Lachryphagy by cockroaches: reptile tears to increase reproductive output?

Abstract

Lachryphagy, or tear-feeding, is generally considered as supplementary feeding by invertebrates with a long proboscis to acquire essential nutrients. Commonly reported vertebrate host species of lachrypaghic interations are humans and birds, and in reptiles concern large species: turtles and crocodiles, with one report from an iguanid host. Here, we report tear-feeding by a cockroach, a species lacking a proboscis, on a small squamate species, Anolis fuscoauratus. We address how the nutritional needs for the reproductive cycle may force cockroaches to explore any dietary source with essential nutrients. In addition to birds, our report adds Anolis as invertebrate predators that are visited by lachryphagous invertebrates, interactions that may be restricted to nights to reduce predation risk for the feeding invertebrates. This report extends tear-feeding behavior to proboscis-lacking invertebrates, and to small squamate hosts, and demonstrates that lachryphagy on reptilian hosts is not restricted to diurnal occurrence. Overall, this observation suggests that similar interactions could be far more frequent.