Hatching asynchrony, survivorship, and development in young colonies of the subsocial cockroach Cryptocercus punctulatus (Dictyoptera: Cryptocercidae).

摘要

We report details of egg size and hatch, and neonate weight gain, development, and survivorship in field-collected families of the subsocial wood-feeding cockroach Cryptocercus punctulatus. Eggs are significantly smaller than those of other cockroaches, and hatch is asynchronous, with a span of three or more weeks between first and last-hatched nymphs in large broods. Dry weight of nymphs increases by more than an order of magnitude between the first and second instar. There is substantial early mortality, and nymphs in small families are developmentally more advanced than those in large families at the end of the natal year. Asynchronous hatch in C. punctulatus appears unrelated to the observed early mortality of young nymphs; rather, a proportion of newly hatched offspring may routinely serve as walking trophic eggs in an environment where nitrogen is not easily obtained.