Cockroach clusters..

[dungrollin]

> Potioncat:
> Actually, when I was first forming my SICK theory (Snape Is 
> Cockroach King) I researched cockroaches. My Alma Mater, 
> sorry/proud to say, has a website dedicated to the critters. At 
> any rate, they sound very much like our dear potion master, except 
> they don't like the cold....or maybe that was just South Carolina 
> Cockroaches.
>

Aha, an expert! In that case, I'll just say that we only have a 
handful of native species in the genus Ectobius, which are 
unassuming pretty little things, mostly frequenting leaf litter. 
There are (I think) 4 species of introduced cockroaches**, which are 
the ones responsible for infestations, and I'm not sure that they 
can survive British winters, which is why they like warm dirty 
kitchens so much. Don't think infestations are that common (pest 
control's not my thing), though at the museum I used to work in the 
occasional escapee from our live exhibits used to put the wind up 
the catering staff a treat. 

> BTW, Dot, I haven't forgotten the meal worms. Our teachers are on 
> spring break and of course my kids don't have a clue what their 
> official name is!

I wait with bated breath...

> 
> Kathy W. who did eat a bug once at a museum exhibit, and would 
> have preferred some chocolate around it.

My ex-boss was, for some reason, invited onto a daytime TV show to 
cook various insects, and did some crunchy mealworms dipped in 
chocolate.  Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to try them.

Dot

**In case you care: Periplaneta americana (which is really from 
Africa), P. australasiae (which is also really from Africa), Blatta 
orientalis (which is probably really from Africa) and Blatella 
germanica (which is probably really from North Africa). There's also 
an introduced Supella species, but I don't think that does infestin'.