Can roaches stay alive without a head?

Cutting off a roach’s head won’t kill it—at least, not right away. In contrast with more highly developed animals, roach survival does not depend on having a head. Rather than being equipped with a single brain, roaches have nerve tissue ganglia distributed throughout their body that can take over basic functions if an insect loses its head. And roaches don’t breathe through a mouth or nose, either: They have small breathing holes called spiracles that don’t require a brain to control them. But roaches do need to eat and drink, thus a headless roach will die of starvation or thirst within about a week.