Eli5 Why cockroaches and other insects die facing upwards?
In: 9
Insects actually use a combination of hydraulics and muscle flexing to move their limbs. To extend their legs they push fluid into them, and to contract them their muscles pull the joints closed. When they die the hydraulic pressure is no longer present and their legs will curl inward, which tends to cause them to turn over since their body is so much heavier than the rounded cage of their inwardly flexed legs.
Usually bugs that die in the wild don’t end up legs up. This is usually caused by bug sprays, which are work the same way nerve agents like sarin work. They do this by binding to their nerves and let letting go, causing their nerves to stay in a state of constant flexing without and relaxing. This causes every muscle in the body to tense up, often inducing the poor big to flip itself over in it’s death throes. [Source](https://www.terminix.com/cockroaches/why-cockroaches-die-on-their-backs/)
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