Can cockroaches really survive without a head?

No, cockroaches can survive for about nine days after their heads are decapitated, and finally die of thirst.

OK. First of all, cockroaches don't die from hemorrhage without a head. Secondly, cockroaches breathe with valves without going through their heads. Finally, the average cockroach can go about a week without eating after eating once. So headless cockroaches generally starve to death.

Cockroaches cannot survive without a head because the head is very important.

No, after all, cockroaches are also creatures that need to be well organized.

I think I can survive for a short time, but I can't survive forever.

In fact, for cockroaches, its vitality is very tenacious.

Many insects such as cockroaches do live for a long time with their heads removed, even up to a month under laboratory conditions. However, in the actual environment, cockroaches with missing heads will quickly become infected and die due to the dirty environment.

Joseph, a physiologist and biochemist who studied the evolution of cockroaches at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the United States. Conk explained: not only cockroaches, but many other insects can live for a long time with their heads removed.

He compared a headless cockroach to a headless human:

1.If a human is decapitated, he will hemorrhage to death, but the circulatory system of insects is different from that of humans, it is an open tube circulation, and when the head is cut off, the wound on their neck will be quickly blocked by the action of sac blood cells or podocytes (similar to the role of human platelets), so that the blood does not stop.

2.Human breathing relies on the mouth or nose, and the brain controls these functions, so when the head is cut off, the breathing stops. Insects, on the other hand, breathe through the valves in their abdomen, and they don't need their brains to control their breathing, and their blood doesn't need to transport oxygen.

They only need to pass through the valve duct to breathe air directly through the duct.

3.Cockroaches belong to ectotherms and do not need to expend energy to maintain their body temperature, which means they need much less food than humans. They can survive for weeks with a single meal.

And after the head is removed, the cockroach will stay there honestly and will not run around, which can reduce physical exertion. Under laboratory conditions, as long as they are not exposed to predators and their wounds are not infected by bacteria or viruses, they can continue to live for even a month until they starve to death.

However, this seemingly awesome ability has little meaning in people's lives. Because the cockroach's head is small, hidden under the dorsal plate of the front chest, and there is a sensitive antennae detection danger, even if it is accidentally injured, it is almost impossible to leave the whole body intact and only the head will fall off. Even if it does fall, with the dirty environment in which it usually lives, the wound will quickly become infected and die.

If a female cockroach carrying an egg sac falls off its head, her eggs will still hatch. Because the eggs are mature from the moment they are laid, they no longer need to get nutrients from the mother. Even if you split the egg-holding female, as long as the egg sac is not broken, the eggs inside will hatch normally.

Cockroaches do not have heads and can survive for a week. If you understand why cockroaches and some other insects can survive without heads, you can understand why humans can't. If a human is decapitated, it will immediately bleed, lower blood pressure, hinder the transmission of oxygen and nutrients, and cannot give the tissues needed to sustain life.

In addition, human breathing depends on the mouth or nose, and the brain controls these functions, so if you cut off your head, your breathing will stop. In addition, humans cannot eat without a head.

But cockroaches don't blood pressure in the same way as humans. Cockroaches don't have the same large vascular network as humans, and they don't need high blood pressure to ensure that blood reaches the capillaries. They have an open-ended circulatory system that doesn't require high blood pressure.

When you cut off their heads, the wounds on their necks will clot quickly due to the action of platelets, so that they don't stop bleeding. Moreover, cockroaches breathe through the valves – they have small holes in each segment of their body. Plus they don't need to go through the brain to control respiratory function, and the blood doesn't need to transport oxygen.

They only need to pass through the valve duct to breathe air directly through the duct.

Cockroaches are cold-blooded, which means they require much less food than humans. In other words, they can last for weeks with a single meal. As long as they don't encounter predators and their wounds aren't infected by bacteria or viruses, they can survive.

It's just temporary, and it won't last long.

Why do cockroaches survive for a week even if they don't have a head? Xiaoqiang is not called for nothing.