A Glandular Gift in the German Cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.) (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae): The Courtship Feeding of a Female on Secretions from Male Tergal Glands

In the courtship behavior of the German cockroach, the male presents tergal glands to the female and feeds her with glandular secretions to place her in the appropriate precopulatory position. The phagostimulant activity of the secretions was quantitatively examined using the polyethylene glycol film method. The methanol extract of the glands on the eighth tergite induced a potent feeding response in 6-day-old virgin females (EC₅₀= 0.0037 male equivalent/40 g PEG spot). However, there was no temporal relation between the feeding response and the sexual receptivity of the females. Moreover, besides virgin females, the extract induced a feeding response in gravid or mated females, males, and the last-instar nymphs. These results strongly suggest that the secretions function as a dietary feeding stimulant in principle but as a courtship pheromone in the context of courtship behavior where the stimulants are offered as a nuptial gift.