I’m kind of glad you’re not an artist tbh. To get the pure milk, scientists had to sort of stick a filter right into their abdomens (it’s a kind of cockroach that gives birth to live young).
Realistically if anyone ever harvests it en masse they will probably just kill the mothers and include the entire abdomen not just the milk secretions.
Are you glad because I’m not very inventive, or because my description demonstrates I’m disturbed?
And I have so many additional questions.
Do they feed this secretion to the live young?
If yes, wouldn’t that technically make them mammals?
Is the milk harvested before or after live birth?
If before, where is egg/larva sack, anatomically?
If in abdomen, how separate are these organs - in other words, are we talking like milk sack, reproductive sack - stick the needle filter too far one way and you’ve missed the milk and got larvae - or is it like a liquefied mess in there, and that’s why they need the filter?
No they feed them before birth. The embryos start with a small yolk but soon have well developed mouths and after the yolk is gone they lie in there drinking milk from the sac walls.
It technically makes them viviparous (continuing to give nutrients to live embryo in real time as opposed to an egg with a yolk)
I have not been able to find details but as far as I can see the filter is a “larva substitute” so presumably it gets inserted before birth.
Brood sack (like a placenta) is in abdomen and the milk is secreted into it.
I’d say it is a delicate operation but it’s not a liquefied mess, it’s a bunch of baby insects sucking the walls.
I’m kind of glad you’re not an artist tbh. To get the pure milk, scientists had to sort of stick a filter right into their abdomens (it’s a kind of cockroach that gives birth to live young).
Realistically if anyone ever harvests it en masse they will probably just kill the mothers and include the entire abdomen not just the milk secretions.
Are you glad because I’m not very inventive, or because my description demonstrates I’m disturbed?
And I have so many additional questions.
I can go on, but man this is weird…
I’m glad because I have a visual memory.
No they feed them before birth. The embryos start with a small yolk but soon have well developed mouths and after the yolk is gone they lie in there drinking milk from the sac walls.
It technically makes them viviparous (continuing to give nutrients to live embryo in real time as opposed to an egg with a yolk)
I have not been able to find details but as far as I can see the filter is a “larva substitute” so presumably it gets inserted before birth.
Brood sack (like a placenta) is in abdomen and the milk is secreted into it.
I’d say it is a delicate operation but it’s not a liquefied mess, it’s a bunch of baby insects sucking the walls.
Photo of one giving birth
Scientific paper about the milk that gives the above details.