Reproductive biology and embryonic development oi Noeticola sp. (Blattodea: Nocticolidae)

Abstract

Author(s): Fujita, M; Lee, CY; Machida, R | Abstract: . Reproductive biology, including the mating behavior, ootheca rotation and deposition, and the embryonic development of a nocticolid cockroach Nocticola sp. were examined and described, and the phylogenetic issues regarding Nocticolidae and Blattodea were discussed. The abdominal terga II to IV are specialized in males, relating to the tergal glands, although they are less specialized in macropterous males. The (brachypterous) males display a wing-flapping behavior around the female before mating. The female delivers the ootheca with its keel upward, and several hours later, rotates it clockwise by 90° viewed from the female's side, into a horizontal position. After carrying the ootheca for a few days holding it by its flange, the female deposits it on the ground. The ootheca is pear-shaped, and contains only four eggs. About a dozen micropyles are localized on the posterior region of the ventral side of the egg. The aggregation of symbiotic bacteria ("mycetome") is not detected in the eggs. The embryo undergoes the blastokinesis of the "non-reversion type," maintaining the original orientation in the egg. Similar to the recent combined and phylogenomic analyses, the information on the reproductive biology obtained in the present study, including the manner of handling of ootheca, mode of mating behavior, egg structure, and type of blastokinesis, may suggest close affinity between Nocticolidae and Corydiidae, thus the monophyletic Corydioidea.