Humans might show commitment with a ring, penguins offer prospective mates rocks and some beetles gift a ball of dung. Wood-feeding cockroaches show commitment with a nibble of cannibalism — and then a lot of aggression.
After a ritual in which mating roaches gnaw off each other’s wings, the pair violently reject all other potential mates or intruders. The findings, published March 4 in Royal Society Open Science, offer evidence that pair-bonding is not limited to creatures with spines. Insects can show fierce loyalty, too.
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