Insects are the most diverse group of organisms to appear in the 3-billion-year history of life on

Earth, and the most ecologically dominant animals on land. Insects evolved from a group of
crustaceans.The first insects were land bound, but about 400 million years ago they were the
only group of invertebrates that have evolved wings and flight.

Cockroach is the common name for any insect in the order Blattodea. This group of invertebrate
is very old, with abundant fossils traced to over 320 million years ago (mya) from the
Carboniferous period (359 mya to about 299 mya). It is therefore safe to say that they are one of
the oldest of fossilized insects and may have been the first flying animals.
Since the 19th century, scientists believed that cockroaches were an ancient group of insects
that had a Devonian origin, according to one hypothesis.
However, these fossils that were traced to over 320 million years ago (mya) from the
Carboniferous period differ from modern cockroaches in having long ovipositors and are the
ancestors of mantids as well as modern cockroaches. The first fossils of modern cockroaches
with internal ovipositors appear in the early Cretaceous.