Are cockroaches an ancient animal?
Yes. They’re one of the earliest land animals. Some of the oldest fossils are of cockroaches. Are Madagascar hissing cockroaches the biggest roaches in the world? No, not at all. I grew up in Florida, and we had cockroaches there that we called Palmetto bugs — they were 3 1/2, 4 inches long. Larger cockroaches also live in Australia and in South and Central America. There are also fossils of ancient cockroaches that grew up to a foot long. Do you have pet insects at home? I’ve had all kinds of exotic animals for my entire life. But when I bought this store — 23 years ago — I decided that I was not going to take care of exotic animals at work for 60 hours a week and then go home and take care of some more. So what I have at home now is three dogs and three cats. Did you have lots of pet insects and other animals as a kid? Oh, yes. When I was a little boy, my older brothers nicknamed me “the Bug” because before I could even walk, I was crawling around, catching bugs. I had collections
