Parthenogenesis in dubia?

[Matttoadman]

So in February I got some lobsters and found a dubia 1/4 inch nymph in them. It molted into a beautiful female in April. I went through the lobsters last night and found two 1/4 inch dubia nymphs. Could these be nymphs from February that just hadn't grown or could this be parthenogenesis? Assuming there was no male that I missed.

 

[lovebugfarm]

Hmm well im very interested in this i love partenogentic spieces. So lets rule some things out. First do you have a dubia colony, do they have a lid and how close are they to the lobsters? Second i assume as lobsters are climbers they have a lid is there any way one of your males got in? In february did you only see one dubia nymph? It very unlikely but possible if a male nymph matured he could have mated the female right after he molted and was eaten by the lobsters before he fully hardened. You havent seen a male in with the lobsters i assume. Im not sure on this but are dubia sexable at 1/4"? Im sure they are at 1/2" & up. If they are female theres a chance they are from a parthenogenic birth. I would isolate them cause if theres only 2 new nymphs their other siblings were eaten by the lobsters. Im excited to hear more about these guys.

 

[Megaloblatta888]

Dubia roach as far as it is known are a sexually dimorphic species that requires both male and female to breed there are a few species of roaches that can reproduce through parthenogenesis and the one that is known to go through parthenogenesis and is bred in captivity for insect hobbyists is the Surinam roach ( Pycnoscelus surinamensis ). Most likely what happened is that their is a small male hidden in your colony. Some male dubia roaches have lighter colors and is possibly blending in with the lobster roaches.

 

[Hisserdude]

Technically, it is within the realm of possibility, as some species can reproduce via parthenogenesis when males are absent, however it is more likely that they are stunted nymphs that just haven't grown yet, or there is a male in the cage you don't know about. Still, if there was a male, you would probably be seeing a lot more babies in the cage, meanwhile in species that are forced to reproduce via parthenogenesis, the young they produce are usually much less in number, and can be sickly.

 

[Matttoadman]

I bought the lobsters and the first dubia appeared shortly after. I have no dubia other than these three. I assume they must have all been in it but two have been slow to develop. Since they are kept at room temp that make since. Although it's strange the one has grown so quick. There could have been a male at one time but not now. If one of these molts into A male I will know 100%. I have them in there own heated container now.