I recently witnessed a cockroach eat its shell after it moulted. Do cockroaches always do this?
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$\begingroup$ I have read that spiders eat their webs to re-spin them somewhere else. Eating a shell Might be some form of recycling $\endgroup$– Alex StoneMay 26, 2013 at 1:44
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Yes, it's fairly common for insects to eat their egg casings, shed skin etc. where possible. In a similar vein, as Alex Stone mentions, spiders often eat their webs too. There's generally plenty of valuable protein and nutrients tied up in there, so why not recycle?
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$\begingroup$ Thank you for the link! I thought along the line of recycling but I wasn't sure. $\endgroup$– gnerkusJun 5, 2013 at 12:43