4 May 2007: Bring out your cockroaches

A museum in Texas is offering people money to bring in cockroaches. The museum needs them to fill an exhibit about the wonders of insects that eat decomposing things.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science will pay 25 cents per cockroach, and wants to collect about 1,000 of them.

American cockroaches grow to 2 inches long, can fly, and thrive in the city's sub-tropical climate, according to museum entomologist Laurie Pierrel, who said she will be outside the museum on the next three Saturdays with a bucket for the bugs and money for the sellers.

SaintFM has contacted the Museum of St. Helena, who say they aren't in need of cockroaches but would be every interested if anyone could bring in a live giant earwig.