German cockroaches that biologists refer to as Blattella germanicaseem seem to be vanishing from Russian homes. Scientists sound the alarm: cockroaches must be brought back, otherwise the food chain may be broken and there is no one left to consume waste products of humanity.
      
      In this connection workers of Ilmensky Nature Reserve suggest including the endangered insects into the Red Book.
      
      The scientist Alexander Logunov offered three species to be included into the regional Red Book: the black beetle (or oriental cockroach), the dusky cockroach and steppe cockroach (Ectobius duskei). According to the scientist, our ancestors had deep respect for the black beetle, its presence in a house considered a sign of welfare. When people moved they would take their little neighbours along to another place. This is how this species spread in due time.
      
      In the mid 20th century the German cockroaches simply ate up posterity of the black beetles. In this way the “Russian” black cockroach was defeated by the German cockroach invaders.
      
      As for the recent decay of German cockroaches nobody can give definite reasons for it.
      
      Source: sbio.info