A Blaberous Giganteus is the largest species in its genus. No, I?m not talking about your mother-in-law, I mean cockroaches - the flying kind. Close cousin to the kind that resides in Mauritius, island of open windows and doors. Luckily, Mauritians have not developed a taste for the chocolate covered kind (although at 3 1/2? long and 1 1/2? wide these guys would make quite a feast!) Someone wise once said that you can overcome your fear of a thing by getting to know more about it. That remains to be seen!

Scientists have been studying these flying bugs for years, figuring that they have only discovered 4,000 of the 8,000 possible types around. They are interested in them because they are very hardy, having survived for over 200 million years, facing droughts, floods and volcanic upheavals. They can be found nibbling on vegetation, food left-overs, clothes, soap, each other, when need be, and even paper (so read fast!).

They normally hide during the day and come out at night attracted by a switched-on light, and this is when you?ll most likely see them, racing happily towards you at 2:30 in the morning during a bathroom visit! Very distracting, to say the least, if you have no intention of returning the affection! They also love puddles of water and, because of their wide, flat bodies, they can easily hide in faucets and behind pipes.

Cockroaches aren?t in any danger of extinction. The female can hatch up to 20 nymphs (babies) at a time and she may live as long as 2 years! The male is the romantic one, starting courtship off by making trembling movements with his abdomen (it worked for Elvis, didn?t it?) Mating can take hours and can even last overnight!

Two pairs of wings make flying for these larger members of the species a breeze and it is not uncommon for them to travel 150 feet per flight. So if one of these flying machines careens clumsily into your dinner plate don?t worry! C.P.R. probably won?t be necessary on this superbug, unless of course, you?re the one who needs it!

<B>Angela KEESSOONDYAL</B>