Philippines' 'Cockroach Lord' goes to bat for misunderstood bugsCristian Lucanas, an entomologist from the University of the Philippines Los Banos, shows preserved specimens of cockroaches in Los Banos town, (Photo: afp)LOS BANOS, Philippines - A thin band of light from Cristian Lucanas's headlamp pierces the blackness of a Philippine rainforest as he digs through the underbrush before gently scooping up a cockroach with his bare hands. The massively biodiverse Philippines has about 130 known species, three-fourths of which are found nowhere else on earth. While some cockroach species do carry disease-spreading microbes, a world without them would slow the process of decomposition crucial for sustaining ecosystems, he said. When his biology class adviser was unable to identify the species, Lucanas knew he had found his niche. He laments that most science funding in his country "goes to research that will directly affect humans", worrying that at best he will only be able to catalog and explain the Philippines' cockroaches.

Source: Bangkok Post March 08, 2026 05:50 UTC