Diploptera punctata
{{Short description|Species of cockroach}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Diploptera punctata adult.jpg
| image_caption = Adult in Molokai, Hawaii
| genus = Diploptera
| species = punctata
| authority = (Eschscholtz, 1822)
| synonyms =
- Blatta dytiscoides Serville, 1838
- Diploptera silpha Saussure, 1864
}}
Diploptera punctata, the Pacific beetle cockroach, is a species of cockroach in the family Blaberidae and subfamily Diplopterinae.{{Cite web|url=http://blattodea.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=905|title=Diploptera punctata|access-date=10 June 2011|author1=George Beccaloni|author2=David C. Eades|website=Blattodea Species File}} It is one of the few cockroach species that is viviparous. Adults are chemically defended, having a modified tracheal gland and spiracle on each side which squirts quinones which can poison or discourage a predator.{{Cite journal|last1=Roth|first1=Louis M.|last2=Stay|first2=Barbara|date=1958-01-01|title=The occurrence of para-quinones in some arthropods, with emphasis on the quinone-secreting tracheal glands of Diploptera punctata (Blattaria)|journal=Journal of Insect Physiology|volume=1|issue=4|pages=305–318|doi=10.1016/0022-1910(58)90049-0|bibcode=1958JInsP...1..305R }}
Life stages
Diploptera punctata has 4 nymph stages, which are wingless. The adult is winged, and the adult male is smaller than the female.{{Cite journal|last1=Marchal|first1=Elisabeth|last2=Hult|first2=Ekaterina F.|last3=Huang|first3=Juan|last4=Stay|first4=Barbara|last5=Tobe|first5=Stephen S.|date=2013-07-01|title=Diploptera punctata as a model for studying the endocrinology of arthropod reproduction and development|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016648013001949|journal=General and Comparative Endocrinology|series=26th Conference of European Comparative Endocrinologists (CECE)|language=en|volume=188|pages=85–93|doi=10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.04.018|pmid=23644152|issn=0016-6480|url-access=subscription}}
Distribution
Milk
Diploptera punctata produces a nutritionally dense crystalline "milk"{{Cite journal|last1=Williford|first1=Anna|last2=Stay|first2=Barbara|last3=Bhattacharya|first3=Debashish|date=2004-03-01|title=Evolution of a novel function: nutritive milk in the viviparous cockroach, Diploptera punctata|journal=Evolution & Development|volume=6|issue=2|pages=67–77|doi=10.1111/j.1525-142X.2004.04012.x|issn=1525-142X|pmid=15009119|s2cid=31048064}} to feed their live-born young.{{cite journal |last1=Banerjee |first1=Sanchari|last2=Coussens|first2=Nathan|last3=Gallat|first3=François-Xavier|display-authors=etal|date=July 2016|title= Structure of a heterogeneous, glycosylated, lipid-bound, in vivo-grown protein crystal at atomic resolution from the viviparous cockroach Diploptera punctata|journal=IUCrJ|volume=3|issue=4|pages=282–293|doi=10.1107/S2052252516008903|pmid=27437115|pmc=4937783|bibcode=2016IUCrJ...3..282B }}{{cite news |last=Kumar |first=Chethan |date=2016-07-19|title=Pesky cockroaches give scientists some high-protein food for thought|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Pesky-cockroaches-give-scientists-some-high-protein-food-for-thought/articleshow/53275689.cms|newspaper=Times of India|access-date=31 July 2016}}{{cite news |last=Guarino|first=Ben |date=2016-07-26|title=The case for cockroach milk: The next superfood?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/26/the-case-for-cockroach-milk-its-the-most-caloric-protein-on-earth-scientists-say/|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=31 July 2016}}{{Cite web | url=https://askentomologists.com/2016/07/31/cockroach-milk-is-not-the-next-superfood/ | title=Cockroach milk is not the next superfood. It could be a lot more important than that | date=31 July 2016 }}
The milk produced by Diploptera punctata is composed of hydrosoluble proteins and provides essential amino acids to the developing embryo such as lysine, leucine and valine.{{Cite journal|last1=Ayayee|first1=Paul A.|last2=Keeney|first2=George|last3=Sabree|first3=Zakee L.|last4=Muñoz-Garcia|first4=Agustí|date=2017-06-01|title=Compositional differences among female-associated and embryo-associated microbiota of the viviparous Pacific Beetle cockroach, Diploptera punctata|journal=FEMS Microbiology Ecology|language=en|volume=93|issue=6|doi=10.1093/femsec/fix052|pmid=28431082|issn=1574-6941|doi-access=free}}