The cockroach is nature's champion acrobat, able to twist and turn up to 25 times a second, scientists have found. This remarkable agility and speed helps to explain why it is so difficult to kill.

"If the cockroach were not such a bad house guest, it would receive the admiration it richly deserves." Dr Jeff Camhi, of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, said.

Dr Camhi and his team filmed the creatures, running at high speeds in a circular enclosure divided by a wall. They kept a fixed distance from the wall, apparently by running the tip of their long antennae along it.

The team found that the roaches kept the same distance from a wall that zig-zagged repeatedly, making them turn up to 25 times a second. "We know of no other animal capable of such a high frequency of body-turning," Dr Camhi said. Cockroaches are nocturnal, so it is unlikely they were using their eyes.

To prove this Dr Camhi blindfolded them with blobs of wax. It made no difference. Immobilising the base of their antennae with glue also had no effect but removing the tips of the antennae caused them to bump into the wall.

The conclusion is that the roaches navigate by running the tip of their antennae along the wall and sensing the changing bend in the antennae tips. The lightning reactions of the cockroach suggests that it must have a highly effective nervous system.

- The Times, London