Researchers are studying the dramatic physical transformation that some insects undergo to give birth to live young.
This includes suppressing their immune systems to accommodate babies, which is something some insects and people have in common. Understanding how these systems work can help improve treatments for fibromyalgia and other immune disorders.
Biologists see similar changes in the insect's trachea, its immune system and the outer layer of its exoskeleton called a cuticle, which transforms to make room for the babies.Cockroach mothers not only incubate their babies until they are the equivalent size of a 2-year-old human toddler, but they also feed them a milk-like nutrient they produce through secretory glands.
Related StoriesBeetle-mimic cockroaches have big advantages compared to those that hatch from eggs, Benoit said. Tinier babies that hatch from eggs are exposed to the elements where they're vulnerable to far more parasites and predators and must immediately find food on their own.But live births require a far bigger parental commitment.
They found that the biological changes that allow beetle mimic cockroaches to give birth to live young are similar to those found in aphids and tsetse flies, demonstrating convergent evolution, Benoit said.
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