The Biology of the Dubia Cockroaches, Blaptica dubia

Hao WuSupervisors: Dr. Appel , Dr. Hu

February 20, 2012

Overview

Introduction: Cockroach, the Dubia Cockroaches

Part I: Instar determination

Part II: Temperature-dependent development

Part III: Parental care

Question?

1 Locomotion: Ground, Water and Air

2 Diets: Omnivores (or unknown)3 Reproduction: Great diversityOviparity A, Oviparity BOvoviviparity A, Ovoviviparity BViviparity4 Sociality: Solitary, Subsocial, Eusocial

(termites)5 Relation to Humans: Pests, Pet Diet,

Pet, Medicine

Cockroaches (Blattodea)

The Classical Cockroach Phylogeny of McKittrick (1964)

The Dubia Cockroaches, Blaptica dubia (Blaberidae)Locomotion: Ground

Diets: Omnivores

Reproduction: Ovoviviparity A

Sociality: Subsocial (Parental Care)

Relation to Humans: Pet, Pet Diet

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blaptica-Dubia-cockroaches-x3-male-female-juvenile-v2.jpg

Oothec a of the Dubia Cockroaches, Photo courtesy of Charles Stephen

The Dubia Cockroaches as food for pets

Excellent, protein-rich diet for insect eating pets Various lizards, turtles, and snakes Spiders

Why the Dubia Cockroaches,Blaptica dubia (Blaberidae)?

Sample Protein(%) Fat (%) Fiber(%) Ash(%)

B.dubia 35.60 6.75 3.25 2.01

B.lateralis 36.50 5.31 2.19 1.95

Meal Worms 21.00 15.52 2.01 1.18

Crickets 18.50 6.26 2.09 1.29G.portentos

a 26.70 5.05 5.62 1.37

Nutrition analysis for common feeder insects

Source: http://doubleds.org/newfeederpg.html

1. High nutrition value

Why the Dubia Cockroaches, Blaptica dubia (Blaberidae)?2.Can not climb smooth surfaces3. Without odor4. Inactive

Almost no research on theDubia cockroaches, little research onBlaberidae

Arolium

Fig. 2 Pretarsus of Dubia Cockraoches, Photo courtesy of Jie Wang

Fig. 1 Pretarsus of Smoky brown Cockraoches, Photo courtesy of Jie Wang

Aroliar pad

Part I Instar determination using Gaussian mixture model

Source: The Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2nd

Three types of development in insects

Part I Instar determination using Gaussian mixture model

Objective: Find the general method to determine instars of the Dubia cockroach

Hypothesis: Gaussian mixture model can be used as a general method in instar determination

Methods: 1. Get a sample of N(N>1000) in the Dubia

Cockroaches population2. Measure the width of the head, the pronotum

width and lengthData Analysis: Gaussian mixture model

Gaussian mixture model

Part I Instar Determination using Gaussian Mixture Model

EM Algorithms

=>

N = 470

Part II Temperature-dependent development

Objective: Find the ideal temperature range for the development of the Dubia cockroachesHypothesis: 30°C~35°C will be the best temperature rangeMethod:Data Analysis: Linear regressionExpect Outcome:

Life stage

Model r2 …

L1

L2

…

Ln

Ltotal

Diagram of Experiment Design

Expect Outcome:

Part III Parental care effectObjective: Determine if parental care affects development of the

Dubia Cockroaches

Hypothesis: The presence of parents affects development of the Dubia Cockroaches

Method:Compare the difference of the head width, the pronotum width and length, and the weight difference in the first two weeks.Compare the difference of the development pattern (the

development of each instar and the instar numbers)

Data Analysis: ANOVA

Diagram of Experiment Design

AcknowledgementSupervisors: Dr. Appel, Dr. HuCommittee member: Dr. Peng ZengLab colleagues

Question?Thank you