Journal

Birth of Cockroaches

on
29 June 2012

Many people may be grossed out by pictures of cockroaches, or the thought of cockroaches flying around us. That is especially true for those found in our urban homes. However, many of us lose the fear when we encounter cockroaches in the jungle, as they are in their natural habitat and do not scramble/fly as quickly as those found in urban areas.

I always thought that all cockroaches laid eggs in egg cases with rows of eggs. It seemed true whenever I found empty cockroach egg shells, much to my dismay. This video however, shows a cockroach giving birth to live young!

Seems that certain cockroaches are ovoviviparous, which means that the young roaches grow in the egg case (ootheca) while still inside the mother’s body, and the mother gives birth to live young. (ref: How Cockroaches Work)

Forest Cockroach (Blattodea) - DSC_0852#1 James found this cockroach protecting her newborns

Forest Cockroach (Blattodea) - DSC_0858#2 Lots of little cockroaches! So many that the mother’s hind legs were lifted up

Forest Cockroach (Blattodea) - DSC_0861#3 Close up on the tiny guys

Forest Cockroach (Blattodea) - DSC_0862#4 Mother seems happy

Forest Cockroach (Blattodea) - DSC_0863#5 The young seeking shelter with their mum

Cockroach (Blattodea) - DSC_0734#6 Another different cockroach with the visible ootheca

Ant-Mimic Jumping Spider (Salticidae) - DSC_0714#7 Found this ant-mimick jumping spider hiding cozily in the nest

Ant-Mimic Jumping Spider (Salticidae) - DSC_0715#8 Kept turning around, so here’s a view from behind

Ant-Mimic Jumping Spider (Salticidae) - DSC_0725#9 Face shot

Wolf Spider (Lycosidae) - DSC_0726#10 This wolf spider carrying an egg sac didn’t seem to bothered by our presence

Wolf Spider (Lycosidae) - DSC_0728#11 Side view of the mama

Wolf Spider (Lycosidae) - DSC_0738#12 Front view

Tiger Beetle (Cicindelinae) - DSC_0742#13 A bronze coloured tiger beetle

Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae) - DSC_0744#14 Found a handsome looking Huntsman Spider

Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae) - DSC_0748#15 Face shot

Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae) - DSC_0764#16 Record shot of the entire leg span

DSC_0774#17 Victor found this hairy looking pair of mating beetles

Two-Tailed Spider (Hersiliidae) - DSC_0805#18 Two-tailed spider, female

Two-Tailed Spider (Hersiliidae) - DSC_0809#19 Another Two-tailed spider, male standing just beside the female

Fungus Weevil? - DSC_0820#20 Found a tree with lots of fungus weevils

DSC_0823#21 Spotted this really tiny ovipositing wasp

DSC_0824#22 Side view shows the ovipositor inserted into the bark

DSC_0826#13 Another view

Longhorn Beetle (Cerambycidae) - DSC_0839#14 This Longhorn Beetle was resting peacefully while we got ourselves busy shooting everything else

Weevils (Curculionoidea) - DSC_0847#15 A busy pair of weevils, walking around feverishly while engaged in coitus

Weevils (Curculionoidea) - DSC_0850#16 After a long while, they were still at it

The complete album can be viewed here.

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NICKY BAY
Singapore

Hi my name is Nicky Bay. I am a macro photographer, instructor and book author, travelling the world to document the vast micro biodiversity that nature has to offer. Follow my updates and discover with me the incredible beauty and science behind our planet's micro creatures!

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