Critters

Spotted a giant cockroach making its way leisurely across our bedroom wall last night. Rather than instantly crushing it, or running for the fly spray (so environmentally friendly these days that it doesn’t kill anything, unless you literally drown the bugs in it), I was torn with indecision. Aren’t insects in terrible peril at the moment? But do cockroaches contribute to the wellbeing of the world, in the same way as honeybees (pollinating everything) or butterflies (being generally beautiful and therefore clearly of value)? By the time I’d decided that the earth would hardly suffer for the lack of one creepy crawly, the offending cucaracha had disappeared behind the wardrobe. Ah well. David Attenborough would be pleased.