Effects of parental care on offspring growth in the Korean wood-feeding cockroach, Cryptocercus kyebangensis

The objective of this study was to measure the possible effects of prolonged parental care on offspring growth in Korean wood-feeding cockroaches, Cryptocercus kyebangensis. In the field-caught subsocial woodroaches of C. kyebangensis, offspring with both parents were greater in both head width and body weight than those with single parents. Manipulation experiments showed that offspring separated from their parents could survive independently without parents, but they grew more rapidly when they remained with their parents. In particular, the effects of parental care on offspring growth were found to be stronger in groups with both parents than those with single parents. These results suggest that the prolonged parental care evolved in Cryptocercus has a significant impact on offspring growth. Electronic Publication