Cockroaches Can Jump & Fly?! In slow mo, it's AWESOME 

Slow motion=majestic movement Normal speed=absolute terror

actually, I was a chemist working in an entomology lab making pheromones and karomones for a variety of studies. Someone managed to forget a small amount of a cockroach pheromone open on a lab bench on a Friday evening, when I opened the well lit door into the dark lab, I was greeted by a large flying swarm of American cockroaches of rather large sizes and vigorous flight... so yes, I have seen roaches fly, unfortunately

A slo-mo video can turn even a flying cockroach into a Pegasus

I'll admit, this is definitely cool... but I still think they're kind of gross. I think it's that they appear when you least expect them in places you least want them, they're big, and they move really fast ; v ;

Anyone from the south should know this. But they're huge and we call them "water bugs". They live under manhole covers and during heavy rains it disturbs them and they try to come inside. My mother's husband is from the UK and never expected the flight. The first time he saw one he freaked because of it's size and went to get a shoe. His slow approach from behind as it was on the wall was a mistake. It flew directly into his face. I've never met a man with such a deep voice produce such a shrill scream before. For reference, I'm from Texas. These flying dickheads are a common sight

I've always had a deep, irrational fear of roaches (and other bugs, but roaches are by far the worst). Sometimes it can be hard to even see cartoon depictions of them without panicking. This video was so soothing, informative, and made with so much care that it helped see roaches in a new way without immediate fear. Thank you for sharing your work; as someone who has always feared bugs, it has helped learn more about them, their biology, the way they move, what they actually look like--all at a safe distance. Knowledge is the enemy of fear, and seeing bugs this close and in slow motion has helped give me a sense of familiarity and curiosity about these organisms that I don't think I would have had otherwise.

As someone growing up in Japan where "gokiburi" were pretty common, I know that roaches can fly. And it may be awesome, but as a kid it was HORRIFYING!

I really appreciate how you talk about bugs. A lot of people talk about bugs in a very sensationalising way, which doesn’t help my phobia at all. You talk about them like any other animal, instead of some terrifying boogeyman!

Never thought I'd find something beautiful about roaches, but those wings are amazing!

i always appreciated the roach's physical capabilities, but now i admire their strange grace even more. I'll still probably squish one if it invades my home, don't need any graceful infestations.

Anybody else have a love hate thing with roaches? From a distance they're awful, but close up they just have such nice little faces and personable little attitudes... IDK maybe Joe's Apartment screwed me up as a kid lol

So roaches do fly.. New fear unlocked: *Flying Roaches.*

Every time I watch these, I wonder if studies like this will ever have industrial or robotics applications. Especially the the leaf hopper mechanics, and how their leg jumps were basically spring loaded and gear aligned.

Your films are unbelievable! I love to see the intimate and secret lives of insects. I’ve seen a lot of ladybugs in my home lately since the weather is cold. Will you consider some ladybug footage in the future? They’re such entertaining and beautiful little critters :)

I never would've thought I'd find a cockroach interesting or fun to watch but you pulled it off. Amazing video!

I had no idea that roaches use their hind legs like that! Thanks, AntLab. Between you and AntsCanada (who really does focus almost exclusively on ants) I am learning new things (and I've been interested in insects for well over 40 years)

with no judgment of this resilient lil' guy, if we were seeing him for the first time...we might say "gorgeous wings" 😄 beautiful antennae you got there!

I love your stuff so much, especially this - these wonderful shots and crisp footage can really open minds to how beautiful a bug seen as "disgusting" actually is. Their flight form is stunning.

I always wondered why some roaches fly and others don't. with a little bit of search I found out that apparently they're from a group of insects that don't get their wings until they have fully matured. great video as always. as gross as they can be they truly are fascinating

Roaches are... underrated. Theyre social, and clever, and rather pretty with their lacewing-like heads and fine wings. They may be a pest, and my mom may cry hysterically upon seeing one, but i find these silky little buggers genuinely interesting.

No hecking way! Such a treat, thank you for these! As much as I’d dislike them in my proximity, love what roaches do for the environment ❤️ Oh can you collaborate with journey to the microcosms somehow? Would be the ultimate collaboration 👀

todos somos valientes hasta que la cucaracha vuela

Very cool. Knew they had wings, never seen them in use.

3:30 That jump is really cool tho, especially that he used the wings like an airplane's brake for stopping him

This is one of the most fascinating videos I watched this year, thank you for taking the time to make this, I love it

All the long-legged insects can flex their perfect jumps as much as they want, but I loved that roaches face plant. Good recovery, too.

My daughter and I love these videos! Thank you for sharing such a cool thing that we didn’t know about roaches! Excellent filming and content!

You're a hero man. You're going where no man has gone before.

Who doesn't know cockroaches can fly , have seen them flying and terrifying people for years. Not just only short burst of flught , they can fly quiet well if they need to.

The first roach jump was so cute, though the second one looked like it was going to bash its head on the ledge rather than jump the gap. :'D

Siiiiiii! Por favor, haz más videos de cucarachas... Poco a poco las cucarachas van ganando mi corazón =) (especialmente las más exóticas que poseen colores llamativos)

Cool footage, but I feel like the article was making a distinction about jumping being that species *main* form of locomotion, not that no other cockroach species can jump at all.

Can you do the common Australian cockroach? It is a fairly strong flyer and flies quite regularly compared to the American and German roaches.

Here in Brazil, common wisdom dictating that 'everyone is a brave fighter - as long as there isn't a flying cockroach in the room' nicely depicts, IMO, the degree of repulsion they provoke on humans.

Cockroaches are so misunderstood. They have round faces, funny antenna and a very fancy caramel color in their bodies. Have you ever seen an ant's head up close? They are absolutely horrible and disturbing. People should appreciate cockroaches more! They are actually pretty insects. Amazing video.

That smoky brown lookes nightmarish, and who thought roaches couldn't jump? Coming originally from the tropics, I could've told you that they did, if you could decipher my terrified sobs.

The thing that always puzzled me is that a cockroach would suddenly disappear if it felt threatened. Sometimes you could see them run but other times they just vanish. I always assumed they were very quick to hide usually under something. Later I began to think they can't possible just vanish, they must have jumped to safety. Even so I still can't figure it out. Maybe you can.

Great footage as always. Your videos show us all these amazing insect movements that happen in the blink of an eye, but slowed down look so graceful (apart from the face planting cockroach!).

I am from Istanbul, Turkey have experienced this when I was at my village town in a city called Mugla. I was playing with my sister and my cousin, we saw a cockroach on a wall, it was night. My cousin dared to touch it with a stick and it jumped and flied straight up to my face. It was terrifying.

I will never forget the day I stepped on a BIG roach after taking a bath...I froze in disgust for like 10 whole minutes. Lift my foot up, and saw a crushed up roach, insides on my foot and floor, and just calmly cleaned the floor and my foot. Tried to get to my bed by tip toeing.

We condemn roaches because we see them next to dirty stuff like garbage. But ask yourself: Who made the garbage?

When roaches jump or fly it’s crazy scary jumping is a crazy nuisance as they do that to try and scare you on purpose.

The Roaches jump is really elegant. Great you filmed it (preservation for the future) because now it's time to exterminate them.

So much complex information travels throughout the insect. It knows that the first two legs have to gauge the distance to the back leg and the drag of the body forward to prepare the back legs to propel it forward for a final jump. And look how it’s antenna are always gathering information of its environment.

Please never stop doing these! This footage looks sooo good.

0:18 *D E A T H is upon everyone*

Great video! as always.

Definitely puts jumping flying roaches in a way that most never considered. These slo mo videos make even disgusting insects interesting. Can’t wait until we see the next video

I work on a bug farm oddly enough, and one of the things we raise is dubia roaches! Sometimes we will have male roaches fly out for one reason or another, but they only really do so when they think they absolutely need to, most of the time they just want to get to a dark corner to hide in

I find a lot of roaches cute. They're just trying to live just like us, though I definitely wouldn't want them in the house unless they were a snackrifice for my lizard. And the only roaches I feed him are dubia roaches from the pet store. I've always found them fascinating and would often go outside at night during the summer and try and catch the ones that appeared on the sidewalk or in the grass. I'm not sure what kind they were, but my mom *hates* them!

I have a dubia roach colony and I have noticed that the winged adult males do occasionally jump despite not being able to fly. Sometimes they open their wings while they fall, maybe for stability. The wingless females however I have never ever seen jump, they prefer to hunker down and really tighten their grip with their claws when scared, find a place to bury themselves or even play dead like the nymphs. The adult males don't seem to ever play dead, they will just make a run for it. Just my observations.

Using this video to help me pin a cockroach in a flight pose

In El Salvador ( Central America) I saw albino cockroaches, lime colored ones and colonies of roaches in holes ….a frightening sight to a 7 year old…..but the green ones were cool

If you look at their wings, abdomens and legs, you can really see how they're related to mantises. Look up bark mantises, or even those Metallyticus splendidus, it's like a missing link. How does one get ahold of a slow-motion camera like this? I'd love to give it a try on some nature documentaries myself!

Cockroaches are intelligent and really quite cool. The large brown eggcase that the female lays is like a little clutch purse filled with tiny eggs lined up tightly one next to the other. It's fascinating to see how much trouble she goes to camouflage the egg after attaching it to her surface of choice. It's unfortunate that humans and roaches (and rodents like mice and rats) are at odds with each other.The pesticides we use to kill them kill slowly and cruelly - it takes a roach days to die as its nervous system fails after coming in contact with the commonly used pesticides. I'm very glad that your lab has decided to offer them a spot in the limelight! Would you please consider highlighting how they eat and show us close-ups of their mouthparts, if possible?

We have a lot of the smokey browns here. I still remove them from the house with prejudice, but I've been admiring their dark red brown carapace lately, and the cute white stripe on their first instar :)

How large would a computer, batteries, and motors need to be to jump that gap as nimbly as a cockroach? Evolution is amazing.

Do keep making these videos. It is a chance for all to see how amazing animals can be. Thanks very much!

I was legit just recently looking for slow motion roach flight footage

I witness roaches jumping and flying all the time, most commonly when I examine my colony of Blatta lateralis, red runner roaches. Most often, the males will jump from egg crate to egg crate, sometimes fluttering their wings as they do it. A few weeks ago, I witnessed a male jump and fly out of the bin towards the top of the lid, which was nine inches higher than the starting point. They're not great fliers, but are good enough to get themselves up and away. It's less often that I see dubia roaches jump or fly, and I suspect discoid roaches of being able to jump as well.

3:00 - It is clear when you explain it to me, before that I wouldn't dream to explore in such details: they jump, it's all. It is an excellent thing to have a good explanation. I always thought that cockroaches couldn't fly or even jump. I knew that they can fall and run after that without any visible damage. It was very interesting.

The first time I saw a roach flying was when I moved to Cancún. I was screaming for help, in Mexico City roaches doesn't fly! That was a whole new experience for me jajaja.

Roaches don’t get enough credit. I’ve gained a massive appreciation for them after taking an entomology class.

I worked as a building superintendent in NYC.....i grew up with large american cockroaches.....but i find in hot humid environments sich as when steam heat is on or in summer....these things have suatained flight for aost a mimute to two minutes sounding like helicopters....absolute terror

Everybody gangsta till the cockroach start flyin.

Darn, I've seen roaches jump and fly back in the day when I was a student, just never thought of it that it had not been scientifically described yet.

They're strangely beautiful.

This is really awesome.. roaches usually make me just grossed out, but here they actually look beautiful.

Me after seeing the title: Yes the some small ones can and fly the same amount of time has house flys and its terrifying

What gorgeous animals! Up close their colors are so striking

Everybody's gangsta until big roach starts to fly

"Roaches are kind of gross" But it is worth remembering there are many very beautiful exotic species, like the domino roach, Therea petiveriana. Even red runners and Madagascan hissers are kind of cute, IMO.

Literally everyone’s worst nightmare.

These roaches are well trained getting them to jump like that

As always thanks for your awesome research! You just gave everyone a positive appreciation for roaches!

Everybody is Gangta until they see the cockroach jumping and flying their way!

I've had a really bad phobia of roaches since I was a child I grew up around huge African cockroaches....No other animal scared me so badly not spiders not snakes I love all animals...then we got a bad infestation of German cockroaches (the little ones) when I was living in Belgium there were hundreds of them.... being forced to live in a house with your worst fear is not a fun way to live... Eventually I got over my phobia now I just hate them for hating sake. but I do like studying Insects and they are the species I probably respect the most.

This just proves to me how more agile these little devils can be in entering my home

I work in pest control. Love learning all I can. This was a great video thank you

As an Australian there are nothing, flying and giant buggers are common.

We have two very different definitions of awesome.

Fascinating! Do you think the authors of the original paper will be interested in your findings?

not gonna lie they actually look kinda cute up close like this when theyre not panicked and somewhat controlled

I can definitely see the relation between mantids and roaches; the abdomen, hind legs, fore and hind wings, even the mouthparts are very similar. The Mantis is much sleeker and smoother in design, everything is bigger, thinner and longer. And being a loner it has no use for the 'hairs' on its legs, rather it prefers mimicry while roaches prefer to blend in with the crowd instead of their environments.

"have you ever see a roach do this?" no because i run as soon as the cockroach slightly open its wings

I had no idea the common household ones could fly.

I love what you all are up to soooo much!!! I adore every video, especially this one! I remember seeing my 1st cockroach when I moved to Toronto! I was shocked when it jumped! I didn't know they could! The ones in Toronto look like light brown crickets and the jumping made me think it WAS a cricket at first! Insects are so cool!

I wish that was how slow they jump and fly irl so they never really always get to my face and body all the time.

I raise many species of exotic invertebrate, of which include Blatta lateralis, the Red Runner Roach. They jump but cannot fly, which is why it’s a great species to raise to feed other animals. Then there’s one’s like Blaberus fusca, who more launch to fall with maybe a smidgen of grace.

Roaches are wonderful. Most roaches will do a hop..and in the right wind conditions they can do a considerable glide. Smaller roaches do genuinely fly, like Panchlora nivea. On that note id love to see a roach flying compilation with the exotics. Like nivea or a blaberus species.

0:20 Yes, I saw it once. When I tried to leave her alone and she decided to jump at my face with her huge wings. I killed her, obviously. I wanted to respect her, but she got up choosing violence, so I responded with violence.

I always forget that the roaches back is actually its wings and not a shell

2:02 The one on the left is doing a belly flop.

The similarities between a roach and crickets are uncanny.

Why, yes. Yes I have seen a roach jump. It jumped out of a cupboard and onto my shirt one day. I discovered on that day that I can scream. Very loud screaming.

These things are EVERWHERE where I live in the American south. Some fly better than others, and its not something you want running into your face at night.

they shows a bit more complex action than a leap roach, creating a momentum before making final jump, just like we do before jumping vertically, great footage and insight, thanks :)

Everything is majestic when its super slow

It's called Piling Butterfly here in Philippines

There's seriously researchers from as recently as 2011 that weren't aware that cockroaches can fly. Man, take all studies with a mountain of salt.