#zoraptera

The two forms of zorapteran seem to depend on their environment. Under good conditions, the apterous (blind and wingless) form is most common. But if conditions worsen (such as in the case of a famine or drought), the current generation will produce offspring which develop into alates (winged adults with eyes). The winged offspring will then be able to disperse and establish a new population elsewhere, with more resources. Once established, future generations will once again be born blind and wingless. As far as we know, every species of zorapteran is capable of this polymorphism.

The name Zoraptera was given by Filippo Silvestri in 1913, from the Greek "zor" for pure and "aptera" for wingless. "Pure wingless" clearly does not fit the winged alate forms, but the alate forms were not discovered for several years until after the wingless forms had been described!

Zorapterans are highly social, living in small colonies beneath rotting wood. Though they resemble termites, they lack the ability to actually bore into the wood, and only feed on the organisms beneath it. Much of their time is spent grooming themselves or others within their colony. Centrozoros gurneyi lives in colonies which range in size from a few dozen to several hundred individuals, but most often number about 30 individuals.

Unlike ants, Zorapterans are not known to be aggressive towards other colonies. When two colonies of Hubbard's Angel Insect (Usazoros hubbardi) (image 1) are brought together experimentally, there is no difference in behavior towards members of the new colony. Therefore, colonies in the wild may be able to merge easily.

Males are slightly larger than female zorapterans, and maintain a dominance hierarchy in which age or duration of colony membership is the prime factor determining dominance. Males appearing later in colonies are at the bottom of the hierarchy, regardless of their body size. By continually attacking other males, the dominant male monopolizes a harem of females. The members of this harem stay clumped together. There is a high correlation between rank and reproductive success of the males.

Latinozoros barberi do not have a male dominance structure. Instead, the males display complex courtship behavior involving the males feeding gifts to females. Males possess a gland in the middle of the head that opens during courtship, secreting a fluid that they offer to a chosen female. If the female accepts this droplet it will lead to immediate copulation. Follow bestanimal for more Bug Sex Facts.

So glad you followed, here’s another one: Spermozoros impolitus does not directly copulate like most other zorapterans. Instead the female will initiate the courtship by brushing her antennae on the male. If the male is receptive, he will move behind the female, lower his head, vibrate his antennae, and move back and forth repeatedly. He will then move underneath the female and attach a spermatophore (sperm packet) to the abdomen of the female. The female will then shift the spermatophore into her reproductive tract. This 0.1-millimetre (0.0039 in) spermatophore contains a single giant sperm cell, which, unraveled, is about the same length as the female herself, 3 millimetres (0.12 in). It is thought that this large sperm cell prevents fertilization by other males, by physically blocking the female's genital tract (which may be why it is the female who chooses the male). This is the only known insect in the world to feature a single giant spermatozoon, and probably why the species is called Spermozoros impolitus. Alright, that’s enough Bug Sex Facts for this one.