Even cockroaches develop psychological problems if they are denied a normal social life. Animals reared in solitude are less likely to explore new environments or search for food, are more timid when approaching other cockroaches and are less able to spot the signs of a good mate.
Mathieu Lihoreau and his colleagues at the University of Rennes 1 in France reared nymphs of the gregarious German cockroach (Blattella germanica; pictured above) either in isolation or in a group of ten siblings. The effects of solitary confinement parallel those of 'isolation syndrome', the authors say. This behavioural syndrome has been described in a variety of vertebrates, but Lihoreau and colleagues suggest that it may develop when any group-living species is denied company.
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Behaviour: Why 'there's never just one'. Nature 460, 555 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/460555c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/460555c
