Diploptera punctata

Diploptera punctata
Adult in Molokai, Hawaii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Blattodea
Family:	Blaberidae
Genus:	Diploptera
Species:	D. punctata
Binomial name
Diploptera punctata (Eschscholtz, 1822)
Synonyms
Blatta dytiscoidesServille, 1838 Diploptera silpha Saussure, 1864

Diploptera punctata, the Pacific beetle cockroach, is a species of cockroach in the family Blaberidae and subfamily Diplopterinae. ^[1] 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. ^[2]

Life stages

Diploptera punctata has 4 nymph stages, which are wingless. The adult is winged, and the adult male is smaller than the female. ^[3]

Distribution

Diploptera punctata can be found in Australia, Myanmar, China, Fiji, Hawaii, and India.

Milk

Diploptera punctata produces a nutritionally dense crystalline "milk" ^[4] to feed their live-born young. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}

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. ^[9]

References

1. George Beccaloni; David C. Eades. "Diploptera punctata". Blattodea Species File. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
2. Roth, Louis M.; Stay, Barbara (1958-01-01). "The occurrence of para-quinones in some arthropods, with emphasis on the quinone-secreting tracheal glands of Diploptera punctata (Blattaria)". Journal of Insect Physiology. 1 (4): 305–318. Bibcode:1958JInsP...1..305R. doi:10.1016/0022-1910(58)90049-0.
3. Marchal, Elisabeth; Hult, Ekaterina F.; Huang, Juan; Stay, Barbara; Tobe, Stephen S. (2013-07-01). "Diploptera punctata as a model for studying the endocrinology of arthropod reproduction and development". General and Comparative Endocrinology. 26th Conference of European Comparative Endocrinologists (CECE). 188: 85–93. doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.04.018. ISSN   0016-6480. PMID   23644152.
4. Williford, Anna; Stay, Barbara; Bhattacharya, Debashish (2004-03-01). "Evolution of a novel function: nutritive milk in the viviparous cockroach, Diploptera punctata". Evolution & Development. 6 (2): 67–77. doi:10.1111/j.1525-142X.2004.04012.x. ISSN   1525-142X. PMID   15009119. S2CID   31048064.
5. Banerjee, Sanchari; Coussens, Nathan; Gallat, François-Xavier; et al. (July 2016). "Structure of a heterogeneous, glycosylated, lipid-bound, in vivo-grown protein crystal at atomic resolution from the viviparous cockroach Diploptera punctata". IUCrJ. 3 (4): 282–293. Bibcode:2016IUCrJ...3..282B. doi:10.1107/S2052252516008903. PMC   4937783 . PMID   27437115.
6. Kumar, Chethan (2016-07-19). "Pesky cockroaches give scientists some high-protein food for thought". Times of India. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
7. Guarino, Ben (2016-07-26). "The case for cockroach milk: The next superfood?". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
8. "Cockroach milk is not the next superfood. It could be a lot more important than that". 31 July 2016.
9. Ayayee, Paul A.; Keeney, George; Sabree, Zakee L.; Muñoz-Garcia, Agustí (2017-06-01). "Compositional differences among female-associated and embryo-associated microbiota of the viviparous Pacific Beetle cockroach, Diploptera punctata". FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 93 (6). doi: 10.1093/femsec/fix052 . ISSN   1574-6941. PMID   28431082.