Cockroaches aren't stupid, they don't just want to eat the food in our kitchen, according to researchers at the VUB-Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Each cockroach has a unique personality, as we found in dogs and pigs.
The researchers stuck radio tags on American cockroaches and placed them in a closed dark environment to track their movements. The researchers looked at how quickly each cockroach found shelter and how long it took to explore the environment and find food. After a week's observation, the researchers found that some cockroaches were very bold explorers, while others were very careful, and those traits affected the activity of the population. One of the researchers, Isaac Planas Sitj, said: "the individual to spend more time in hiding, and rarely explore the surrounding environment. The fearless individuals spend most of their time exploring the environment, rarely hiding."
These traits may even have an impact on their problem solving. The researchers wrote in the paper: "these personalities will have an impact on the group's personality and hiding power. Some groups will quickly reach consensus and make collective decisions, while other groups will need more time to make group decisions. These traits are related to the success of this species. More brave cockroaches are more likely to go out to hunt for food, a strategy that could kill them. A more cautious roach may not thrive without food. Having two characters ensures that at least some of the groups can survive. Sitj said his team is looking for behavioral characteristics of cockroaches to classify them, and learn more about personality and social behavior of the existing effect.