Thieves in California got more than they bargained when they raided a entomologist’s mailbox: a package full of live cockroaches.

Marina resident Rosalinda Vizina said she was conducting a study with cockroaches and ordered 500 of them, KRON reported. When her packages arrived, Vizina noticed that one of the boxes had been tampered with.

“One of these boxes had been left open,” Vizina told KRON. “It looked like it was pried open. And all the mail was gone.”

Vizina said she was sorry the package had been taken.

“I feel bad for the roaches in case they got smushed or tossed or something like that,” Vizina said. “For the thieves, I hope they went everywhere.”