For most people, cockroaches are unwelcome household pests. For scientists, they are among the most successful survivors in Earth’s history. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from the Zoological Survey of India have created a DNA barcode library for Indian cockroach species, a breakthrough that could help unravel the ancestry, evolution and extraordinary resilience of an insect lineage that has survived for over 300 million years. Dr K.P. DINESH, lead author of the study published in Zootaxa, speaks to PALLAVI SMART about why India’s overlooked cockroach diversity deserves a closer look. DNA barcoding works like a genetic identification system, similar to supermarket barcodes used for products. Using short DNA sequences, scientists can accurately identify species. This study generated more than 100 DNA barcodes representing a wide range of cockroach species from peninsular India, including several endemic Indian lineages found nowhere else in the world.…