Would you drink cockroach milk if scientists called it a superfood? Imagine seeing it beside regular milk at the supermarket. Although it sounds absurd, one species produces exactly that: cockroach milk! This embryonic milk has caught the attention of experts for its unique structure. Rather than laying eggs, the Pacific beetle cockroach, Diploptera punctata, gives birth to live young. The young develop in a brood sac where the mother produces a nourishing liquid during pregnancy (Jennings et al. 2020).
Growing embryos drink this fluid, which generates microscopic protein crystals inside their midguts, the central part of the digestive tract where nutrients are absorbed. These crystals store important nutrients because they consist of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Fatty acids are bound by the folded protein structure, and linked carbohydrates help form a dense crystal. As they are digested, the crystals provide a steady nutrient supply. Researchers calculated that one crystal has more than three times the energy of an equivalent mass of dairy milk, and large numbers of these crystals can be observed within developing embryos (Figure 1) (Banerjee et al. 2016).
This system naturally aligns with the goals of sustainable chemistry. The crystals pack nutrients into an orderly and efficient structure. Folded proteins hold lipids rich in energy, while carbohydrates stabilize the crystal as it grows (Banerjee et al. 2016). This natural design reflects sustainable chemistry ideas like using renewable biological materials and designing more energy efficient systems where scientists try to minimize waste. Instead of viewing cockroach milk just as food, researchers see it as a clever way nature solves chemical storage problems (Figure 2) (Banerjee et al. 2016).
This high in energy “cockroach milk” has led some to call it a superfood (Niaz, Zaplatic, and Spoor 2018). Because many insects require less space, water, and food than cattle, they are studied as potential food sources (van Huis et al. 2013). Instead of collecting crystals from individual insects, researchers may someday use biotechnology to create similar storage systems (Ballenger 2016; Banerjee et al. 2016).
However, a food is not useful solely for its energy density. Cockroach milk is not yet proven safe for human consumption, and gathering crystals directly is challenging. Concerns like allergies (such as tropomyosin reactions), contamination, regulation, and consumer acceptance arise with foods that are insect based. Furthermore, the environmental advantages of farmed insects do not automatically apply here (Kłobukowski, Śmiechowska, and Skotnicka 2025).
Although few will see cockroach milk on grocery shelves soon, the chemical principles behind these crystals may inspire future food production. By studying how nature packages proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates compactly, scientists can develop new methods for food distribution and sustainable production as global food shortages continue (Banerjee et al. 2016; van Huis et al. 2013). The real value of cockroach milk may not be the milk itself, but what scientists learn from it.
References
Banerjee, Sanchari, Nathan P. Coussens, François-Xavier Gallat, Nitish Sathyanarayanan, Jandhyam Srikanth, Koichiro J. Yagi, James S. S. Gray, et al. 2016. “Structure of a Heterogeneous, Glycosylated, Lipid-Bound, In Vivo-Grown Protein Crystal at Atomic Resolution from the Viviparous Cockroach Diploptera punctata.” IUCrJ 3 (4): 282–293. https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252516008903.
Jennings, Emily C., Matthew W. Korthauer, Jacob M. Hendershot, Samuel T. Bailey, Matthew T. Weirauch, José M. C. Ribeiro, and Joshua B. Benoit. 2020. “Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Milk Production and Viviparity in the Cockroach, Diploptera punctata.” Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 120: 103333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103333.
Kłobukowski, Filip, Maria Śmiechowska, and Magdalena Skotnicka. 2025. “Edible Insects from the Perspective of Sustainability: A Review of the Hazards and Benefits.” Foods 14 (8): 1382. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14081382.
Niaz, Kamal, Elizabeta Zaplatic, and Jonathan Spoor. 2018. “Highlight Report: Diploptera functata (Cockroach) Milk as Next Superfood.” EXCLI Journal 17: 721–723. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2018-1437.
van Huis, Arnold, Joost Van Itterbeeck, Harmke Klunder, Esther Mertens, Afton Halloran, Giulia Muir, and Paul Vantomme. 2013. Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security. FAO Forestry Paper 171. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/4/i3253e/i3253e.pdf.
Comments
15 Responses to “Holy Cow! Cockroach Milk and the Future of Food”
Hey iSci,
I came across cockroach milk while looking for an unusual science topic, but I became interested in its potential as a future food source. With food insecurity affecting many people around the world, I wanted to learn whether scientists could use its biology to help develop more sustainable ways of producing more nutritional foods. After learning about sustainable chemistry in iSci, I also started wondering whether the highly nutritional crystals found in cockroach milk could someday be replicated or produced more efficiently without relying on cockroaches themselves. My blog goes into sustainable chemistry by exploring why or why not cockroach milk could be a practical and sustainable food source in the future, and delves into life science topics such as reproduction and embryo development.
Looking forward to the feedback!
Hassan Rasheed
Hi Hassan!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your blog post! I found the topic of cockroach milk rather amusing. Here is some feedback if you find it applicable.
– In your second paragraph, “Researchers estimated that…according to estimates” felt strange and abrupt, I don’t think you need to restate that it was an estimate.
– In the final paragraph, “Even while…” I feel like saying even while flows oddly, consider replacing it with even though
– In the final paragraph, there needs to be a space between “…feed the futures, but the…”
That’s all! This was a wonderful post to read through, can’t wait to read your final draft!
Best,
Kimi Wong
Hey Hassan, fun read, the title pulled me in and I didn’t expect cockroach milk to be this interesting. Liked how you connected the biology to the bigger sustainability and biotech picture.
A few suggestions:
– Paragraph 1 mentions the milk’s “strange nutritional structure” but doesn’t say what’s strange about it yet.
– In paragraph 4 you list allergies, contamination, and consumer acceptance. Maybe you could mention which one do researchers see as the biggest obstacle? Calling that out could strengthen it.
– The conclusion could mention your opening question about whether people would actually drink it which would tie it back nicely.
Overall solid post. Great job.
Ilyas
Hi Hassan, great blog post!
What a novel and interesting topic. Below are a few suggestions to help with your editing:
–> The scientific name of the Pacific beetle cockroach should be italicized throughout.
–> In the last sentence of your second paragraph, “estimated” appears twice. You can remove “according to estimates” to avoid redundancy.
–> This is just a suggestion, but maybe to make your blog post a more integrated with other sciences you could expand on the chemical features of the crystals that make them so energy-dense.
Overall, this was a really interesting post. Happy editing!
– Carolinna Machado
Hi Hassan,
I really enjoyed reading your blog about the benefits of cockroach milk and its implications. Your title and photo were very eye-catching! I have a few notes that I think can help your blog. I would recommend using synonyms in your paragraphs to avoid seeming repeitive in your sentence structure. For example, in the second paragraph and last sentence, you state: “Researchers estimated… according to estimates”. I would consider finding a synonym for the word “estimate”. Moreover, I think it is helpful to read sentences outloud to avoid run-on sentences and ensure clarity. One of your sentences in the third paragraph and last sentence states: “This presents an interesting possibility, instead of collecting crystals from individual cockroaches, researchers may someday examine their structure to use biotechnology to create similar nutrient storage systems.” You could separate this sentence into two sentences so it is more clear. Overall, I would recommend reading over your blog for any grammar or clarity issues. I really enjoyed reading your blog, and I am excited to see the finished product! 🙂
Kind regards,
Vanessa Salazar
Hi Hassan,
Your post so far was a very interesting read!
I have a small suggestion for the final bit of your post,
I think the conclusion could be slightly more specific about what researchers could learn from the crystals. When you mention they could discover “new methods of food production,” maybe a small mentioning what that might look like through from other bug or similar species being applied for food research would make this seem a bit more realistic?
Looking forward to the final product,
Teddy
Hi Hassan,
This was such a fascinating topic and I really enjoyed reading your blog post! Here are a few suggestions:
1. Paragraph 1: Be sure to italicize the genus and species name.
2. Paragraph 2, second sentence: You can consider using the full word “carbohydrates” to maintain the semi-formal tone of your piece.
3. Paragraph 4, sentence 1: Consider rephrasing this for clarity. Perhaps you can say “although this food may have a high energy density, more research is still required to bring cockroach milk to the market”
Happy editing,
Ria
Hi Hassan,
I really enjoyed reading this post, as it was a very unique topic which is on the cutting edge of nutrition research. Here are a few suggestions to improve your post:
– In P1S3 it is usually convention for the first word after a colon to be lower case unless it starts a complete independent sentence
– In P1S5 you should include a comma after “the Pacific beetle cockroach”
I don’t have much more to say that hasn’t already been covered, so overall great work, and happy editing!
Sydney
Hello Hassan!
I loved reading your blog post. I was immediately drawn in by the first sentence, and thought that this was a very entertaining as well as informative read. I just have a few suggestions:
1. In paragraph 2, you said, “researchers estimated that one crystal has more than three times the energy in an equivalent mass of dairy milk, according to estimates (Banerjee et al. 2016).” I would consider putting multiple sources in your citation, as you suggested that multiple researchers estimate this. Additionally, I think that the “according to estimates” at the end is a bit redundant, and can be removed.
2. In the last paragraph, make sure to add a space in “cockroach milk itself may not feed the futures,but…”
Overall, great post! I’m looking forward to reading the finalized version.
Hi Hassan,
Great job on this blog post! A couple of suggestions, if you agree:
– avoid starting with a rhetorical question. Though it can be a great hook, it can be considered a bit unprofessional
– P1: great job mentioning the species name, but don’t forget to italicize this!
– P2: consider defining “midguts”. I am not too familiar with insect anatomy, so don’t assume your audience knows what that is!
– last P: consider rewording the first couple of words to: “even if”. “even while” sounds a bit disjointed.
Great job finding credible sources overall, and what a fascinating topic!
Happy editing:)
Janaya
Hi Hassan,
This was such a fun blog post! As someone who has eaten many a bug (#superfood #protein), this really spoke to me. While I despise cockroaches in principle, I think the concept of using them as a milk source is really innovative and exciting in the food tech space.
Here are a few bits of feedback for your edits:
I think that it would be worth it to incorporate a second figure showing the actual proposed methodology of cockroach milk creation.
I also think that it would be worth it to delve a bit more into the reasoning why the environmental advantages of insect farming wouldn’t apply to cockroach milk.
Also, make sure to italicize Diploptera punctata!
I would recommend adding that one of the biggest concerns about cockroach foods is the fact that it contains tropomyosin, which, to my knowledge, is what people allergic to shellfish are allergic to.
Exciting blog post! Can’t wait to read the final draft.
Bohmie
Hello Hassan!
I liked how you connected cockroach milk to sustainability and biotechnology. I’m personally interested in future food production, so I found this topic really interesting!
I just have a couple of suggestions:
In your second paragraph, you mention that the crystals provide embryos with a steady supply of nutrients as they are digested. I think briefly explaining how the crystal structure allows nutrients to be released gradually would help readers better understand why this system is so unique.
In your fourth paragraph, you discuss the challenges of making cockroach milk suitable for human consumption. Maybe you could expand a little on how researchers might evaluate its nutritional value beyond just energy density, such as whether the nutrients can be effectively digested and absorbed by humans.
I know the word count is tight, so these are just a couple of ideas! Overall, great job! Looking forward to your final!
Hello Hassan,
Very interesting topic! a few things to point out:
– In the caption of figure 1, the word insect is missing an c.
– I think going deeper into the nutritional composition of the milk would be beneficial in terms of balancing the two disciplines you have chosen
– Adding onto my last point, it would be a good idea to expressly state what two disciplines you are drawing upon in a comment. My guess is biology and chemistry, but it needs to be expressly stated.
– For your very last citation, if possible, try and find a DOI for it, as Sarah said that it was preferred. If you can’t, check to see if the document has the chance to be updated, and if it does, put in when you accessed the post in the citation.
– In paragraph 2, change the word carbs to carbohydrates, as it is the more scientifically appropriate term.
– Lastly, defining specific words that are related to biochemistry like fatty acid
Overall I really liked how you connect this topic to biotechnology and food shortages/environmental strain caused by food such as milk. Happy editing!
Hi Hassan,
This blog post was definitely a fun and interesting read! The topic overall was super unique and the creative title drew me in.
One suggestion I have is to further expand on the term ‘high energy density’ and what specific nutrients required for humans are. For example, when explaining how the crystals contain more than three times the energy of similar mass of dairy milk, the word may be a bit ambiguous- therefore expanding on what energy is can be valuable for the readers’ understanding. For example, does more energy mean more nutritional value, calories, etc.?
Additionally, perhaps briefly comparing what contributes to the nutritional value of dairy milk can help readers understand why it can be a potential food source. I think this would strengthen your overall point, by providing background knowledge to help readers understand the milk’s importance to the future of food production.
Overall, great job! Looking forward to reading your final draft!
Hi Hassan,
I really liked your blog post and I thought it was a very interesting topic. I just have a couple really minor suggestions:
– In the third sentence of your first paragraph you don’t need to capitalize “cockroach milk.”
– In the last paragraph, you mentioned “feed the futures,” you might want to change this to “feed the future.”
– In the last sentence of your second paragraph “Researchers estimated […] according to estimates” is a bit redundant, so I think you can remove either one of the two.
– If your word count permits, you might want to explain what “milking a coackroach” entails, because I’m sure it’s very different from the cow milk that we usually think of!
Overall, I really enjoyed your post and your topic! Happy editing!
Naomi