Development and Morphometrics of the Turkestan cockroach (Periplaneta lateralis) under Solitary and Cohort Rearing at 25 and 30 °C

Overview:
This repository consists of complete datasets and R code for our research "Development and Morphometrics of the Turkestan cockroach (Periplaneta lateralis) under Solitary and Cohort Rearing at 25 and 30 °C ". Our data examine life-history traits at two different temperatures (25°C and 30°C) across three laboratory rearing environments: solitary rearing, solitary rearing with continuous photographic monitoring, and cohort (group) rearing. 

File inventory and contents:

Experimental data (excel spreadsheets):
**Exp-1.-25-C-life-history.xlsx**: Raw life-history and developmental tracking data for solitary-reared individuals maintained at 25°C.
**Exp-1.-30-C-life-history.xlsx**: Raw life-history and developmental tracking data for solitary-reared individuals maintained at 30°C.
**Exp-2.-Under-camera-life-history-A-B-C-D.xlsx**: The life-history data from solitary rearing featuring automated photographic monitoring (replicates A–D) to track individual molting events.
**Exp-3.-Group-life-history-25C.xlsx**: Cohort-reared (group-housed) population development data maintained at 25°C.
**Exp-3.-Group-life-history-30C.xlsx**: Cohort-reared (group-housed) population development data maintained at 30°C.
**Group-vs-solitary-25-and-30.xlsx**: Compilation of dataset structuring comparative life-history metrics across both temperatures and social treatments (group vs. solitary parameters).

Code:
**plateralis_final.R**: Complete, reproducible R language script pipeline containing the workflows for data cleaning, visualization, and degree-day accumulation values.

Methodological summary:
Nymphal development was monitored from first-instar nymphs till adulthood across treatments to capture total developmental time, instar counts (ranging between 7–11 instars), and degree-day accumulation patterns. Morphometric parameters were also measured across the developmental period for specific instars at both temperatures. The experimental protocols varied across housing structure, incubators, handling, and surveillance styles, due to which differences in developmental speed are analyzed contextually rather than purely as a function of social contact.

Documentation & Reuse Notes:
The "README.Isha.docx" file is provided in this repository. 

Associated study abstract:
The Turkestan cockroach, Periplaneta lateralis (Walker), is an invasive peridomestic pest expanding across southwestern U.S. habitats, where it has been reported to replace the Oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis L. Life-history advantages may contribute to this expansion, but its developmental parameters remain poorly characterized. We measured development at 25 and 30 °C under solitary rearing, solitary rearing with photographic monitoring, and cohort rearing. Developmental time was significantly shorter under cohort than solitary rearing. Solitary-reared males and females required 219.8 ± 1.45 and 225.0 ± 2.07 d at 25 °C and 181.5 ± 2.51 and 190.2 ± 2.13 d at 30 °C, respectively. Cohort-reared males and females required 120.2 ± 7.43 and 112.4 ± 9.20 d at 25 °C and 76.5 ± 2.66 and 77.6 ± 1.30 d at 30 °C. Across the two solitary-rearing experiments, individuals completed 7–11 instars. Morphometric measurements increased across instars but overlapped among late instars, making it an unreliable trait to use to determine instar. Degree-day accumulation was consistent across temperatures under cohort rearing but not under solitary rearing. Because the rearing protocols differed in housing, handling, monitoring, and incubator conditions, the difference cannot be attributed solely to social contact. These results demonstrate that laboratory rearing conditions should be considered when extrapolating laboratory estimates to field populations and when comparing laboratory strains with field strains.