Many people may be grossed out by pictures of cockroaches, or the thought of cockroaches flying around us. That is especially true for those found in our urban homes. However, many of us lose the fear when we encounter cockroaches in the jungle, as they are in their natural habitat and do not scramble/fly as quickly as those found in urban areas.

I always thought that all cockroaches laid eggs in egg cases with rows of eggs. It seemed true whenever I found empty cockroach egg shells, much to my dismay. This video however, shows a cockroach giving birth to live young!

Seems that certain cockroaches are ovoviviparous, which means that the young roaches grow in the egg case (ootheca) while still inside the mother’s body, and the mother gives birth to live young. (ref: How Cockroaches Work)

#1 James found this cockroach protecting her newborns

#2 Lots of little cockroaches! So many that the mother’s hind legs were lifted up

#3 Close up on the tiny guys

#4 Mother seems happy

#5 The young seeking shelter with their mum

#6 Another different cockroach with the visible ootheca

#7 Found this ant-mimick jumping spider hiding cozily in the nest

#8 Kept turning around, so here’s a view from behind

#9 Face shot

#10 This wolf spider carrying an egg sac didn’t seem to bothered by our presence

#11 Side view of the mama

#12 Front view

#13 A bronze coloured tiger beetle

#14 Found a handsome looking Huntsman Spider

#15 Face shot

#16 Record shot of the entire leg span

#17 Victor found this hairy looking pair of mating beetles

#18 Two-tailed spider, female

#19 Another Two-tailed spider, male standing just beside the female

#20 Found a tree with lots of fungus weevils

#21 Spotted this really tiny ovipositing wasp

#22 Side view shows the ovipositor inserted into the bark

#13 Another view

#14 This Longhorn Beetle was resting peacefully while we got ourselves busy shooting everything else

#15 A busy pair of weevils, walking around feverishly while engaged in coitus

#16 After a long while, they were still at it

The complete album can be viewed here.

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