These roaches form exclusive long-term relationships after eating each other's wings
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Salganea taiwanensis may engage in a behavior known as pair bonding.'/> Salganea taiwanensis , a kind of wood-feeding cockroach, may engage in what's known as pair bonding, a new study finds. (Image credit: Haruka Osaki)
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NPR Science LISTEN & FOLLOW NPR App Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music iHeart Radio YouTube Music RSS link Sign up for the Newsletter Get perks with [Podcast Title]+ Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed. LEARN MORE --> Science These roaches form exclusive long-term relationships after eating each other's wings March 18, 2026 9:21 AM ET Ari Daniel A new paper in the journal Royal Society Open Science describes evidence that the wood-feeding cockroach Salganea taiwanensis may engage in a behavior known as pair bonding. Haruka Osaki hide caption toggle caption Haruka Osaki When you think of two individuals coupling up to raise and protect a family together, you might think of people or birds. But probably not cockroaches. And yet, in a paper published in Royal Society Open Science , a trio of researchers presents evidence that suggests that Salganea taiwanensis , a kind of wood-feeding cockroach, may engage in what's known as pair bonding. That "just means that two individual organisms will spend an extended period of time with each other and will exclude other individuals from the bond," says Nate Lo , an evolutionary biologist at the University of Sydney and an author of the new study. "The two individuals know that the other member has their back." Pair bonding comes with numerous benefits, including grooming, the joint defense of nest and offspring, and the sharing of food. It requires enough brain power to learn to recognize and remember one's partner. The behavior shows up frequently in birds , mammals , and even fish . "But we very rarely see it in invertebrates, so things like insects or crustaceans or other creepy crawlies," says Lo. Science These cockroaches tweaked their mating rituals after adapting to pest control Now, Lo and his colleagues believe they've found some of the first indications of pair bonding in an invertebrate. This means that these roaches, and perhaps other insects, may have more sophistic...
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