[Annual Cockroach Control Issue] Cockroaches say, "Bah!" to Social Media

Would you ever imagine that cockroaches could learn how to share their favorite spots to eat with their cockroach friends on social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook?

Well, they can’t. But research at Queen Mary, University of London, suggests that not only do cockroaches share their favorite places to grab a bite, they also follow “recommendations” for the best food sources from their cockroach colleagues. The study was published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, and claims to be the first demonstration that cockroaches forage together, rather than independently, as previously thought.

Just as people flock to a fabulous new restaurant they’ve heard about from friends, cockroaches forage for food and water sources in a similar fashion, making what the researchers call “collective foraging” decisions. These study results shed light on the fact that cockroaches are often found feeding late at night in large groups near a popular food and water source: the kitchen.

According to Dr. Mathieu Lihoreau from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, a better understanding of how cockroaches seek out food will allow the pest management industry to develop more effective cockroach control strategies.

Lihoreau and his research team released hungry cockroaches into an area where the insects could choose between two piles of food. Rather than splitting into two groups and devouring the food, indicating independent action, the majority of cockroaches fed on one piece of food until it was gone.

“These observations coupled with simulations of a mathematical model indicate that cockroaches communicate through close contact when they are already on the food source. This in contrast with the honeybees’ waggle dance or ants’ chemical trails, which are sophisticated messages that guide followers over a long distance,” Lihoreau says. “Although we think they signal to other cockroaches using a ‘foraging pheromone’, we haven’t yet identified it; potential candidates include chemicals in cockroach saliva, and cuticular hydrocarbons, which cover the insects’ bodies.”

Lihoreau suggests that using this knowledge, the industry might be able to develop a man-made foraging pheromone that could increase the efficacy of current cockroach control tools or perhaps even help create insecticide-free options.
 

The source for this article is ScienceDaily (June 7, 2010). The author is a freelance writer based in Muskego, Wis. She can be reached at cbrazell@giemedia.com.

Illustration by Britt Spencer

Reference
Mathieu Lihoreau, Jean-Louis Deneubourg, Colette Rivault, Collective foraging decision in a gregarious insect. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2010: DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-0971-7.