VARIATION AMONG INDIVIDUALS AND THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON FOOD CONSUMPTION AND REPRODUCTION IN THE COCKROACH, <i>PERIPLANETA AMERICANA</i> (ORTHOPTERA: BLATTIDAE)

AbstractLong term daily feeding in individual adult males and females of Periplaneta americana (L.) was quantified using a standardized diet. There was considerable variation among days, probably related to digestive processes with a period greater than 1 day. Female feeding was correlated with the reproductive cycle, most feeding occurring during the first few days after depositing an oötheca. Females differed with respect to the length of their reproductive cycles, and the amount of food that was accumulated prior to producing an oötheca. Females with high feeding rates produced oöthecae at a faster rate, but they were less efficient at converting food into oöthecal biomass than females that ate more slowly. A decrease in temperature from 25 °C to 20 °C more than doubled the length of the reproductive cycle, but the amount of food accumulated during inter-ovipositional intervals and the size of the oöthecae were not affected.

VARIATION AMONG INDIVIDUALS AND THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON FOOD CONSUMPTION AND REPRODUCTION IN THE COCKROACH, PERIPLANETA AMERICANA (ORTHOPTERA: BLATTIDAE) Journal Articles