Cockroaches Attract Each Other With Their Poop

Plants and Animals





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An aggregation of German cockroach nymphs. Ayako Wada-Katsumata/NC State

Cockroaches can communicate using their feces, according to a new study. Researchers studying roach aggregation behaviors found that compounds produced by bacteria in the gut of roaches help bring the insects together. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, suggest that microbial communities in the gut may play a role in insect-to-insect communication.