Humans have concocted ingenious ways of getting rid of cockroaches, the tiny (but sometimes unusually large) insects that crawl through the crevices of our living spaces. Some use white vinegar, others prefer essential oils. Sugar-based traps are also very effective...
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It seems like cockroaches have caught on to our ways and also evolved exceptionally in order to avoid them. But on the flip side, their evolution is having a serious impact on how they reproduce.
Cockroaches cannot be fooled by sugar
It's a human-driven, high-speed evolution that cockroaches have undergone. Our war against cockroaches has been going on for generations and we have found ways to get rid of these pests. But in turn, these insects have adapted to them... via genetic mutation!
To avoid being fooled, cockroaches have developed an aversion to sugar, which turns them away from our traps. The problem (for them) is that sugar is an essential component of their sexuality.
In an article published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers who studied cockroaches in captivity explain:
During courtship, the male offers the female a nuptial gift containing maltose, which accelerates copulation.
In other words, the male gives the female a gift and begins copulating with her as she feasts.
But, now repulsed by these gifts, the females turn away and the males have some difficulty initiating their intimate relations.
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Genetic adaptation
Cockroaches have not only developed an aversion to sugar to increase their chances of survival. According to the scientific article, male cockroaches living in human-infested environments have had to change the way they have sex because of this aversion. They state that they have to:
produce more maltotriose, which is more resistant to salivary glucosidases, and they initiate copulation more quickly than wild-type males, before the [sugar-averse] females interrupt their nuptial feeding and disassemble the male.
Surviving or reproducing, you have to choose, and it is interesting to note that cockroaches have had to adapt very quickly to ensure their descendants.
This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
Read more: This man's insect bite wouldn't go away, it turned out to be a sign of a devastating condition
Sources used:
Proceedings of the Royal Society B:Gustatory polymorphism mediates a new adaptive courtship strategy
