Imagine walking into a supermarket and discovering a new type of milk that doesn’t come from cows, goats, or any familiar dairy animal. Instead, it comes from an insect most people would never associate with food: a cockroach.

As strange as it sounds, scientists have studied a nutrient-rich substance commonly called cockroach milk, and their findings have attracted considerable attention. Researchers discovered that it contains proteins, fats, sugars, and essential amino acids, raising questions about whether it could someday contribute to new nutritional products. Some studies suggest its concentrated nutrients provide unusually high amounts of energy compared with conventional milk.

However, this isn’t ordinary milk, and scientists aren’t suggesting that people start collecting it from household cockroaches. The substance comes from one unusual species with a remarkable reproductive process. Understanding how this insect feeds its young reveals why researchers became interested in it in the first place. Continue below…