Do cockroaches fly?

Did you hear about the flying capabilities of cockroaches? It is true. Let's see animal facts for more details

Adults of many species of cockroaches are endowed with wings. Adults of other species, and all nymphs (regardless of species) are wingless. Those adults that have wings tend to fly mainly when disturbed. Generally, they're ungainly in flight, a bit more than just falling with style. Even then, they fly better than do some kinds of birds (such as ostriches, emus, rheas and penguins). The latter, of course, 'fly' quite well underwater. No cockroach is adept beneath the waves. Lastly, some cockroaches fly quite well in 'economy', 'business' and even 'first' class aboard aircraft.

Most species of cockroach can fly if they actually want to (at least those that still have wings, some like the Madagascar hissing cockroach they always made people eat on Fear Factor have lost their wings and are flightless). 

The reason most of them don't fly is that they actually kind of suck at it. 

Cockroaches have made a very successful niche for themselves as cryptic little insects that run very quickly for cover when they are threatened. Their first instinct for escape is now to scurry, rather than take flight and fly away. 

Flying cockroaches are pretty large, slow moving, and not terrifically maneuverable. When cockroaches first evolved, this was probably sufficient to make them and the other early insects like stoneflies, mayflies and crickets masters of the air, but once aerial predators like birds started evolving, they became pretty easy pickings. 

A cockroach flying through the air now would be the target of every bird that saw it. A big, juicy meal flapping furiously to bumble its body along. 

Those cockroaches that are relatively strong fliers (like the Asian cockroach, or the Cuban cockroach) usually only fly at night, when there are fewer predators to see them. Even then, they're probably easy pickings for any bat that might be about.

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