead be choosing between multiple strategies, the scientists suggest.