Table 2.

Guide to the Dissection of a Cockroach

(Note: the cockroach is an insect with what is considered the primitive standard of insect anatomy. Hence, why it is the
preferred insect for dissection.)
1. To euthanize the cockroach, place it inside a glass jar with cotton balls soaked with
either Chloroform or 70% alcohol, then tightly close the jar.
2. Place the specimen on the dissecting tray with the dorsal side facing up.
3. Identify if your specimen is male or female.
4. Turn the specimen so ventral side faces up. Pull or cut off all its legs and set it aside
on the tray. Take note of the different parts of the insect leg.
5. Pull or cut off the wings. A cockroach has 2 pairs of wings. Young cockroaches
(called nymphs) do not have wings. Only adult cockroaches have wings, but only
sexually mature adults have the ability to fly.
6. Observe the head of the cockroach. Most hexapod insects have 2 types of eyes: 2
large compound eyes and 2-3 small simple eyes (ocellus) at the top of their head.
7. Observe the long antenna (which is made of very small segments as well).
8. For dissection, place the specimen on the tray with the dorsal side up. With a
scalpel blade or dissecting scissors, cut near the edges of the segmented abdomen (follow the broken lines on
the illustration). Be careful not the cut too deeply with the scissors. Leave the last abdominal segment and the
head uncut.
9. Gently remove all the cut segments to expose the inside of the insect body. The internal organs may not yet be
visible due to the presence of fat and hemocoel (yellowish-white).
10. Put clear water in a tray or petri dish. Place the specimen’s body on the
water and move it around. The water will disperse the fat, making the
internal organs easier to see.
11. Once all the fat is removed, carefully stretch the alimentary canal to one
side. Identify the visible structures:
• Pharynx and esophagus – white tube towards the head.
• Crop – a wider tube distal to the esophagus. It stores ingested food.
• Gizzard/Proventriculus – a highly muscular organ that is hard to the
touch. It is responsible in grinding food before it enters the intestines
• Gastric caecum – small, finger-like tubes. It produces digestive
enzymes to break down ingested food.
• Intestine – Long tube that follows after the gizzard and gastric caecum.
• Malpighian tubules – yellow, fuzzy hair-like structure situated
between the intestine and rectum. It is excretory in function.
Skill-building Activities (with answer key)
• Read the instructions carefully and answer accordingly. Good Luck!

1) Identify and label the structures on the external and internal anatomies of a cockroach.