Mastodawn

Romance isn't dead. A new paper argues that a species of wood-eating cockroaches (_Salganea taiwanensis_) pair-bond by eating each other's wings. Then they defend their nest and care for their children all their lives.

📄 Paper: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251992
📰 News story: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/18/nx-s1-5749488/cockroach-pair-bonding-relationships-wing-eating

(via @globalmuseum)

#bugstodon #entomology #cockroaches #Blattodea #Blaberidae

Exclusive aggression against intruders in cockroach mating pairs following mutual wing-eating

Abstract. Pair bonding is often described as a selective association between two conspecific adults that involves the exclusion of rivals. While extensivel

The Royal Society

Stefan F. Wirth Dec 10, 2023

A female of the #cockroach species #Blaptica #dubia (#Blaberidae, Blattodea), which is widespread in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a #macro #portrait of a living individual, which I took in 2020, primarily for aesthetic reasons.
#Biology aspects: sexual dimorphism: males have complete wings, females only have rudimentary wing systems.The phenomenon of "wingless" adult forms is called #brachyptery.
© #StefanFWirth 2023

U. Warnecke & C. Hintze-Podufal (1996):
https://doi.org/10.1127/entom.gen/20/1996/185

Sexualdimorphismus der Flügel bei der ovoviviparen Schaben-Art Blaptica dubia (Blattoidea: Blaberoidea: Blaberidae) - Entomologia Generalis Volume 20 Number 3 — Schweizerbart science publishers