Porch Pirates Steal Scientist’s Package of 500 Live Cockroaches

Stolen Cockroaches Delivered for Research Project

Karma, as they say, is a… well, it rhymes with rich. In this case, it’s also ick. Some unlucky porch pirates stole a delivered package containing 500 live cockroaches.

It wasn’t a prank or a trap. The highly resourceful insects were ordered by Rosalinda Vizina, a research biologist in the Sacramento CA area.  Vizina told local news sources that she needed the cockroaches for an entomology research study she is conducting.

“I feel bad for the roaches if they got smooshed, Vizina told Action News KSBW, “But as for the thieves,  I hope they (the cockroaches) went everywhere.”  Vizina is a National Science Foundation is a grant recipient for her research on insects, bats and other wildlife.

We feel bad for the roaches too. But we hope they did get smooshed and didn’t end up spreading into local people’s homes.

Most Packages Get Delivered When No One’s Home

Consider these facts:

• More than 20% of Americans had a package stolen just within this past year.
• A Pew Research survey cited in TechCrunch reports that eight out of ten Americans now shop online.
• Last year, Amazon shipped an estimated 1.22 billion packages in the U.S., according to MWPVL International, a supply-chain consultancy.