Although many people hate insects, few realize that they play a crucial role in our environment.

Giant Cave Roaches
The roaches typically found in our homes are actually the German cockroach and Palmetto bug, which are adapted to take advantage of garbage and spread disease. There are more than 4,000 known roach species worldwide, including the Blaberus giganteus, or giant cave roaches.

Giant cave roaches are one of the largest roach species; they grow up to 4 inches long but do not spread disease. Native to tropical areas of Panama, the West Indies, and northern South America, they eat decaying plant material and animal waste, a vital environmental function. Low in the food chain, they are an important food source for birds, frogs, black bears, and many large mammals.

Walking Sticks
Walking sticks look very much like a forest stick or twig so that they can be well camouflaged within tree branches. Ranging in size from less than 1/2 inch to 4 inches long, they have six legs, of which the front legs are often mistaken for two long antennae. Preyed upon by birds and squirrels, walking sticks can regenerate their limbs if attacked. They are found in wooded areas of southeastern Canada, New England, the mid-Atlantic, and Midwestern states.

Flesh-Eating Beetles
Although both the larvae and adult beetles eat the flesh of dead animals, flesh-eating beetles are harmless to people. Scientists sometimes use strong chemicals like hydrogen peroxide and carbon tetrachloride to strip the flesh off skeletons they want to study. But those chemicals can eat into the bones and change their structure. These beetles clean skeletons naturally by stripping off the flesh but leaving the bones and collagen untouched.

Whipscorpion/Vinegaroon
Classified as arachnids, whipscorpions live in tropical, subtropical, and desert areas, such as Florida, the Gulf states, and some parts of the Southwest. Their whiplike tails lack a stinger and are used as a sensory organ. They hide in moist places beneath leaf litter, logs, and stones during the day, and come out at night to hunt for insects, scorpions, windscorpions, and other small animals.

Resources
Kids are spending less time outdoors and, as a result, they have no idea what goes on in the natural world around them. To find out more exciting ways to connect kids with nature, visit greenhour.org. Special thanks to Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo for providing the invertebrates used on today's show.