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Aging Cockroaches Are Left On The Shelf

Author: Skruff
Sunday, July 29, 2001
Shocking research from Manchester University has revealed that cockroaches share the same dating cycles as people and struggle to find sexual partners as they get older. "Researchers have found that as female cockroaches age, they become less choosy about their mates," The Daily Telegraph reported this week. "Biologists say the same age-related compromise between finding the best mate and making the most of whoever comes along is found in most species, including humans."

Proof that spurned mature roaches become more and more desperate was provided by an experiment that placed females with males and measured the resulting sexual activity. Males had to work harder to win the favours of young females and some were dismissed altogether. The research didn't, however, discover whether any spurned roaches subsequently turned to drink and drugs.
http://pested.unl.edu/cockcom.htm (cockroach picture gallery)
http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/cockroach.html (includes the infamous albino roach and the dancing 'discoid' roach)
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/amercock.html ('INTERESTING FACTS: American cockroaches are the largest of the common roaches.')

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