Informative, Obscure Cockroach Facts - Twitter!

[BoogleBug]

http://twitter.com/Blattaphile

Something I created sometime in May, contains random facts from my studies. Follow the account to view the updates! Feel free to correct any information that may be inaccurate and provide valid proof. I want this to be as scientifically accurate according to respected professionals and experienced hobbyists. Updated once or twice per week on average. Contribute facts if you like, as well!

Some tidbits from my Twitter:
- Cockroaches are the most frequently used specimens for the study of insect behavior, anatomy, and physiology.
- Having trouble breeding your roaches? Feed them orange once or twice a week. Breeders say this somehow encourages breeding.
- Most cockroaches are unlike the majority of insects in that their exoskeleton is coated not with a waxy layer but a greasy one.
- The male cockroach expels a tasty fluid from underneath his wings that lures the female on top of him for easy mating. What a charmer ;)
- Mastotermes darwiniensis is thought to be the descendant of the wood roach. It exhibits more roach-like traits than any other termite.

[Pharma]

Hi

Just a small corrigendum (you might use a scientific 'publication-searching-engine' to confim this):
- To my knowledge the instect the most used for the study of anatomy and physiology (with behavior you might be right) is Drosophila melanogaster (its genom is at least in good parts sequenced which isn't true for roaches).

- Do you have a reference for the wax v.s. grease statement? And what is meant with 'most' (there are really a lot of roaches and I wonder who investigated them all :D ). And do I interprete it right that wax means esters of long chained fatty acids with long chained alcohols whereas grease stands for triglycerids?

- I never saw one of my roaches coupling in such a way that the female is on top of the male...

- Termites are now part of the cockroaches ;) !

Grüessli
Andreas

[BoogleBug]

For the waxy/greasy thing, I found in a book called "The Compleat Cockroach", though I've found one other little thing in it to be wrong already even without being halfway through it, so this could be wrong, as well - it just seemed very accurate as roaches DO feel greasy/slimy compared to any other insects I've touched.

I'm pretty surprised that you haven't seen their mating habits. Most smaller roaches I've kept always begin mating with the female initially being on top. I thought it was a pretty widely-known fact, at least, that the male tempts the female onto his back with a secretion and then prods her from below right before turning around to face away from each other. Just look HERE (http://www.jbc.org/content/278/32.cover-expansion).

Hi

Just a small corrigendum (you might use a scientific 'publication-searching-engine' to confim this):
- To my knowledge the instect the most used for the study of anatomy and physiology (with behavior you might be right) is Drosophila melanogaster (its genom is at least in good parts sequenced which isn't true for roaches).

- Do you have a reference for the wax v.s. grease statement? And what is meant with 'most' (there are really a lot of roaches and I wonder who investigated them all :D ). And do I interprete it right that wax means esters of long chained fatty acids with long chained alcohols whereas grease stands for triglycerids?

- I never saw one of my roaches coupling in such a way that the female is on top of the male...

- Termites are now part of the cockroaches ;) !

Grüessli
Andreas

[Pharma]

Cool!
I think I have to look a bit more careful at their mating behaviour... :rolleyes:

Thanks for the new 'old' knowledge!