Foreword
People having only casual interest in insects usually express amazement when they learn how much is known about this most numerous group of animals. However, while entomologists have good reason to take pride in the accomplishments of their contemporaries and predecessors, they are more likely to be appalled by how much remains to be learned. We are indeed ignorant of even the identity of fully half and probably much more than half the total number of insect species. Of those that have been described, we have reasonably complete information about the behavior and basic environmental relationships for only a comparative few. The great majority of the remainder are known only from specimens found in museum collections. Such information as we have about these species usually amounts to no more than date and locality of collection.
This is true of the cockroaches, which now include approximately 3,500 described species. Conservative estimates based on partially studied museum collections and the percent of new species found in recent acquisitions, particularly from tropical and subtropical countries, indicate that at least 4,000 species remain unnamed. Although the group is well known in general terms to nearly all entomologists, there is an almost complete void of information about all except the few domestic species and, to a progressively diminishing degree, some 400 others. Many details about the lives of even those that share man's habitations are not fully understood. This then is a rough measure of how little is known about cockroaches.
With the exception of mosquitoes and a few other comparatively small groups of insects on which work has been concentrated, it is doubtful if any other comparable segment of the world's insect fauna is better known. Already an estimated 800,000 kinds of insects have been described, and since this figure is generally regarded as less than half the actual total, think what this means in terms of knowledge yet to be assembled. No wonder entomology is a growing science with a promising future, but the magnitude of the task also presents a serious obstacle to progress. Progress can continue only if the scattered literature resulting from the diversified labors of hundreds of contributors is brought together and summarized in thorough and well-organized compilations that can serve as a solid basis for future research.
The present work is such a compilation, for it assembles what has been gleaned from approximately 1,700 sources, including correspondence with a large number of other workers. Original observations during some eight years of concentrated effort in U. S. Army Quartermaster research laboratories are a valuable supplement to what others have done, and with this background of experience the authors are especially well qualified to appraise previous work. Seldom has a compilation been done so thoroughly or a single large group of insects been the subject of such uninterrupted effort.
The contents gives the categories of subject matter treated and the introduction discusses the value of this assembled information and offers suggestions for future study. No longer are cockroaches regarded only as disagreeable pests; many species appear to be important, actually or potentially, as carriers of disease. Recognition of this importance has grown considerably, even in the period since World War II. Consequently, anything that increases our knowledge of the basic bionomics of cockroaches will be consulted widely for factual information and for clues to new approaches.
In spite of this extensive compilation, the limitations of present information about cockroach bionomics must be kept in mind. The cited observations of many writers were fragmentary, or their conclusions disagreed. But it is fundamental to scientific inquiry that we should know and attempt to evaluate the results of previous study, and that is what Drs. Roth and Willis have done. Fortunately, their review is readily available. Sometimes, a piece of work fails to be of maximum value because the results are not generally accessible to later students. For this reason I am especially glad that the Smithsonian Institution, by disseminating the results of the authors' labors, has this opportunity to exercise one of its traditional functions--that of diffusing knowledge.
Throughout the period of research by Drs. Roth and Willis at Natick, I was in frequent correspondence with them, and I admire their many accomplishments. Our warmest commendations should go not only to them personally but also to those in administration who encouraged their fundamental research and who aided in the financial support of this publication.
ASHLEY B. GURNEY Entomology Research Division United States Department of Agriculture
CONTENTS Page
Foreword iii
I. Introduction 1 Historical 2 Methods 4 Future work 5 Illustrations 7
II. Species of cockroaches 7
III. Ecological relationships 14 Cave habitats 16 Cavernicolous cockroaches 17 Cockroaches from burrows 23 Desert habitats 25 Desert cockroaches 27 Aquatic habitats 30 Amphibious cockroaches 31 Outdoor habitats 33 Cockroaches from outdoor habitats 35 Structural habitats 70 Land-based structures 73 Cockroaches associated with land-based structures 74 Ships 82 Cockroaches associated with ships 85 Aircraft 87 Cockroaches associated with aircraft 88
IV. Classification of the associations 91
V. Mutualism 96 Bacteroids 96 Cockroaches in which bacteroids have been found 99 Bacteria 100 Protozoa 101
VI. Viruses associated with cockroaches 103
VII. Bacteria associated with cockroaches 104
VIII. Fungi and yeasts 127 Fungi associated with cockroaches 129
IX. Higher plants associated with cockroaches 139 Damage to plants by cockroaches 162
X. Protozoa associated with cockroaches 166
XI. Helminths associated with cockroaches 190 Helminths for which cockroaches serve as primary hosts 192 Helminths for which cockroaches serve as intermediate hosts 203 Helminths whose eggs have been carried by cockroaches 208
XII. Arthropoda associated with cockroaches 210 Arachnida 211 Chilopoda 222 Insecta 224 Hymenoptera 234 Predators and parasites of cockroach eggs 234 Host selection by egg parasites 254 Cockroach-hunting wasps 255 Ants predaceous on cockroaches 266
XIII. Vertebrata associated with cockroaches 268 Pisces 268 Amphibia 269 Reptilia 272 Aves 276 Mammalia 283
XIV. Checklist of cockroaches and symbiotic associates 290
XV. Cockroaches as commensals 310 Hosts of commensal cockroaches 310 Checklist of commensal cockroaches with their hosts 315 Obscure associations 316
XVI. Cockroaches as predators 319 Interspecies predation 319 Intraspecies predation 322
XVII. Associations among cockroaches 324 Familial associations 325 Gregariousness 330 Intraspecies fighting 336 Interspecies compatibility 337 Interspecies antagonism 341
XVIII. Defense of cockroaches against predators 343
XIX. The biological control of cockroaches 348 Invertebrates 349 Vertebrates 353
Acknowledgments 354
References 356
Index 441
THE BIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS OF COCKROACHES[1]
BY LOUIS M. ROTH AND EDWIN R. WILLIS[2]
_Pioneering Research Division, United States Army Quartermaster Research and Engineering Center Natick, Mass._
(With 37 Plates)
With most of us collectors the life history of an insect begins in the net and ends in the bottle.
HANITSCH (1928)
I. INTRODUCTION
Recently we brought together much of the literature linking cockroaches with the transmission of certain organisms that cause disease in man and other vertebrates. In that paper (1957a) we concluded that cockroaches, being potential vectors of pathogenic agents, should not be regarded simply as minor annoyances. Obviously the associations of cockroaches with agents of vertebrate diseases are of more immediate importance than their relations with pathogens of lower animals or with nonpathogens. On the other hand, cockroaches are of general economic as well as medical importance, and their control is sought by many who are unaware of their medical significance. That the control of domiciliary cockroaches is far from satisfactory may be inferred from current entomological and pest-control journals in which new insecticides are continually advocated to replace others found to be inadequate. Possibly new approaches to the control of cockroaches are needed. Whether these lie in the direction of increased use of parasites and predators for the biological control of these insects remains to be seen. In any event, the more we know about any insect, especially its ecology, the greater the likelihood of achieving satisfactory control. In order to advance knowledge in any field of science, new research should proceed from the results of prior investigations when these exist. We hope that the observations and experiments cited herein may suggest areas for future research and exploitation.
To the best of our knowledge no previous publication has brought together the vast literature on the parasites, predators, commensals, and other symbiotic associates of the Blattaria. For this reason, we have tried to assemble observations on all such known associations. Undoubtedly we have overlooked some records, as, for example, those buried in papers dealing with other phases of cockroach biology. We hope that such inadvertent omissions will not seriously impair the usefulness of this compilation. Whatever its defects, this review should be a unified source of information for all who are interested in the biotic associates of cockroaches.
In addition to previously published information, this monograph also contains original records and observations on the associations of cockroaches that are reported here for the first time. Although some of the observations were made by us, others were made by colleagues who have graciously made their knowledge available to us in private communications.
HISTORICAL
Chopard (1938) in his book La Biologie des Orthoptères reviewed much of the literature on cockroaches, but of the many biotic associations that exist he discussed only the commensal cockroaches, gregariousness, and familial associations. Asano (1937), who reviewed the natural enemies of cockroaches, mentioned about 10 groups of animals that attack cockroaches. Thompson (1951) in his Parasite Host Catalogue, which was based mainly on papers abstracted or noted in the Review of Applied Entomology, listed only 19 insect parasites of cockroaches. Eighteen of these were Hymenoptera which attack only cockroach eggs; the single dipteron listed (Sarcophaga lambens Wiedemann, supposedly parasitic on Pycnoscelus surinamensis) is not a parasite in this case, but deposits its eggs on the dead insects (see p. 229). Cameron (1955) listed as parasites and predators of the cockroach 24 species of hymenopterous egg parasites, 7 species of Ampulex which hunt nymphs and adults, 17 Protozoa, 13 nematodes, 5 bacteria, 2 mites, and a few other miscellaneous predators. In his classified list of the protozoan parasites of the Orthoptera of the world, Semans (1943) listed about 26 species from cockroaches. Linstow (1878, 1889) recorded 14 species of helminths from cockroaches. Van Zwaluwenburg (1928) listed 33 names of roundworms which are commensals or secondary parasites of cockroaches, but some of these names are synonyms. La Rivers (1949) extended this list with 13 additional species. Chitwood (1932) recognized 24 species of nematodes which are primary parasites (probably commensals) of blattids. Steinhaus (1946) gave many instances of biological relationships between cockroaches and bacteria, fungi, and yeasts, but the cockroaches were not discussed as an entity and the information is scattered throughout the book.
In surveying the literature on this subject we have collected a far more extensive list of animals and plants associated with cockroaches than one might have expected from an examination of any one of the previous papers on this subject. In our review of the medically important organisms associated with the Blattaria, we pointed out that in addition to many experimental associations cockroaches have been found to harbor, naturally, 4 strains of poliomyelitis virus, about 40 species of pathogenic bacteria, the eggs of 7 species of pathogenic helminths, and to serve as intermediate hosts of 12 other species of helminths pathogenic for vertebrates; cockroaches have also been found to carry, on occasion, 3 species of Protozoa that are pathogenic to man and 2 species of fungi which are sometimes found associated with pathological conditions.
In addition to the above organisms of medical importance, we have compiled records of other organisms, nonpathogenic to vertebrates, which are naturally associated in some way with cockroaches. None of the following numbers can be considered absolute because some names may be synonyms. However, we believe that these figures are very close to the actual numbers of species that have been isolated because we have attempted to refer all obvious synonyms to the currently accepted name for each organism. On this basis there are about 45 species of bacteria, 40 fungi, 6 yeasts, 90 Protozoa, and 45 helminths that have been found associated naturally with cockroaches. Of the arthropods there are about 2 species of scorpions, 4 spiders, 15 mites, 4 centipedes, and 90 insects. Of vertebrates there are 4 species of fish, 16 amphibians, 12 reptiles, 20 birds, and 27 mammals. Besides these there are many records of experimental associations that have been contrived in the laboratory.
Some idea of the increase in our knowledge of the biotic associations of cockroaches, during the last 70 years, may be gathered from a comparison of the above figures with those of Miall and Denny (1886) who presented "...a long list of parasites which infest the Cockroach." This list included 2 bacteria, 6 Protozoa (some of the names are synonyms), 7 nematodes (some of these names are also synonyms), 1 mite, 1 wasp, and 1 beetle. In addition, they mentioned as other foes of the cockroach: monkeys, hedgehogs, polecats, cats, rats, birds, chameleons, and frogs.
METHODS
We have listed the organisms known to be associated with cockroaches systematically by phylum, class, order, and family. Within each family the organisms are listed alphabetically by genus and species. Under each organism the associated cockroaches are listed as natural or experimental hosts, vectors, or prey. Identified cockroaches are listed by the currently accepted name. Unidentified cockroaches are indicated by the word "Cockroaches." The name of each cockroach is followed by the country in which the observation was made, the authority for the record, and with a few exceptions[3] pertinent biological information, where this is known. Question marks following the names of organisms or countries indicate tentative or questionable identifications.
Records of predators capturing and feeding on cockroaches in zoos and on shipboard we consider natural, even though it is very likely that these particular predators would not normally have access to this prey in nature.
Experimental prey are cockroaches that were fed to predators in the laboratory. Although these predators may have little, if any, access to these cockroaches in nature, we have included such records to indicate the relative acceptability of cockroaches as food by a wide variety of animals.
Records of presumed or known cockroach associates that give no information about an associated cockroach are not included in this review, even though certain of these (e.g., species of Ampulex, Evania, Podium) probably prey upon or parasitize cockroaches exclusively.
The validity of a host-parasite or predator-prey record is dependent upon the accuracy and knowledge of the observer. In assembling these records we have had to accept, in most instances, the identifications of species made by the original authors. However, as a result of our studies on the biology of various species of cockroaches, including some work on their hymenopterous parasites, we have questioned certain records in the literature. Other dubious records which have been perpetuated from one publication to the next, but which apparently were not based on fact, have also been questioned or have been clarified with the aid of specialists in particular groups.
Because the records cover a period of many years, the names of many of the organisms as well as the names of some of the cockroaches have been changed. Although it would have been comparatively simple to list the names as they appeared in the original references, this would have resulted in misleading redundancy with the same organism being catalogued under several synonyms. We have attempted to list each organism by its currently accepted name. However, no attempt was made to prepare complete taxonomic synonymies; the only synonyms given are those that identify the organisms by the names used by the authors of the papers cited. The synonyms under which the cockroaches may have been cited originally are listed in section II. The synonyms of associated organisms are listed with each organism. Although authorities for the name changes of the cockroaches are given, these workers are not necessarily those who were initially responsible for the synonymies. Various sections have been checked by specialists in the particular groups. Although we have accepted name changes suggested by these reviewers, we assume full responsibility for the names.
FUTURE WORK
After having examined thousands of references on cockroaches, we are impressed by how little is known about the biology of most species. As a conservative estimate there are 3,500 described species of Blattaria (J. W. H. Rehn, 1951). In our literature survey we found records of biotic associations for about 400 species. Unfortunately, many of these records contain only a sentence or two of biological information. Our detailed knowledge of cockroaches is based on studies of the few domiciliary pests that man attempts to eradicate. Comparable studies of the bionomics of the less-well-known species should add much valuable information to our knowledge of this ancient group.
Our understanding of most predator-prey and parasite-host relationships has barely progressed beyond the taxonomic stage. The total effect of predators and parasites in limiting natural populations of cockroaches remains to be determined. It is still not known how, for example, predatory or parasitic wasps select specific cockroaches from among all other insects. Secretions produced by certain cockroaches (e.g., 2-hexenal by Eurycotis floridana) will ward off certain predators. The identities and biological activities of most cockroach secretions are unknown, but the use of protective chemicals against predators may be widespread among cockroaches. If so, how effective are these repellents in protecting the individual or the species? It is not known whether cockroaches are protected by apparent mimetic resemblances to other arthropods. There is no experimental proof that insect parasites can successfully attack the eggs of cockroaches that incubate their eggs while they are being carried by the female.
It is conceivable that biological control of cockroaches might be achieved in limited areas such as man-made structures or sewers, but this possibility has not been thoroughly explored. It would be informative to know what effects, if any, organisms such as bacteria, Protozoa (e.g., gregarines), intestinal nematodes, or other helminths have on cockroaches. Possibly pathogenic microorganisms can be used for biological control of cockroaches; this approach seems to have been little explored.
Associations of colonial cockroaches (e.g., Cryptocercus spp.) may be truly familial or they may merely result from gregariousness. Newly hatched nymphs of species that carry their oöthecae until the eggs hatch cluster near the mother. This may be a response to the mother as such, a search for shelter beneath the nearest object (thigmotaxis? or negative phototaxis?), or there may well be yet another explanation. Tepper in 1893 stated that the native cockroaches of Australia are almost wholly carnivorous; little supporting evidence for this claim has been brought forward since that time. The apparent supersedure of one species of domiciliary cockroach by another may result from antagonism between different species, or it may result from more rapid breeding and more effective utilization of available food and space; but which? Several species of cockroaches are frequently found associated with certain plants (e.g., bromeliads and bananas); the ecological relations in these associations remain to be determined. Many of the obscure associations between cockroaches and other insects, spiders, birds, and burrowing animals have never been adequately defined. The factors influencing cannibalism have never been thoroughly investigated experimentally. These are only a few ideas for future work that have occurred to us during the preparation of this review. We hope that these suggestions as well as other questions that may occur to readers will stimulate further research in areas where it is obviously needed.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Unless otherwise credited, the illustrations were prepared from photographs taken by the authors. Except where otherwise stated, all photographs were taken of unposed living specimens.
II. SPECIES OF COCKROACHES
The cockroaches referred to in this paper are listed below. The currently accepted name for each species is given alphabetically by genus and species irrespective of its taxonomic affinities. Synonyms used by certain authors whose work we have quoted are given in brackets under the respective species; the synonymy is supported by the reference citation that follows each synonym. References to illustrations of certain species (e.g., Blaberus craniifer) that appear in the paper follow the names of the describers.
Agis orientalis Chopard
Aglaopteryx absimilis Gurney diaphana (Fabricius) [_Ceratinoptera diaphana_ Fabricius; Rehn and Hebard (1927)] facies (Walker) [Aglaopteryx devia Rehn; Princis (1929). A. diaphana (Fabricius) in records from Puerto Rico only; Rehn (1932b); Gurney (1937)] gemma Hebard [In Florida records = Ceratinoptera diaphana R. and H.; Hebard (1917)] vegeta Rehn ypsilon Princis
Allacta similis (Saussure) [Phyllodromia obtusata Brunner; Zimmerman (1948)]
Alluaudellina cavernicola (Shelford) [Alluaudella cavernicola Shelford; Chopard (1932)]
Amazonina emarginata Princis
Anaplecta asema Hebard azteca Saussure decipiens Saussure and Zehntner fallax Saussure hemiscotia Hebard lateralis Burmeister mexicana Saussure
Aneurina tahuata Hebard viridis Hebard
Apotrogia angolensis Kirby [Acanthogyna deplanata Chopard; Princis (1957)]
Aptera fusca (Thunberg) [Aptera cingulata (Burmeister); Gurney (personal communication, 1957)]
Apteroblatta perplexa Shelford
Archiblatta hoevenii Vollenhoven
Archimandrita marmorata (Stoll) tessellata Rehn
Arenivaga apacha (Saussure) bolliana (Saussure) erratica (Rehn) floridensis Caudell grata Hebard roseni (Brancsik) [Heterogamodes roseni; Bei-Bienko (1950). "Polygamia" roseni is undoubtedly an erroneous citation of Polyphaga roseni, as there is no genus Polygamia (Gurney, personal communication, 1957)]. tonkawa Hebard
Aristiger histrio (Burmeister) [Plumiger histrio (Burm.); Bruijning (1948). Hemithyrsocera histrio Burm.; Hebard (1929)]
Aspiduchus boriquen J. W. H. Rehn [In Puerto Rico records = Aspiduchus deplanatus R. and H.; Rehn, J. W. H. (1951a)] cavernicola J. W. H. Rehn deplanatus (Saussure)
Attaphila aptera Bolívar bergi Bolívar flava Gurney fungicola Wheeler schuppi Bolívar sexdentis Bolívar
Atticola mortoni Bolívar
Audreia bromeliadarum Caudell jamaicana Rehn and Hebard
Balta godeffroyi (Shelford) patula (Walker) platysoma (Walker) [Temnopteryx platysoma (Walker); Hebard (1943)] quadricaudata Hebard scripta (Shelford) torresiana Hebard verticalis Hebard
Bantua stigmosa (Krauss) [Derocalymma stigmosa Krauss; Princis (1957)]
Blaberus atropos (Stoll) [Blabera fusca Brunner; Hebard (1917)] boliviensis Princis craniifer Burmeister (pls. 1, 2) discoidalis Serville [Blaberus cubensis Saussure; Hebard (1916)] giganteus (Linnaeus) (pl. 3)
Blaptica dubia (Serville) [Blaberus clarazianus Saussure; Rehn, J. W. H. (1951)]
Blatta orientalis Linnaeus (pl. 4) [Periplaneta orientalis; Hebard (1917)] (Shelfordella) lateralis (Walker) [Shelfordella tartara (Saussure); Princis (1957). Periplaneta tartara Saussure; Bei-Bienko (1950)]
Blattella germanica (Linnaeus) (pls. 5, A, B; 31, F) [Blatella germanica; Gurney (1952). Phyllodromia germanica; Hebard (1917). Ectobius germanicus; Gurney (personal communication, 1957)] humbertiana (Saussure) [Blatta humbertiana; _Phyllodromia humbertiana_; Hebard (1929)] lituricollis (Walker) (fig. 7, A) [Blattella bisignata (Brunner); Bei-Bienko (1950)] schubotzi Shelford vaga Hebard (pl. 5, C, D)
Buboblatta armata (Caudell) [Latindia armata Caudell; Hebard (1920)]
Byrsotria cabrerae Rehn and Hebard fumigata (Guérin) (pl. 6)
Cahita borero Rehn nahua (Saussure)
Capucinella delicatula Hebard
Cariblatta antiguensis (Saussure and Zehntner) cuprea Hebard delicatula (Guérin) [Blattella delicatula Guérin; _Cariblatta punctulata_ (Beauvois); Rehn and Hebard (1927)] hylaea Rehn imitans Hebard insularis (Walker) landalei Rehn and Hebard lutea lutea (Saussure and Zehntner) lutea minima Hebard (pl. 7, A, B) nebulicola Rehn and Hebard orestera Rehn and Hebard punctipennis Hebard reticulosa (Walker) stenophrys Rehn and Hebard
Cariblattoides instigator Rehn and Hebard suave Rehn and Hebard
Ceratinoptera picta Brunner
Chorisoneura barbadensis Rehn and Hebard flavipennis Saussure and Zehntner formosella Rehn and Hebard parishi Rehn specilliger Hebard texensis Saussure and Zehntner [Chorisoneura plocea Rehn; Rehn and Hebard (1916)] translucida (Saussure)
Choristima sp.
Choristimodes sp.
Chromatonotus infuscatus (Brunner) notatus (Brunner)
Compsodes schwarzi (Caudell)
Comptolampra liturata (Serville) [Compsolampra liturata; Comptolampra is the original spelling, which is followed by Dr. K. Princis, according to Gurney (personal communication, 1959)]
Cosmozosteria lateralis (Walker)
Cryptocercus punctulatus Scudder (pl. 8, A) relictus Bei-Bienko
Cutilia nitida (Brunner) soror (Brunner) sp. near sedilloti (Bolívar) (pl. 9) [Determined by Dr. A. B. Gurney from photographs.]
Cyrtotria capucina (Gerstaecker)
Dendroblatta sobrina Rehn
Derocalymma cruralis (Stål) [Homalodemas cruralis (Stål); Gurney (personal communication, 1957)] lampyrina Gerstaecker porcellio Gerstaecker
Deropeltis autraniana Saussure erythropeza Adelung melanophila (Walker) nigrita Saussure
Diploptera punctata (Eschscholtz) (pls. 10, 36) [_Diploptera dytiscoides_ (Serville); Princis (1950). _Eleutheroda dytiscoides_ (Serville); Zimmerman (1948)]
Dryadoblatta scotti (Shelford) [Homalopteryx scotti Shelford; Rehn (1930)]
Ectobius africanus Saussure albicinctus (Brunner) duskei Adelung lapponicus (Linnaeus) [Ectobius perspicillaris Herbst, as used by Lucas (1920); Blair (1934)] lucidus Hgb. nicaeensis (Brisout) pallidus (Olivier) (pls. 7, C; 29, A) [Ectobius lividus (Fabricius); Ectobius livens (Turton); Kevan (1952); Princis (in Roth and Willis, 1957)] panzeri Stephens [Ectobius ericetorum (Wesmaël); Ramme (1923)] panzeri var. nigripes Stephens semenovi Bei-Bienko sylvester (Poda) [Ectobius sylvestris (Poda); Ramme (1951)] tadzihicus Bei-Bienko vittiventer (Costa) [Ectobius vittiventris (Costa); Ramme (1951)]
Ellipsidion Saussure [Apolyta Brunner; Hebard (1943)] affine Hebard australe Saussure [Ellipsidion pellucidum (Brunner); Hebard (1943)] bicolor (Tepper) simulans Hebard variegatum (Fabricius) [Ellipsidion aurantium Saussure; Hebard (1943)]
Epilampra abdomen-nigrum (De Geer) annandalei Shelford azteca Saussure conferta Walker conspersa Burmeister grisea (De Geer) maya Rehn mexicana Saussure mona Rehn and Hebard notabilis Walker sodalis Walker tainana Rehn and Hebard wheeleri Rehn sp. (fig. 7, B, C)
Eremoblatta subdiaphana (Scudder)
Ergaula capensis (Saussure) [Dyscologamia capensis Saussure; Dyscologamia wollastoni Kirby; Princis (1957)] scarabaeoides Walker [Dyscologamia piolosa (Walker); Princis (1957). Parapolyphaga erectipilis Chopard; Princis (1950). Dyscologamia chopardi Hanitsch; Bruijning (1948). Miroblatta silphoides Chopard; Hebard (1929)].
Escala sp.
Euandroblatta palpalis Chopard
Eublaberus posticus (Erichson)
Eudromiella bicolorata Hebard calcarata Bei-Bienko
Euphyllodromia angustata (Latreille) liturifera [Euphyllodromia decastigmata Hebard; Princis (1959)]
Eurycotis bananae Bei-Bienko biolleyi Rehn [Eurycotis carbonaria Biolley; Rehn (1918)] caraibea (Bolívar) decipiens (Kirby) dimidiata (Bolívar) ferrum-equinum Rehn and Hebard floridana (Walker) (pl. II) [Platyzosteria ingens Scudder; Platyzosteria sabalianus Scudder and hence, by inference, Eurycotis sabalianus (Scudder); Hebard (1917)] galeoides Rehn and Hebard improcera Rehn kevani Princis lixa Rehn manni Rehn opaca (Brunner)
Euthlastoblatta abortiva (Caudell)
Euthyrrhapha nigra Chopard pacifica Coquebert
Geoscapheus robustus Tepper
Graptoblatta notulata (Stål) [Blatta notulata Stål; Hebard (1929). Phyllodromia hieroglyphica Brunner; Kirby (1904)]
Gromphadorhina laevigata S. and Z. portentosa (Schaum) (pl. 12, A, B)
Gyna kazungulana Giglio-Tos maculipennis (Schaum) [Gyna vetula Brunner; Shelford (1909b)] tristis Hanitsch
Hebardina concinna (Haan) [Blatta concinna Haan; Blattina concinna (Haan); Bei-Bienko (1950)]
Hemiblabera brunneri (Saussure)
Henicotyle antillarum (Brunner)
Heterogamodes krügeri (Salfi) rugosa (Schulthess)
Holocompsa azteca (Saussure) cyanea (Burmeister) fulva (Burmeister) metallica Rehn and Hebard nitidula (Fabricius) zapoteca Saussure
Hololampra bivittata (Brullé) chavesi (Bolívar) maculata (Schreber) [Aphlebia maculata Schreber; Harz (1957); Gurney (personal communication, 1959)] marginata (Schreber) punctata (Charpentier) [Aphlebia punctata Charpentier; Ramme (1951)]
Hololeptoblatta sp.
Homalopteryx laminata Brunner
Hoplosphoropyga babaulti Chopard
Hormetica apolinari Hebard laevigata Burmeister ventralis Burmeister
Ignabolivaria bilobata Chopard
Ischnoptera deropeltiformis (Brunner) (pl. 12A) [Temnopteryx deropeltiformis Brunner; Hebard (1917)] panamae Hebard podoces Rehn and Hebard rufa occidentalis Saussure rufa rufa (De Geer) schenklingi Karney
Karnyia discoidalis (Brunner)
Kuchinga hemerobina (Gerstaecker) [Phyllodromia hemerobina Gerstaecker; Rehn (1932)] remota Hebard
Lamproblatta albipalpus Hebard meridionalis (Brunner)
Latiblattella chichimeca (Saussure and Zehntner) [Blattella chichimeca S. and Z.; Hebard (1932)] lucifrons Hebard rehni Hebard vitrea (Brunner) zapoteca (Saussure)
Leucophaea maderae (Fabricius) (pl. 13) [Rhyparobia maderae; Hebard (1917). Panchlora maderae; Kirby (1904). Very probably "Blaberus" maderae is a careless reference to this species; Gurney (personal communication, 1957)]
Leurolestes pallidus (Brunner)
Litopeltis biolleyi (Saussure) bispinosa (Saussure) [Audreia marginata Caudell; Hebard (1920)] deianira Rehn musarum Rehn
Lobolampra subaptera Rambur
Loboptera decipiens (Germar) thaxteri Hebard
Lobopterella dimidiatipes (Bolívar) [Loboptera dimidiatipes (Bolívar); Princis (1957a). Loboptera sakalava (Saussure); Hebard (1933a). Loboptera extranea Perkins; Hebard (1922). Princis (1957a) in erecting Lobopterella pointed out that only the nontypical variety of sakalava is identical with dimidiatipes.]
Lophoblatta arawaka Hebard
Macropanesthia rhinocerus Saussure
Mareta acutiventris Chopard
Maretina uahuka Hebard
Megaloblatta blaberoides (Walker) [Megaloblatta rufipes Dohrn; Hebard (1920)]
Megamareta verticalis Hebard
Melanosilpha capensis Saussure and Zehntner
Methana canae Pope curvigera (Walker) marginalis (Saussure)
Moluchia (?) dahli Princis
Monastria biguttata (Thunberg)
Muzoa madida Rehn
Myrmeblattina longipes (Chopard)
Myrmecoblatta rehni Mann wheeleri Hebard
Namablatta bitaeniata (Stål)
Nauclidas nigra (Brunner) [Poroblatta nigra Brunner; Rehn (1930)]
Nauphoeta cinerea (Olivier) (pl. 14) [Nauphoeta bivittata Burmeister; Zimmerman (1948)] flexivitta (Walker) [Nauphoeta brazzae (Bolívar); Rehn (1937)] punctipennis Chopard
Nelipophygus ramsdeni Rehn and Hebard
Neoblattella brunneriana (Saussure) [Blattella brunneriana; Gurney (personal communication, 1959)] carcinus Rehn and Hebard celeripes Rehn and Hebard detersa (Walker) dryas Rehn and Hebard eurydice Rehn and Hebard fratercula Hebard fraterna (Saussure and Zehntner) grossbecki Rehn and Hebard laodamia Rehn and Hebard nahua (Saussure) [Blattella nahua Saussure and Zehntner of Caudell (1914); Hebard (1920)] proserpina Rehn and Hebard semota Rehn and Hebard tridens Rehn and Hebard vatia Rehn and Hebard
Neostylopyga rhombifolia (Stoll) (pl. 15) [Dorylaea rhombifolia; Rehn (personal communication, 1956)]
Nesomylacris cubensis Rehn and Hebard relica Rehn and Hebard
Nocticola bolivari Chopard caeca Bolívar decaryi Chopard simoni Bolívar sinensis Silvestri termitophila Silvestri
Nothoblatta wasmanni (Bolívar)
Notolampra antillarum Shelford
Nyctibora azteca Saussure and Zehntner brunnea (Thunberg) laevigata (Beauvois) lutzi Rehn and Hebard mexicana Saussure noctivaga Rehn obscura Saussure sericea Burmeister stygia Walker tomentosa Serville [Nyctibora latipennis Burmeister; Hebard (1917, p. 263)]
Oniscosoma granicollis (Saussure)
Opisthoplatia maculata Shiraki orientalis (Burmeister)
Oulopteryx meliponarum Hebard
Oxyhaloa buprestoides (Saussure) deusta (Thunberg)
Panchlora antillarum Saussure exoleta Burmeister fraterna Saussure and Zehntner nivea (Linnaeus) (pl. 16) [Panchlora cubensis Saussure; Gurney (1955). Pycnosceloides aporus Hebard; Hebard (1921c)] peruana Saussure sagax Rehn and Hebard virescens (Thunberg)
Panesthia angustipennis (Illiger) [Panesthia javanica Serville; Hebard (1929)] australis Brunner (pl. 8, B) laevicollis Saussure lobipennis Brunner spadica (Shiraki)
Parahormetica bilobata (Saussure)
Parcoblatta americana (Scudder) bolliana (Saussure and Zehntner) [Kakerlac schaefferi Rehn; Hebard (1917)] caudelli Hebard [[F][F] of Ischnoptera insolita R. and H.; Ischnoptera uhleriana fulvescens S. and Z. (in part); Hebard (1917)] desertae (Rehn and Hebard) [[M][M] of Ischnoptera insolita R. and H.; Hebard (1917)] divisa (Saussure and Zehntner) [Ischnoptera divisa S. and Z.; Hebard (1917)] fulvescens (Saussure and Zehntner) [Ischnoptera uhleriana fulvescens S. and Z. (in part); Hebard (1917)] lata (Brunner) [Ischnoptera couloniana R. and H. (not Saussure); Ischnoptera major R. and H. (not S. and Z.); Hebard (1917)] notha Rehn and Hebard pensylvanica (De Geer) (pl. 17, A) [Ischnoptera pennsylvanica Saussure; Hebard (1917)] uhleriana (Saussure) (pl. 18) [Ischnoptera uhleriana Saussure; Hebard (1917)] virginica (Brunner) (pls. 17, B; 27, A; 33, C; fig. 6) [Ischnoptera borealis Brunner; Hebard (1917)] zebra Hebard
Pelmatosilpha coriacea Rehn kevani Princis marginalis Brunner purpurascens (Kirby) rotundata Scudder vagabunda Princis
Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus) (pls. 19, 35) [Stylopyga americana; Blatta americana L.; Hebard (1917)] australasiae (Fabricius) (pls. 20, 32) brunnea Burmeister (pl. 21) cavernicola Chopard fuliginosa (Serville) (pl. 22) ignota Shaw lata (Herbst)
Perisphaerus armadillo Serville glomeriformis (Lucas)
Phaetalia pallida (Brunner)
Phidon (?) dubius Princis
Phlebonotus pallens (Serville)
Pholadoblatta inusitata (Rehn)
Phorticolea boliviae Caudell testacea Bolívar
"Phyllodromia" treitliana Werner
Phyllodromica brevipennis (Fischer) graeca (Brunner) irinae (Bei-Bienko) maculata (Schreber) megerlei (Fieber) polita (Krauss) pygmaea (Bei-Bienko) tartara (Saussure) tartara nigrescens Bei-Bienko
Platyzosteria analis (Saussure) [Polyzosteria analis Saussure; Kirby (1904)] armata Tepper bifida (Saussure) castanea (Brunner) novae seelandiae (Brunner) (pl. 23) [Periplaneta fortipes Walker; Shelford (1912); Platyzosteria novae-zealandiae] scabra (Brunner)
Plectoptera dorsalis (Burmeister) infulata (Rehn and Hebard) lacerna Rehn and Hebard perscita Rehn and Hebard poeyi (Saussure) [Plectoptera floridana Hebard; Rehn and Hebard (1927)] porcellana (Saussure) pygmaea (Saussure) rhabdota (Rehn and Hebard) vermiculata Rehn and Hebard
Polyphaga aegyptiaca (Linnaeus) [Blatta aegyptiaca L.; Bei-Bienko (1950). Heterogamia aegyptiaca (L.); Gurney (personal communication, 1957). "Polygamia" aegyptiaca; according to Gurney (p. c.), there is no genus Polygamia and almost surely the reference is to Polyphaga aegyptiaca.] indica Walker [Polyphaga pellucida (Redtenbacher); Princis (1957)] saussurei (Dohrn)
Polyzosteria limbata Burmeister melanaria (Erichson)
Pseudoderopeltis aethiopica (Saussure) [Blatta aethiopica Saussure; Gurney (personal communication, 1957)]
Pseudomops cincta (Burmeister) [Thyrsocera cincta Scudder; Hebard (1917)] laticornis Perty septentrionalis Hebard
Pseudophoraspis nebulosa (Burmeister)
Pycnoscelus niger (Brunner) striatus (Kirby) [Leucophaea striata Kirby; Gurney (personal communication, 1957)] surinamensis (Linnaeus) (pl. 24) [Leucophaea surinamensis (L.); Hebard (1917). Blatta melanocephala Stoll; Kirby (1904)]
Rhicnoda natatrix Shelford
Rhytidometopum dissimile Princis
Riatia fulgida (Saussure) [Lissoblatta fulgida (Saussure); Gurney (personal communication, 1959)] orientis Hebard
Robshelfordia circumducta (Walker) [Escala circumducta (Walker); Gurney (personal communication, 1957)] longiuscula (Walker) [Escala longiuscula (Walker); Gurney (personal communication, 1957)]
Salganea morio (Burmeister)
Sibylloblatta panesthoides (Walker)
Simblerastes jamaicanus Rehn and Hebard
Spelaeoblatta gestroi Bolívar
Sphecophila polybiarum Shelford ravana Fernando termitium Shelford
Steleopyga (?) sinensis Walker [Dr. Gurney (personal communication, 1957) could not find a reference to this species. Walker described species named sinensis in three different genera of cockroaches, and it is uncertain which one this combination represents.]
Stictolampra buqueti concinula (Walker)
Styphon bakeri Rehn
Supella hottentotta (Saussure) supellectilium (Serville) (pls. 25; 30, B-E; 31, A-E) [Phyllodromia supellectilium (Serv.); Bei-Bienko (1950)]
Symploce breviramis (Hanitsch) cavernicola (Shelford) [Ischnoptera cavernicola (Shelford); Phyllodromia nigrocincta Chopard; Hebard (1929)] curta Hanitsch flagellata Hebard hospes (Perkins) [Symploce lita Hebard; Hebard (1922)] jamaicana (Rehn) kevani Chopard parenthesis (Gerstaecker) [Phyllodromia parenthesis Gerstaecker; Rehn (1932)] remyi (Hanitsch) [Ischnoptera remyi Hanitsch; Chopard (1938)] ruficollis (Fabricius) [Symploce bilabiata Rehn and Hebard; Princis (1949a)]
Tartaroblatta karatavica Bei-Bienko
Temnopteryx obliquetruncata Chopard phalerata (Saussure)
Theganopteryx straminea Chopard
Therea nuptialis (Gerstaecker) [Corydia nuptialis Gerstaecker; Princis (1950)]
Tivia australica Princis brunnea (Chopard) fulva (Burmeister) macracantha Chopard obscura (Chopard)
Typhloblatta caeca (Chopard) [Spelaeoblatta caeca Chopard; Chopard (1924b)]
Typhloblattodes madecassus Chopard
Xestoblatta festae (Griffini) immaculata Hebard
III. ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS
The ecology of extinct cockroaches is necessarily a highly speculative subject. From the coexistence of fossil cockroaches and fossil plants in the same geological stratum, one might conclude that there had been intimate associations between them during prehistoric life. Heer (1864) and Goldenberg (1877) suggested that Carboniferous cockroaches fed on the plants with which they have been found as fossils. Scudder (1879) concurred with this hypothesis. However, Bolton (1911), remarking on the noticeable associations of blattoid wings with vegetable remains, suggested that the cockroaches may have been partly carnivorous, feeding on the snails Spirorbis pusillus, which were attached to the leaves of Cordaites. Yet the proximity of fossil insects and plants in the same geological formation is hardly proof of a similar association during life. In fact, Sellards (1903), Bolton (1921), and Laurentiaux (1951) have all pointed out that the cockroach remains, particularly the more resistant wings, may have been washed into streams by heavy rains and transported with drifting plant material to places where permanent deposits were accumulating.
Some species of fossil cockroaches have long, well-developed ovipositors, very unlike present-day cockroaches whose ovipositors are small and nonprotruding. Brongniart (1889) and Zalesskii (1939, 1953) have suggested that certain Permian and Carboniferous cockroaches with long ovipositors may have inserted their eggs singly into trees and other plants, rather than protecting the eggs with an oötheca. However, Laurentiaux (1951), although conceding the possibility of egg laying in vegetable material, suggested that oviposition into the earth is more probable because of the unbending nature of the ovipositor.
Although the ecological associations of modern cockroaches should be well known from direct observation, actually most species are still little more than names on museum specimens, and our knowledge of them is fragmentary. All too frequently ecological observations have been only incidental to taxonomic or faunistic studies; yet the biological information that is contained in such papers is all that we know of many species. For this reason we have cited these observations in some detail, especially when they were brief; longer accounts of cockroach bionomics, of necessity, have been abstracted.
Very few exclusively ecological studies of insects have included cockroaches. The native woodroaches (Parcoblatta pensylvanica, P. uhleriana, and P. virginica) of the northern United States were included in ecological studies of the Orthoptera by Hubbell (1922), Strohecker (1937), and Cantrall (1943). Fifteen species of cockroaches were included in an ecological study of the Orthoptera of northern Florida by Friauf (1953). The original papers should be consulted for detailed descriptions of the habitats and accounts of the associated plants and other Orthoptera.
In this chapter the cockroaches are grouped into those that have been found in man-made structures and those that occur in other habitats. Certain species may appear in several categories because they live both indoors and out. The structural pests are divided into cockroaches that occur in land-based structures, those on ships, and those in aircraft. The nonstructural cockroaches are divided into those that occur in quite specific habitats (caves, water, and deserts) and those that occur generally out of doors. Nests of various arthropods serve as microhabitats of commensal cockroaches; these latter associations are discussed on pages 310-318.
In this chapter our discussion is limited to the physical environment and specific habitats of cockroaches, and only very general references are made to associated organisms. The relationships of cockroaches to the biota are examined in detail in subsequent chapters. To show the full extent of the associations, the associates, from bacteroids to vertebrates, are arranged phyletically. These associate-centered classifications serve admirably to relate various species of cockroaches within common bounds, but fail to give an integrated account of the total biotic relationships in the ecology of each species. Although physically separated in this monograph, the many associates of each species of cockroach should all be considered in appraising the ecology of that species. To assist the reader to achieve this end, we have included a checklist (p. 290) which serves as a convenient index to certain organisms associated with particular species of cockroaches.
CAVE HABITATS
Caves, mines, and animal burrows are somewhat similar habitats that provide many species of cockroaches with shelter and frequently with food. The microclimates of these cockroach habitats have not been described in detail in the papers cited, but it seems rather obvious that natural caves, man-made caves (mines), and burrows offer relatively stable temperatures and humidities and protection from adverse climatic conditions. Although such cavernicolous animals as birds and bats periodically leave caves to search for food, cockroaches find the accumulated guano and animal and plant detritus an entirely adequate dietary (Chopard, 1938). Cockroaches in mines presumably subsist on the food and feces dropped by man and mine animals (e.g., pit ponies). Food stored in their nests by burrowing animals is undoubtedly utilized by the associated cockroaches.
Cavernicolous cockroaches show varying degrees of dependence on and adaptation to these specialized habitats. Some of the common domiciliary species (Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and Periplaneta americana) may have accompanied man into caves and remained there after he left (Chopard, 1929a, 1936, 1938). Other species, from the paucity of records noting their occurrence in caves, are undoubtedly accidental inhabitants that may never become established. Besides these, however, many other species of cockroaches have established large breeding colonies in caves. Although some of the latter species show very pronounced morphological adaptations to a cave life, many others resemble their noncavernicolous relatives. The possible origin of cavernicolous Orthoptera has been discussed by Chopard (1938).
Cavernicolous cockroaches have been segregated into four groups according to their ability to adapt to their environment and the degree of their specialized evolution (Chopard, 1936, 1938): (1) =Trogloxenes=: Cockroaches that occur in caves in a sporadic fashion (the domiciliary cockroaches and accidentals such as Ectobius and Heterogamodes). (2) =Troglophiles=: Cockroaches found habitually in caves (Symploce, Periplaneta cavernicola). (3) =Guanobies=: Cockroaches that live in the guano of cavernicolous vertebrates (Gyna, Acanthogyna, Dyscologamia, Pycnoscelus). (4) =Troglobies=: Cockroaches that apparently cannot live outside of caves and which show very marked adaptive characters (Alluaudellina, Nocticola, Spelaeoblatta, Typhloblatta). For complete discussions of these groups including descriptions of the adaptive characters shown by certain genera, the original sources should be consulted.
Although we know very little of the ethology of most of the cavernicolous cockroaches, it is intriguing that three of the six known species of Nocticola are cave dwellers, two are inhabitants of termite nests (p. 315), and one (N. bolivari) was found under stones and cement blocks (Chopard, 1950b). In the rather extensive list of cavernicolous cockroaches only two (Arenivaga grata and Parcoblatta sp.) were taken from caves in North America north of Yucatan. All other records are from Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, West Indies, East Indies, and the Philippine Islands. This we find puzzling. Packard (1888) in his extensive study of the cave fauna of North America listed no cockroaches. Dearolf (1941) found only the above-mentioned Parcoblatta in one of 37 caves in Pennsylvania. Kohls and Jellison (1948) listed no cockroaches among the arthropods from six bat caves in Texas. We would expect Periplaneta americana to inhabit mines in North America, but we have found no such records. Have cockroaches been ignored in fauna collections from North American caves, or has our cave fauna been less extensively studied than that of other parts of the world?
The two species of cockroaches found in mines (Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana) are also found in caves. For this reason we have included them in the list headed Cavernicolous Cockroaches. On the other hand, the cockroaches found in animal burrows are generally different species from those found in caves, so we have grouped these together in a second list.
CAVERNICOLOUS COCKROACHES
=Alluaudellina cavernicola=
Tanganyika.--From Kulumusi caves, near Tanga. The eyes of this cockroach are reduced to a pair of slender streaks (Shelford, 1910a; Chopard, 1932a).
East Africa.--Chopard (1936).
=Apotrogia angolensis=
Belgian Congo.--A troglophile without well-marked adaptive characters. Collected in moist sand on floor of a sandstone grotto inhabited by bats (Chopard, 1927, 1950a). Taken in many caves in Bas Congo (Leleup, 1956).
=Apteroblatta perplexa=
East Africa.--Accidental inhabitant of cave (Chopard, 1936).
=Arenivaga grata=
Arizona.--"A female and many nymphs were taken by Flock in the guano in a bat cave in the Tucson Mountains" (Ball et al., 1942).
=Aspiduchus borinquen=
Puerto Rico.--In limestone cavern by thousands in grass and on walls (Rehn and Hebard, 1927; Rehn, J. W. H., 1951a).
=Aspiduchus cavernicola=
Puerto Rico.--In limestone cave, in caves inhabited by bats, and apparently seen in other caves well removed from entrance. "In this latter situation great numbers were seen on the side walls and roof" (Rehn, J. W. H., 1951a).
=Blaberus atropos=
Yucatan.--Found once, in Xmahit cave (Pearse, 1938).
=Blaberus craniifer=
Yucatan.--Collected within three caves, near the entrances (Pearse, 1938).
=Blaberus giganteus=
Panama.--Two males and several nymphs were taken under rocks in the second chamber of the Chilibrillo cave; some also were on the walls (Caudell, 1924).
=Blatta lateralis=
Turkmen S.S.R.--All stages, but more often females and nymphs, were found in the middle and back part of Bakharden cavern, which was inhabited by tens of thousands of bats (Vlasov, 1929).
=Blatta orientalis=
Turkmen S.S.R.--All stages found in front part of Bakharden bat cave. This cave was uninhabited by man but supported a variety of other animals (Vlasov, 1929).
=Blattella germanica=
South Africa.--Numerous in a gold mine on the Witwatersrand (Porter, 1930).
Tonkin.--Chopard (1929a); Colani (1952).
=Byrsotria fumigata=
Cuba.--Cueva de las Cucarachas, La Pantana, Baracoa, Oriente Province: 21 specimens, "It is evident ... that the species is also a cave inhabitant" (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Deropeltis erythropeza=
East Africa.--Found at entrance of cave; not a strictly cavernicolous form according to Chopard (1936).
=Ectobius pallidus=
France.--Nymph in cave in Basses-Pyrénées, accidental inhabitant (Chopard, 1936).
=Ectobius vittiventer=
Italy.--In detritus at base of entrance shaft of Acquaviva cave in the Venezia Tridentina (Conci, 1951).
=Ectobius= sp.
Italy.--Found in the heap of saprophytic detritus at the base of the entrance shaft in the Acquaviva cave (Conci, 1951).
=Ergaula scarabaeoides=
Sumatra.--West coast (Hebard, 1929).
Malaya.--Found burrowing in bat guano among stones at entrance to caves in Selangor (Chopard, 1919, 1929).
=Euthyrrhapha nigra=
Madagascar.--Three males and six females in guano in Antsinomy grotto (Chopard, 1949a).
=Gyna kazungulana=
East Africa.--This species is especially found in caves although it shows no special adaptive characters. It is a typical guanobe (Chopard, 1936).
=Gyna maculipennis=
Belgian Congo.--Troglophile, guanophile. Found in two caves in Lualaba (Leleup, 1956).
=Gyna tristis=
Belgian Congo.--In three caves in Uele (Leleup, 1956).
=Heterogamodes krügeri=
North Africa.--An accidental inhabitant of caves (Chopard, 1938).
=Holocompsa zapoteca=
Yucatan.--Common throughout rather dry, dusty caves in southern Yucatan (Pearse, 1938).
=Hoplosphoropyga babaulti=
Stated to be a troglophile by Chopard (1938).
=Nocticola caeca=
Philippine Islands.--Bolívar (1892).
=Nocticola decaryi=
Madagascar.--A true troglobite according to Chopard (1945).
=Nocticola simoni=
Philippine Islands.--Bolívar (1892).
=Parcoblatta= sp.
Pennsylvania.--Found in Merkle cave, Berks County (Dearolf, 1941).
=Periplaneta americana=
IN CAVES
East Africa.--Its presence in the cave at Shimoni was thought to indicate that man had sought refuge there and brought the cockroaches in with baggage or provisions (Chopard, 1936).
India.--Many present in cave at Vengurla, the floor of which was covered with bird guano (Abdulali, 1942).
Madagascar.--Thought to have been introduced into the cave entrance by man (Chopard, 1945, 1949a).
IN MINES
Great Britain.--In a coal mine at Pontewydd where they had been established for some years (Lucas, 1916). In the Pentre Pit mine where they were abundant (Lucas, 1918). Abundant in a Welch mine 2,166 feet below the surface (Lucas, 1925). This species was found quite commonly in a number of South Wales coal mines; in one deep mine a white-eyed mutant form comprised about 5 percent of the cockroach population for the preceding 11 years (Jefferson, 1958).
India, western Bengal.--Very numerous in coal mines where the sole food apparently was human faeces (Chandler, 1926).
South Africa.--Numerous in four deep-level gold mines on the Witwatersrand.
Sumatra.--Numerous males and females from Sawah Lunto "'from a coal mine where they lived in great numbers on the faeces of miners'" (Hanitsch, 1929).
=Periplaneta australasiae=
Sarawak.--Found swarming on walls of caves and in soft bird guano in company with Symploce cavernicola (Moulton, 1912).
Tonkin.--Chopard (1929a); Colani (1952).
=Periplaneta cavernicola=
Malaya.--Taken on walls of inner caverns, where they were particularly abundant (Chopard, 1919).
=Periplaneta lata=
Tonkin.--Chopard suggested that its presence in caves is probably linked with man (Chopard, 1929a; Colani, 1952).
=Periplaneta= sp.
Malaya.--From a cave in Jalor (Annandale et al., 1913).
=Perisphaerus= sp.
Malaya.--The wingless females and nymphs mined in bats' guano in a cavern of the Jalor caves (Annandale, 1900).
=Polyphaga aegyptiaca=
Turkmen S.S.R.--Females found in front part of Bakharden bat cave on several occasions (Vlasov, 1929).
Turkey.--At Magharadjik and Arab Dede, found in caves with various other animals (Lindberg, 1954).
=Polyphaga= sp.
Burma.--Hsin Dawng Cave, S. Shan States, 1 immature male under stone in complete darkness (Chopard, 1924b).
=Pycnoscelus niger=
Tonkin.--Apparently not an accidental inhabitant as nymphs were present (Chopard, 1929a; Colani, 1952).
=Pycnoscelus striatus=
Malaya.--Found burrowing in bats' guano at entrance to caves in Selangor, where it was very abundant 50 to 600 feet from entrance; also on walls of inner cavern (Chopard, 1919, 1929). In the absence of other evidence, the presence of P. striatus in a cave indicates that bats also inhabit the cave (Chopard, 1929a).
=Pycnoscelus surinamensis=
Assam.--Found 300 to 400 feet from entrance of Siju cave in the Garo Hills (Chopard, 1924b).
South Celebes.--Hanitsch (1932).
=Spelaeoblatta gestroi=
Burma.--Chopard stated that this species shows marked characteristics of adaptation to a life in darkness (Bolívar, 1897; Annandale, 1913; Chopard, 1919).
=Symploce breviramis=
South Celebes.--Hanitsch (1932).
=Symploce cavernicola=
Sarawak, Borneo.--Swarming on walls of caves and in soft bird guano on the cave floor (Moulton, 1912). Hanitsch (1931) noted that this species was first recorded by Shelford from a cave in Sarawak and that there is a series from a cave in the Oxford University Museum, taken by Banks in 1928.
Malaya.--On the walls of the inner cavern of a cave at Biserat; the insects covered the walls in places (Chopard, 1919).
Sumatra.--From Baso cavern, on the west coast (Hebard, 1929).
=Symploce curta=
South Celebes.--Hanitsch (1932).
=Symploce remyi=
Tonkin.--This seems to be a true cavernicolous species (Chopard, 1929a; Colani, 1952).
=Tivia macracantha=
Belgian Congo.--A troglophile without well-marked adaptive characters (Chopard, 1950a). At Haut-Katanga, troglophile and guanophile (Leleup, 1956).
=Tivia= sp.
Madagascar.--Last-stage nymphs captured in guano in Antsinomy grotto (Chopard, 1949a).
=Typhloblatta caeca=
India, Assam.--An eyeless species with noticeably elongated appendages (Chopard, 1945).
=Typhloblattodes madecassus=
Madagascar.--Unpigmented integument and reduced eyes (Chopard, 1945).
=Xestoblatta immaculata=
Panama.--Found under rocks on guano-covered floor of the Chilibrillo bat caves (Caudell, 1924).
=Unidentified cockroaches=
Malaya.--The walls of a cave were covered by dense groups of a species of "Blatta" (Annandale, 1900).
England.--"The chief insect pests of the mines are cockroaches, which often swarm in hot mines and those with pit pony stables...." (Hardy, 1941).
COCKROACHES FROM THE BURROWS OF VERTEBRATES
=Arenivaga apacha=
Arizona.--In the nests of wood rats, Neotoma sp. (Hebard, 1917).
=Arenivaga bolliana=
Texas.--In the nests of wood rats, Neotoma sp. (Hebard, 1917; 1943a).
=Arenivaga erratica=
Arizona.--The wingless females were commonly found in burrows of Dipodomys spectabilis spectabilis Merriam, the kangaroo rat. The winged males were never found in the burrows (Vorhies and Taylor, 1922). Found most commonly in wood-rat and ground-squirrel dens in the desert regions (Ball et al., 1942).
=Arenivaga floridensis=
Florida.--Found in a burrow of Peromyscus polionotus rhoadsi (Bangs), the white-footed mouse (Young, 1949).
=Arenivaga roseni=
Turkmen S.S.R.--Occasionally found in burrows of Rhombomys opimus Lichtenstein; in the burrows of the desert turtle, Testudo horsfieldi Gray; and frequently in burrows of the ground squirrel, Spermophilopsis leptodactylus Lichtenstein (Vlasov, 1933; Vlasov and Miram, 1937).
=Arenivaga tonkawa=
Texas.--An immature specimen was found in a prairie-dog hole (Hebard, 1943a).
=Cariblatta lutea=
Florida.--It has been taken in burrows of the pocket gopher, Geomys sp. (Hubbell and Goff, 1940).
=Euthlastoblatta abortiva=
Texas.--In the nests of wood rats, Neotoma sp. (Hebard, 1917).
=Parcoblatta fulvescens=
Texas.--In the nests of wood rats, Neotoma sp. (Hebard, 1917).
=Polyphaga aegyptiaca=
Turkmen S.S.R.--Nymphs and adult females were often found in burrows of the sand mouse, Rhombomys opimus (Vlasov, 1933).
=Polyphaga indica=
Turkmen S.S.R.--This species prefers sandy soils where it can be found in burrows of Spermophilopsis leptodactylus and Pallasiomys meridionalis pennicilliger Heptner (Vlasov and Miram, 1937).
=Polyphaga saussurei=
Tadzhikistan.--Found in burrows of turtles and rodents (Zmeev, 1936).
Turkmen S.S.R.--Nymphs and adult females are common in burrows of Rhombomys opimus and in burrows of Testudo horsfieldi. Its principal habitat is rodent burrows in loess dust, where it is not infrequently found in the food stores of the host (Vlasov and Miram, 1937).
=Pycnoscelus surinamensis=
Texas.--In the nests of wood rats, Neotoma sp. (Hebard, 1917).
DESERT HABITATS
There is relatively little ecological information about cockroaches that live in deserts, even though certain species, notably Polyphaga aegyptiaca, have long been known to inhabit arid zones. In fact, so little is known about the ecology of arid-zone insects in general that it is more a subject for research than for review (Pradhan, 1957). In their account of the cockroaches of Northern Kenya and Jubaland, Kevan and Chopard (1954) describe in some detail the vegetational areas of this arid desert or semidesert country, which averages only about 10 inches of rain per year. The other sources that are cited below contain very little more biological information than the abstracted material that is given under each species.
Nearly all the Polyphaginae are said to be marked xerophiles whose distribution coincides with that of the deserts (Bei-Bienko, 1950). With the exception of Arenivaga floridana, the species of Polyphaginae in the United States all occur in the Southwest, where they are (with a few exceptions) the only cockroaches that inhabit the desert regions proper (Hebard, 1917). The Polyphaginae reach their greatest diversity in the deserts of Northern Africa and Anterior and South-Central Asia (Bei-Bienko, 1950). Some of the desert-inhabiting species have also been found under nondesert conditions. This only further exemplifies the plasticity of cockroaches in adapting to different environments.
The ability of desert insects to live under what appear to be extremely unfavorable conditions has been abundantly illustrated by Pradhan (1957). Uvarov (1954) has pointed out that a desert "covers a great variety of landscapes, which provide desert animals with a wide range of habitats, some of them offering very favorable conditions for life." Pradhan (1957) stated that many desert animals avoid the extremes of desert climates by choosing suitable microclimates for diurnal resting places, that a permanent or temporary underground existence is very common among insects in arid zones, and that many nocturnal Orthoptera burrow into the soil or hide under stones where temperatures are lower. For example, the type of Parcoblatta desertae was found under a boulder on the bare desert (Rehn and Hebard, 1909).
Symbiosis with burrowing animals is another solution to the problem of existence in the desert; in fact, symbiosis is a mode of life adopted by nearly half of the desert cockroaches about which we have any information. Vlasov and Miram (1937) found Polyphaga indica, Polyphaga saussurei, and Arenivaga roseni in the burrows of rodents and desert turtles. In the desert regions of Arizona, females of Arenivaga erratica were found commonly in burrows of the kangaroo rat (Vorhies and Taylor, 1922) and in dens of wood rats and ground squirrels (Ball et al., 1942). Arenivaga apacha and Arenivaga bolliana have also been found inhabiting the nests of wood rats (Hebard, 1917; 1943a). Bei-Bienko (1950) has suggested that the adaptation of desert-inhabiting cockroaches to rodent burrows might enable these insects to survive in the severe climatic conditions of deserts in summer.
Under desert conditions in southern Arizona, the relative humidity outside of the burrows of the kangaroo rat is 1 to 15 percent during the day and 15 to 40 percent at night; but inside the burrows the relative humidity is 30 to 50 percent, and the temperature, even during the day, is below 30° C. (Schmidt-Nielsen, 1949). Thus by living in rodent burrows during the day and going outside at night, the desert cockroaches could avail themselves of the most favorable microclimates obtainable. Presumably whatever food these insects eat provides them with sufficient water to enable them to survive under desert conditions. Bodenheimer (1953) has suggested that the extent of utilization of dew, which is sometimes heavy in the desert, should be investigated; he stated that tenebrionid beetles have been seen in the early morning eating dry [dead?] herbs that were still wet with dew. It is obvious that there is a need for additional detailed information without which we can only guess about the ecology of desert cockroaches.
In the following list we have cited only those species that were stated to have been found under desert conditions. Undoubtedly, related species that have been taken in similar localities are also desert-inhabiting forms, as, for example, other species of Arenivaga that were collected in Texas by Hebard (1943a). In the absence of specific information linking such other species with deserts, we have arbitrarily relegated those forms to the section on outdoor habitats. In addition to the species listed below, desert cockroaches are said to be found in the following genera: Anisogamia, Mononychoblatta, and Nymphytria (Chopard, 1938).
DESERT COCKROACHES
=Agis orientalis=
Northern Kenya.--In desert-grass and thorn-bush country; scattered, dry tufts of grasses interspersed among acacia bush and scattered trees (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Arenivaga apacha=
U.S.A.--Inhabits desert regions of the Southwest, has been found in nests of wood rats (Hebard, 1917).
=Arenivaga bolliana=
U.S.A.--On gravelly hillocks, in scattered scrub, and in the nests of wood rats in Texas. It is a desert inhabitant in the Southwest (Hebard, 1917; 1943a).
=Arenivaga erratica=
U.S.A.--Inhabits desert regions of the Southwest (Hebard, 1917). In Arizona it has been found in rodent burrows in the desert (Vorhies and Taylor, 1922; Ball et al., 1942).
=Arenivaga roseni=
Turkmen S.S.R.--Predominantly found in burrows in sand; all stages "swim" in sand and loess dust (Vlasov and Miram, 1937).
=Blattella vaga=
Arizona.--Found in small numbers on the dry desert (Flock, 1941a).
=Compsodes schwarzi=
U.S.A.--Occurs in the Southwest where it is confined to the desert and semidesert mountainous areas, rarely being found on the desert floor (Hebard, 1917). Taken in an ant nest in mountains of Arizona (Ball et al., 1942).
=Cyrtotria capucina=
Eastern Africa.--"Commonly met with under débris, the apterous females being most frequent." Thorn-bush country (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Derocalymma lampyrina=
Northern Kenya.--Very abundant; both sexes under débris in desert-grass and thorn-bush country (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Derocalymma porcellio=
Northern Kenya.--Taken in upland grassland and bush (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Deropeltis autraniana=
Northern Kenya.--In thorn-bush country (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Deropeltis melanophila=
Northern Kenya.--"Very commonly found at the base of tufts of grass and other débris, the apterous female particularly in the latter situation"; in upland grassland near forest; in thorn-bush country (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Deropeltis nigrita=
Northern Kenya.--Taken in upland grassland and bush (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Eremoblatta subdiaphana=
U.S.A.--Apparently found in greatest abundance in the extreme desert conditions of the southwestern United States (Hebard, 1917). Two small groups of males were observed in the midst of the sandy desert north of Yuma, Ariz.; these insects alternately flew and ran over the sand in the hot sun while headed in a southwesterly direction (Wheeler, 1911).
=Euandroblatta palpalis=
Northern Kenya.--In desert-grass and thorn-bush country (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Heterogamodes rugosa=
Northern Kenya.--"All from desert grass and thorn bush (on sand)." It was stated (under discussion of Tivia fulva) that Heterogamodes females live more or less buried in the sand (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Namablatta bitaeniata=
Southwestern Africa.--Limited in distribution to the more arid portions, being peculiar to extreme desert conditions (Rehn, 1937).
=Nauphoeta punctipennis=
Northern Kenya.--In desert grass and thorn bush; "probably the commonest of all the medium-sized cockroaches occurring in the area under discussion, coming very freely to light" (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Parcoblatta desertae=
U.S.A.--In the desert and semidesert mountainous areas of the Southwest; it is rarely found on the desert floor (Hebard, 1917). Found under boulder on bare desert (Rehn and Hebard, 1909).
=Polyphaga aegyptiaca=
Caucasus.--The wingless female was found buried in sand and dust (Burr, 1913).
Turkmen S.S.R.--Although this species is secondarily encountered in dwellings and courtyards, it is a very characteristic insect of the Trans-Caspian deserts; the females are encountered fairly frequently as inhabitants of sand, where they run slowly over the surface, or dig themselves into the sand to continue their forward motion not far below the surface (Fausek, 1906). Uvarov (in Chopard, 1929b) indicated that females of this genus are found in various desert localities, particularly where vegetative debris occurs, but they are not strictly attached to sandy terrain.
=Polyphaga indica=
Turkmen S.S.R.--This species prefers sandy soils where the nymphs, alate males, and wingless females "swim" readily through the sand; they can also be found in the burrows of desert animals (Vlasov and Miram, 1937).
=Polyphaga saussurei=
Turkmen S.S.R.--Its principal habitats are rodent burrows in loess dust and burrows of the desert turtle (Vlasov and Miram, 1937).
=Supella hottentotta=
Northern Kenya.--Taken in bushes by dry river bed and in desert-grass and thorn-bush country at several stations (Kevan and Chopard, 1954). "...taken with light at night running on bark of a large acacia tree" (Rehn, 1947).
=Symploce kevani=
Northern Kenya.--In desert grass and thorn-bush country (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Theganopteryx straminea=
Northern Kenya.--Taken at three stations in desert grass and thorn bush (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Tivia brunnea=
Northern Kenya.--In open sandy, riverine bush (scanty ground cover among acacia trees and doum palms) (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Tivia fulva=
Northern Kenya.--In desert grass and thorn bush; distributed in semidesert areas south of Sahara; the apterous females probably live buried in sand (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
=Tivia obscura=
Northern Kenya.--In desert grass and thorn bush (Kevan and Chopard, 1954).
AQUATIC HABITATS
The so-called aquatic or amphibious cockroaches are all members of the subfamily Epilamprinae (Chopard, 1938). These forms are not nearly as aquatic as water beetles or aquatic Hemiptera, but in their relations to water they behave differently from nonamphibious cockroaches, which tend to avoid water except for drinking. There are apparently no special morphological characteristics that distinguish amphibious cockroaches (Shelford, 1907, 1909a; Chopard, 1938), although Takahashi (1926) listed several characters that he considered made Opisthoplatia maculata adapted for an aquatic life: (1) Back of body easily wetted; (2) long hairs on underside of thorax trap air; (3) terminal abdominal spiracles open into tubes that extend rearward; (4) long hairs on ventral surfaces of cerci "protect" terminal abdominal spiracles. Annandale (1906) also suggested that the position of the posterior abdominal spiracles, at the base of tubes that project rearward from beneath the seventh tergite, are an adaptation to an aquatic life. However, as Shelford (1907) and Chopard (1938) have pointed out, this same feature may be observed in many terrestrial cockroaches. The legs of amphibious cockroaches are similar to those of nonaquatic species and are not modified for swimming (Shelford, 1909a; Takahashi, 1926).
Biological observations have been made on relatively few species, but representatives of at least six genera occur in quasi-aquatic habitats. Strictly speaking, these cockroaches live on land at the edges of streams or pools and spend relatively brief periods in the water. A few species are found in water-filled bromeliads. The behavior of the known amphibious species of cockroaches in relation to their habitats is discussed below.
AMPHIBIOUS COCKROACHES
=Audreia bromeliadarum=
Panama.--These insects when disturbed would dive into the water that had collected in the base of the bromeliad; they would disappear beneath the surface and remain submerged for some considerable time (Caudell, 1914).
=Dryadoblatta scotti=
Trinidad.--This species was taken from the leaf bases of Tillandsia sp. at 3,100 feet; water had collected between the leaves and the insect was presumed to be more or less amphibious (Scott, 1912). Subaquatic in the bromeliad Glomeropitcairnia erectiflora: "This large and handsome species [D. scotti] is very common in the larger, water-filled, epiphytic bromeliads of the rain forest. Within these plants it is usually to be found, often in considerable numbers, just above the surface of the water or partly immersed in it. The cockroaches will descend rapidly into the water when alarmed and probably obtain their nourishment from the accumulated organic matter in the water. Floating material is probably taken and it seems less likely that they feed below the surface. They appear to be ovoviviparous." (Princis and Kevan, 1955.)
=Epilampra abdomen-nigrum=
Puerto Rico.--Abundant in wet "malojillo" meadows. The nymphs swim easily and remain under water for long periods, as do the adults (Seín, 1923; Wolcott, 1950).
Panama.--A swimming nymph, captured in a dipper with mosquito larvae in a lagoon of the Rio Chilibre, was kept under observations in an aquarium. If disturbed, the insect dived into the water from floating vegetation and swam rapidly below the surface for a minute or two. Finally becoming quiescent, the cockroach would then cling to submerged roots; twice it remained still for 15 minutes before climbing to the surface, where it remained for five or more minutes before emerging completely (Crowell, 1946).
=Epilampra annandalei=
Lower Burma.--One male and three nymphs were collected in the Dawna Hills by Annandale who made the following observations: "The wingless specimens were under stones in a jungle stream and behaved just as the one I obtained in Chota, Nagpur, did [Annandale, 1906]. The winged specimen was under a stone at the edge of the stream, but swam readily. It did not seem so much at home in the water, however, and apparently could not, owing to the wings, raise the tip of its abdomen above the surface." (Shelford, 1909a.)
=Epilampra= sp.
Siamese Malay States.--Wingless females rested on floating logs from which they would dive into the water upon the least disturbance; they remained under water for several minutes, then surfaced beneath the shelter of the log. In the jungle all females were taken either in the water or among matted roots on the sides of the stream. Winged males were seen rising from the surface of the water (Annandale, 1900).
Sarawak.--All specimens were immature; they swam and dived well, but were soon drowned if prevented from rising to the surface to breathe. "When at rest the body of the cockroach is almost entirely submerged, the tip of the abdomen alone projecting above the surface of the water; the abdomen moves gently up and down and every 30-40 seconds a bubble of air issues from the prothoracic spiracle on each side." (Shelford, 1901, 1916.)
India.--A nymphal female, found in a jungle stream at Chota Nagpur, could swim with belly or back upward. When held under water it drowned in a few minutes. The tip of the abdomen was held out of water (Annandale, 1906).
Shelford (1907) has suggested that the immature stages of terrestrial species of Epilampra may well be amphibious. This is an area that could profit by more field observations.
=Opisthoplatia maculata=
Formosa.--Invariably found under or between rocks near mountain streams. The wingless adult and the nymph have similar habits. Normally the cockroach lives on land, and when it goes into the water it returns to land within a few minutes. This cockroach rarely swims, but when it does, it maintains its body in a horizontal position just below the surface of the water. Ordinarily, it walks on the river bottom or on water-covered rocks. This insect feeds on decayed leaves and, according to Shikano, it will eat human feces. (Takahashi, 1926.)
This species has a large number of long hydrophobic hairs on the ventral sides of the thorax and anterior abdominal segments. When the insect submerges, air is trapped in these hairs. The thoracic and one pair of abdominal spiracles open into the bubble of trapped air. However, the insect apparently does not use this plastron of air to replenish its tracheal air supply, but, like Rhicnoda natatrix (see below), it inspires air while at the surface through its posterior abdominal spiracles and expires air into the bubble under the thorax. While the insect is submerged, the air bubble increases in volume until part of it breaks away and floats to the surface. (Takahashi, 1926.)
=Opisthoplatia orientalis=
Formosa.--Lives on or in swampy ground (Takahashi, 1924).
=Rhicnoda natatrix=
Sarawak.--Immature cockroaches were found in sodden leaves at the edge of a pool, where they rested for hours at a time. Generally the fore part of the body was in the water but the tip of the abdomen was always in air. When disturbed the insects dived into the water and hid under sticks and stones on the bottom. Air is inspired through the posterior abdominal spiracles, when they projected above the water surface, and expired through the thoracic spiracles. In experiments in which the insects' abdomens were held immersed in water, with the thorax exposed, the insects died in 6 to 12 hours or less. (Shelford, 1907.)
=Stictolampra buqueti concinula=
Westsumba.--Found under moist fallen leaves on gravelly shore of Melolo River. The nymphs distinguished themselves through their amphibious mode of life and were often good swimmers (Princis, 1957a).
=Unidentified epilamprines=
Brazil.--These cockroaches were found under stones at the side of a rocky stream at Ouro Preto. When disturbed they ran down under the surface of the water and hid under stones at the bottom. When thrown on the water surface, they were helpless, and to get beneath the water surface they had to walk down some object. When they had penetrated the surface film they could swim freely. Specimens kept in jars lived several days with only a portion of their abdomens exposed to the air. (Bristowe, 1925.)
OUTDOOR HABITATS
This category is a catchall for all cockroaches that are not limited to the more circumscribed habitats that have been previously considered. Some cockroaches in this section select specific microhabitats (e.g., Cryptocercus spp., which live exclusively in rotten logs; and Neoblattella dryas, N. eurydice, and N. grossbecki in bromeliads). Others are found in a wide variety of habitats (e.g., Ischnoptera deropeltiformis and Parcoblatta spp.). But some species are so little known that their actual habitats are barely suggested in the collection data.
Williams (1941) made an ecological study of the floor fauna of the Panama rain forest. He found Orthoptera (nearly all were unidentified nymphal cockroaches) in the litter of dead leaves, twigs, and other plant products in over 90 percent of the quadrats he examined. These insects represented about 0.25 percent of the total animal population.
Delamare Deboutteville (1948) made a quantitative study of the animal population in suspended soil that had accumulated between the roots of forest epiphytes of the lower Ivory Coast. He analyzed 2 dm.^3 samples of soil from an epiphyte located 45 meters above ground on a main branch of Parinarium, with these results: Horizon A.--Superficial zone of large rootlets, 6 cm. deep: 2 cockroaches, 4 arachnids, and 4 beetles. Horizon B.--Zone of fine rootlets, 6 cm. deep: 6 cockroaches and numerous other arthropods. Horizon C.--Humid zone, 8 cm. deep: 7 cockroaches and numerous other arthropods. Plants, such as Palissota, were also living in this very original biotype.
The species of cockroaches listed below have been found in the following kinds of outdoor microhabitats: In jungle, forest, and woodlands they have been found in rotten wood; under bark of living, dead, and fallen trees; in decay cavities in trees; burrowing in living bark; on foliage of trees, shrubs, bushes, and low herbage; on vines and in bromeliads and epiphytic ferns; under signs on trees and stumps; in piles of logs and firewood; under dead leaves and debris; in and under decaying fruit on the ground. Cockroaches have been found between the leaves and under leaf sheaths of sugarcane, corn, and other grasses; under dry fibers and fronds of coconut trees; in hollow stems and bases of tree-fern fronds; under bracts of banana blossoms and in bunches of bananas (p. 146). Cockroaches also inhabit abandoned cocoons and larval tents, wasp nests, ant nests, termite nests, bird nests, rat nests, and burrows of other rodents (pp. 23-25, 310-319). Cockroaches have been found in rock crevices and under rocks; under boards and other objects on ground; under seaweed, drift, and other debris on beaches; burrowing in soil and under clods of earth; in marshes and swamps; in dumps and rubbish heaps.
The above list does not exhaust the available outdoor microhabitats that cockroaches find suitable for their continued existence, but it is fairly representative. Although we have no measurements to substantiate this conclusion, we suggest that the microhabitats cited above have a more constant temperature and a relatively higher humidity than is provided by the surrounding macrohabitats. We would expect insects such as cockroaches, whose water balance is dependent on a continuous supply of fluid water or moist food, to seek moist environments or to avoid situations in which their transpiration might increase. Deviations, presumably brief, from this expected behavior must occur to account for the cockroaches that are found under relatively unfavorable environmental conditions. Despite the apparent preference for cryptic habitats, some cockroaches are found in hot sunlight (Ellipsidion spp.; Tepper, 1893); Rehn (1945) has stated that many kinds are diurnal rather than nocturnal. Movement of cockroaches between habitats may be assumed to occur; but movement from an unfavorable environment to a more favorable one, following a shift in water balance, has not been observed in nature; however, laboratory experiments suggest that the mechanism for mediating such behavior is present in some species of cockroaches (Gunn and Cosway, 1938; Roth and Willis, 1952a). Obviously, additional research is needed on the bionomics of all species. Further conclusions based on current limited knowledge can only be speculative and possibly misleading.
COCKROACHES FROM OUTDOOR HABITATS
(Except Amphibious, Desert, and Cavernicolous Forms)
=Aglaopteryx absimilis=
Puerto Rico.--Living in rotten, wooden fence; living between leaves of Samanea saman and in abandoned cocoons of Megalopyge krugii on bucare trees (Wolcott, 1950).
Leeward Islands.--On coconut tree (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Aglaopteryx facies=
Puerto Rico.--As diaphana, in dead branch 10 feet above the ground on Mona Island (Hebard, 1917). In trunks of trees under bark and very often in abandoned cocoons of the "plumilla" (Seín, 1923). On rotten, wooden fence; in empty cocoons of Megalopyge krugii on trunks of bucare trees, Erythrina glauca; on trunk of Inga laurina; in larval tents of Tetralopha scabridella on Inga vera (Wolcott, 1936). In large numbers in nests of the gray kingbird (Wolcott, 1950).
=Aglaopteryx diaphana=
West Indies.--In Cuba, under corky bark of large tree in open; Jamaica, under loose bark of shade trees and in bracts of banana blossoms; in bromeliads and hollow bases of dead tree-fern fronds (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Aglaopteryx gemma=
Florida.--On Long Key, under coquina boulder in heavy scrub; under loose, dry fibers near head of standing coconut palm (Rehn and Hebard, 1912). Climbing on roots of red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, in swamp; under loose bark on trunk of Exothea paniculata in dense jungle; under limestone boulder in keys scrub; under signs on oaks, sweet gum, and longleaf pines in southeastern and southern States (Hebard, 1917). Infrequent in the shrub growth of the Sandhills habitat (Friauf, 1953).
Texas.--In undergrowth of pine forest; under sign on oak near river; in Tillandsia sp. (Hebard, 1917). Usually in hiding places on trees; only once found under a stone on ground (Hebard, 1943a).
=Allacta similis=
Hawaii.--Common in hollow stems and under bark (Swezey and Williams, 1932).
=Amazonina emarginata=
Trinidad.--On low herbage, on hibiscus at night, and in banana bunch (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Anaplecta asema=
Panama.--Under dead leaves in jungle (Hebard, 1920).
=Anaplecta decipiens=
Costa Rica.--In decayed leaves (Rehn, 1906).
=Anaplecta fallax=
Costa Rica.--Under stones on borders of Surubres River (Rehn, 1906).
=Anaplecta hemiscotia=
Panama.--Under rubbish at edge of jungle and in overgrowth of heavy vines on low bushes (Hebard, 1920).
=Anaplecta lateralis=
Panama.--Under drift on edge of coral-sand beach (Hebard, 1920).
=Arenivaga bolliana=
Texas.--In dense jungle brush of the river plain; on gravelly hillocks in scattered scrub; under debris and leaf mold under mesquite trees; in rat's nests, Neotoma sp. (Hebard, 1917). In dry earth under bush; inhabits litter on ground and nests of rats (Hebard, 1943a).
=Arenivaga floridensis=
Florida.--Male on ground under leaves of cabbage palmetto (Blatchley, 1920). Females in sand under boards and debris along lake shore (Friauf in Cantrall, 1941). Infrequent on bare soil and ground under vegetation in the longleaf-pine flatwoods habitat (Friauf, 1953). In rodent burrow (Young, 1949).
=Arenivaga grata=
Texas.--Under stones in upper canyon; under rocks in pine-oak forest; from oak-manzanita forest along dry stream bed (Hebard, 1943a).
=Aristiger histrio=
Malaya.--Lives freely on bushes and flowers of Passiflora sp. (Karny, 1924).
=Aspiduchus boriquen=
Puerto Rico.--"Apparently the species [as deplanatus] is locally numerous in suitable locations, such as caves, rock crevices and the shelter of large stones." (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Audreia bromeliadarum=
Panama.--Perfectly at home in bromeliads (see p. 31) (Caudell, 1914).
=Audreia jamaicana=
Jamaica.--In bromeliads; under dead wood in dense forest (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Balta godeffroyi=
Australia.--Under bark (Hebard, 1943).
=Balta quadricaudata=
Australia.--From sugarcane (Hebard, 1943).
=Balta scripta=
Australia, Queensland.--On leaves, grass, and sugarcane (Hebard, 1943).
=Balta torresiana=
Australia.--From leaves, under bark, from sugarcane (Hebard, 1943).
=Balta verticalis=
Australia.--In leaves, from tree, from sugarcane (Hebard, 1943).
=Blaberus atropus=
Trinidad.--Female in rotting log (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Blaberus discoidalis=
Jamaica.--Under dead coconut petioles in open spot. Gundlach found it under stones in a field in Cuba (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Blaberus giganteus=
Trinidad.--Nymph in rotten palm tree (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Blaberus= spp.
Venezuela.--Only taken in the forests of the Orinoco near the trunks of rotten trees at night (Doumerc in Blanchard, 1837).
Panama.--Among dead leaves and debris on floor of rain forest (E. C. Williams, Jr., 1941).
=Blatta lateralis=
U.S.S.R.--Found among rocks at 2,000 or more meters elevation. It is found in cultivated areas as well as in mountainous landscapes and in semideserts (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Blatta orientalis=
Great Britain.--One female nymph under bark of tree 10 feet above the ground (Burr, 1900). Swarming within a rubbish heap in February (Lucas, 1912). In refuse tip under old sacks and sheets of linoleum (Hallett in Lucas, 1922). Male under bark of oak far from houses (Donisthorpe, 1918). One adult female and nymph in prone dead elm 50 yards from house (Burr, 1937). An immature male at the roots of Ballota nigra (Buck in Gardner, 1954). Four additional records of this species outdoors away from houses (Lucas, 1920).
Southern Crimea.--Under stones, dead leaves, and detritus in small copses of Quercus pubescens, Carpinus orientalis, Cornus mas, Paliurus aculeatus, and Dictamnus fraxinella; 19 specimens, apparently breeding outdoors (Adelung, 1907).
North-central U.S.--Observations since 1950 indicate a marked increase in frequency and duration of infestations outdoors; observed in bare soil, vegetation, debris, alongside foundations in sodded areas, along sidewalks, and at edge of parking areas throughout the year; in some urban residential areas, the yards of whole blocks of houses were "alive" with this species on warm summer nights; in winter they have been found under stones, leaf debris, and soil near structures (Shuyler, 1956).
=Blattella germanica=
Algeria.--Under moist leaves in woods (Lucas, 1849).
California.--Under rubbish and on date palms (Herms, 1926).
Connecticut.--In city dump under loose material, very numerous (Walden, 1922). Additional infestations of dumps by this species have been reported in New York (Felt, 1926, 1928) and New Jersey (Hansens, 1949, 1950)
England.--Swarming within a rubbish heap in February (Lucas, 1912).
Formosa.--Lives among fallen leaves on the ground (Takahashi, 1924).
North-central U.S.--Reported living outdoors near buildings and in soil under basementless buildings from early summer to late fall (Shuyler, 1956).
=Blattella humbertiana=
India.--Common among decaying vegetation and on trees (Chopard and Chatterjee, 1937).
Formosa.--Normally found in sugarcane fields, pineapple fields, and grasslands where it feeds on decayed leaves and other decayed vegetable matter and dead insects. It lies concealed among and under fallen leaves and clods of earth on or close to ground and never on the upper parts of plants, except pineapple where it is found among the leaves (Takahashi, 1940).
=Blattella vaga=
Arizona.--Typically an inhabitant of irrigated fields and yards, it is found in fewer numbers on the dry desert. It is found under stones, plant debris, and clumps of earth; found in greatest numbers around decaying dates on ground (Flock, 1941a).
Texas.--Beneath duff under athel trees; rather abundant in clumps of Rhodes grass (Riherd, 1953).
=Byrsotria cabrerae=
Cuba.--In sea-coast woods: "The species [this and Byrsotria fumigata] are ground-dwelling, hiding under stones and other shelter" (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Byrsotria fumigata=
Cuba.--Ground dwelling, hiding under stones, etc.; also a cave inhabitant (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Cahita borero=
Brazil, Matto Grosso.--Beaten from tree foliage in dry scrub, from tree foliage at edge of dry riverine tangle, and from undergrowth in a dry forest area (Rehn, 1937a).
=Cahita nahua=
Honduras.--All beaten from foliage along roads or in thickets, during rainy season (Rehn, 1937a).
=Cariblatta antiguensis=
Virgin Islands, St. Croix.--Common under heaps of rubbish (Beatty, 1944).
Trinidad.--On herbage below bananas; all stages on Hibiscus at night; in grass at dusk; on low herbage under old coconut (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Cariblatta cuprea=
Jamaica.--In leaves on leaf mold in hillside forest (Hebard, 1916a).
=Cariblatta delicatula=
West Indies.--In debris in short grass in open, Cuba. Under dead petioles of coconut palms, San Domingo. In leaves on leaf mold in hillside forest, Jamaica (Hebard, 1916a).
=Cariblatta hylaea=
Honduras.--Found at foot and on lower slopes of first ridges of the Sierra Pija, from 75 to at least 800 feet above sea level, where vegetation ranged from abandoned banana patches overgrown with Heliconia and Cecropia and interspersed with forest trees, at the foot of the hills, to primeval lowland forest (ceibas, figs, palms, etc.) on the slopes. In the banana patches C. hylaea was found on hanging dead banana and Cecropia leaves; on the slopes it was found on undergrowth foliage, hanging dead leaves, and in dead leaves on ground (Rehn, 1945a).
=Cariblatta imitans=
Panama.--Among loose leaves on leaf mold in heavy jungle (Hebard, 1916a).
=Cariblatta insularis=
Jamaica.--One of the most frequently encountered orthopterous insects in bromeliads on trees (Hebard, 1916a, 1917; Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Cariblatta jamaicensis=
Jamaica.--In decaying herbage (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Cariblatta landalei=
Jamaica.--All specimens taken from under drying bracts of banana blossoms (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Cariblatta lutea lutea=
North Carolina.--Under pine straw on ground in woods (Brimley, 1908).
Southeastern U.S.--Under dead oak leaves; under dead needles in longleaf-pine woods; in wire grass; under refuse; beaten from undergrowth in pine and oak woods (Rehn and Hebard, 1916). In undergrowth of shortleaf-pine, longleaf-pine, and oak woods; in heavy scrub in damp spot of sand dune area; from high bushes, Ilex coriacea [=lucida] along inland swampy area (Hebard, 1916a). "The species is in large part terrestrial, being usually found among dead leaves and litter on the ground. Occasional specimens are, however, sometimes beaten from bushes. Individuals are decidedly active and are usually to be found in the greatest numbers in sandy situations" (Hebard, 1917).
Florida.--Throughout winter and spring they are frequent beneath leaves and other debris on ground, especially in dry, sandy locations (Blatchley, 1920). Friauf (1953) found this species under debris, fallen leaves, leaf mold, or decaying wood in these habitats: Dry, ruderal grassland (infrequent), scrub (frequent), sandhills (dominant), xeric hammock (infrequent), mesic hammock (dominant), pond margin (infrequent), longleaf-pine flatwoods (frequent), bayhead (occasional), low hammock (frequent), and alluvial hammock (occasional). In the shrub stratum in these habitats: Scrub (frequent), sandhills (dominant), and xeric hammock (infrequent). In herbaceous stratum in these habitats: Sandhills (dominant), mesic hammock (dominant), and black-pine flatwoods (infrequent). On bare soil or bare sand under vegetation in these habitats: Sandhills (dominant), pond margin (infrequent), longleaf-pine flatwoods (frequent), and slash-pine flatwoods (frequent) (Friauf, 1953).
=Cariblatta lutea minima=
Florida.--Series of specimens captured on Long Key under dead petioles of coconut palm on moist ground at edges of pools of brackish water. Specimens from Key West were in dry dead grass under boards (Rehn and Hebard, 1912). Nymphs frequent under bark on decaying pine logs in pine woods; occasional in leaf mold in heavy junglelike scrub (Rehn and Hebard, 1914). In water-soaked leaves in heavy red-mangrove swamp (Hebard, 1915). Under dead petioles of coconut palm on sandy soil in grapefruit grove (Hebard, 1916a). Numerous at bases of tufts of coarse grass growing just back of sea beach (Blatchley, 1920). Friauf (1953) found this species in leaf duff, leaf mold, debris, or decaying wood in these habitats: Dry, ruderal grassland (occasional), scrub (infrequent), sandhills (infrequent), mesic hammock (infrequent), pond margin (occasional), longleaf-pine flatwoods (occasional), and low hammock (infrequent). On bare soil or bare sand under vegetation in these habitats: Longleaf-pine flatwoods (occasional) and slash-pine flatwoods (occasional). Dominant in the spartina marsh habitat in the grass stratum and duff around clumps. Frequent in the saw-grass marsh habitat in the grass stratum and, during the dry season, in decaying vegetation on the marsh floor.
=Cariblatta nebulicola=
Jamaica.--Adults in dead leaf litter alongside the trail in dense forest of tree ferns, Podocarpus, Cyrilla, and other trees; the forest was bathed in fog much of the time (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Cariblatta reticulosa=
Jamaica.--In leaves on leaf mold in hillside forest (Hebard, 1916a). Moderately numerous in leaf litter in mangrove swamp; in decaying herbage (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Cariblatta stenophrys=
Puerto Rico.--Between the leaves and under the leaf sheaths of corn (Sein, 1923; Wolcott, 1936).
=Cariblatta= spp.
West Indies.--The tropical species of this genus inhabit heavy forest, living among the fallen leaves resting on the leaf mold, in epiphytic bromeliads, and in dead agaves (Hebard, 1916a; Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Cariblattoides instigator=
Cuba.--In siftings from under sea grapes, other shrubs, and low trees (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Cariblattoides suave=
Puerto Rico.--On dry limestone hills (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Ceratinoptera picta=
Trinidad.--Under bark of old cacao tree (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Chorisoneura flavipennis=
Costa Rica.--Under stones on borders of Surubres River (Rehn, 1906).
=Chorisoneura formosella=
Jamaica.--Swept from huckleberry trees (Vaccinium meridionale) (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Chorisoneura parishi=
Panama.--From jungle undergrowth (Hebard, 1920).
=Chorisoneura specilliger=
Panama.--In grass (Hebard, 1920).
=Chorisoneura texensis=
Florida.--"The almost impenetrable jungle on Key Largo was examined, and in its depths the two specimens of this species were secured by beating the lower branches of gumbo limbo, other trees and the lower bushes and shrubs, among which latter are to be found such tropical forms as Ocotea catesbyana [=Nectandra coriacea] and Citharexylum villosum" (Rehn and Hebard, 1912). In nests of webworm and beaten from bushes of bayberry, Myrica cerifera, along edge of pine woods (Rehn and Hebard, 1916). Beneath dead leaves in oak woods and beaten from foliage of oak and bayberry (Blatchley, 1920). Infrequent in the tall shrub stratum of the xeric hammock habitat (Friauf, 1953).
Texas.--The great majority of specimens were beaten from foliage of bushes (Hebard, 1943a).
Southeastern and southern U.S.--In undergrowth in pine woods; beaten from shrubbery, from bayberry bushes, from lower branches of gumbo limbo and other trees, from lower bushes and shrubs in jungle, and from low oaks on hills. In Texas, beaten from tall weeds in opening in river-plain jungle scrub (Hebard, 1917).
=Chorisoneura translucida=
Panama.--In jungle vegetation, including vines covering low bushes (Hebard, 1920).
=Chromatonotus infuscatus=
Trinidad.--Males on low herbage under old cacao tree (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Chromatonotus notatus=
Trinidad.--Males in orchard on low herbage at night; females under refuse and in grass (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Comptolampra liturata=
Malaya.--Often found between dry foliage in the beakers of the epiphytic fern, Asplenium nidus, although the species lives mainly in bamboo bushes (Karny, 1924).
=Cryptocercus punctulatus=
North Carolina.--"They were never found except in parts of the logs [chestnut] where the decayed wood was soft, punky and wet" (Rehn and Hebard, 1910).
Oregon.--In fir logs where sap wood was soggy (Hebard, 1917).
Virginia.--In decaying chestnut and pine logs; taken six times in chestnut and once in pine (Hebard, 1917). In rotten logs in deep ravines of moist woods (Davis, 1926).
Appalachian Mountains, U.S.--In southern Virginia and eastern Tennessee, it is usually quite abundant in well-forested areas at elevations from 3,000 to 5,000 feet; "sometimes even a majority of the dead logs on a mountain side have roaches in them" (Cleveland et al., 1934). This cockroach not only lives in rotten, dead logs but also in sound logs that have been down only a few years. In Virginia it is found more often in chestnut and hemlock. "It occurs fairly often in oak, and has been found in pine, spruce, and arbor vitae.... There is little evidence that they ever leave the log and enter the ground" (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Cryptocercus relictus=
Eastern Manchuria.--In great numbers under rotting fallen trees and in rotten dead wood (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Cutilia soror=
Marquesas Islands.--Males under stones and dead log (Hebard, 1933a).
Hawaii.--In soil about roots of pineapple (Illingworth, 1927). Often found about roots of grasses and weeds and other debris (Williams et al., 1931). Under stones and pineapple mulching paper (Fullaway and Krauss, 1945).
Wake Island.--Numerous, some from rotten logs. Found in bunch grass on Ocean Island (Bryan, 1926).
=Cutilia= spp.
Australia.--Frequent woods where they leave shelter soon after sunset and run actively on ground or ascend shrubs and trees in quest of prey (Tepper, 1893).
=Dendroblatta sobrina=
Panama.--Colony on tree trunk; on surface of trunk of fallen tree (Hebard, 1920).
=Diploptera punctata=
Hawaii.--"Crowds of these insects in various stages of development sometimes gather in cypress trees, in suitable chinks, in old flowerhead sheaths of palms, etc., and even more or less openly on leafy twigs, in bunch grass, and the species is at times locally abundant behind the older leaf bases of sugar cane" (Williams et al., 1931). Williams also lists the following as food plants: Cryptomeria, algaroba, lime trees, ripening mangoes, papayas, and oranges. However, Bianchi (personal communication, 1954) doubted that any of the above are the main dietary, because the largest populations he had seen "were found in the fairly dry litter of Star Jasmine (Jasminum pubescens Willd.), well removed from any of the plants mentioned by Williams."
Raiatea, Society Islands.--Beaten out of bracken (Cheesman, 1927).
Uahuka, Marquesas Islands.--Under bark (Hebard, 1933a).
=Dryadoblatta scotti=
Trinidad.--Very common in water-filled, epiphytic bromeliads in the rain forest (see p. 31) (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Ectobius africanus=
Belgian Congo.--Females in forest margin and in forest undergrowth (Rehn, 1931).
=Ectobius albicinctus=
South France.--Females and young beneath stones (Blair, 1922).
=Ectobius duskei=
U.S.S.R.--In the steppe belt, it is a very characteristic member of feather-grass steppes, where it is found in associations of typically steppe vegetation, with feather grasses at the head (Stipa lessingiana and others), and on rocky slopes; it occurs frequently in cultivated fields of young crops and also in young geological strata in sections with virgin soil. The populations of this steppe cockroach average 6 to 8 individuals per square meter from the middle to the end of July. By the end of summer most individuals were observed at the bases of straw stacks with a canopy, having their south sides sheltered. This is the only species of Ectobius adapted to a purely steppe biocenose. (Bei-Bienko, 1950.)
=Ectobius lapponicus=
Southeastern Europe.--Numerous under stones on Trebovic (Burr, 1898).
U.S.S.R.--Found in wooded communities and peat bogs (in northern part of its range); males occur predominantly on herbaceous plants and bushes, but females hide under fallen leaves, moss, etc. (Bei-Bienko, 1950). It populated about 25 percent of the aspen trees in an experimental plot, feeding in galleries in the bark of young branches; there were 25 or more individuals per tree (Stark in Bei-Bienko, 1950).
Germany.--Abundant in woods; in pine woods in company with Stenobothrus vagans and Tettix kraussi. Numerous in low aspen bushes in forest. Numerous in deciduous and coniferous forests on trees and underbrush; under fallen leaves and moss; on oaks (Zacher, 1917). In foliage of young oak on top of mountain (Ramme, 1923).
Great Britain.--Under moss and dry leaves, among woodland undergrowth, and, generally, on vegetation close to the ground; occasional on bushes and trees (Lucas, 1920). Nymphs in heather in February and later; adults among rushes fringing pond in July (Lucas, 1925). Nymphs and males on rushy vegetation; unusually abundant on low herbage in dried-up swamp (Lucas, 1930).
=Ectobius nicaeensis=
France.--In dry woods, on bushes, and at the base of trees (Chopard, 1947).
=Ectobius pallidus=
Algeria.--Under stones; in moist places that are shaded and covered with plants (Lucas, 1849).
England.--Very abundant on sand dunes and among bracken in July (Buxton, 1914).
Germany.--In deciduous and coniferous forests; at edge of forest, from bare woods and bushes; numerous under leaves in oak woods and under moss (Zacher, 1917). In forest well lighted by the sun (Ramme, 1923).
Massachusetts.--Under loose lichens and bark on oak trees; under boxes, baskets, paper, etc., near houses; on Swiss chard (Flint, 1951). On roofs of houses, in shrubbery (Gurney, 1953). We have collected this species for several summers in a fairly dense, wooded area near dwellings, among fallen leaves and climbing on the erect stems and undersides of the leaves of periwinkle. Oöthecae were found on the ground under leaves and debris.
=Ectobius panzeri=
England.--Abundant on sandhills along shoreline among roots of grass (Burr, 1908). Under dead seaweed and other rubbish a few yards from shore on ground that would be washed by the sea (Lucas, 1896). Nymphs found among marram grass (Buxton, 1914). On sandhills near coast and covered with marram grass; often found on heather and low herbage; under old bark and rotten wood on posts; in decayed stump (Lucas, 1920). Swarming on Beta maritima and other plants in July (Lucas, 1920a). Very common in all stages in August, being frequently found under stones (Lucas, 1925). Common on sand dunes especially under stems of dead marram grass. Viable oöthecae found buried in sand (Brown, 1952).
Germany.--In beech woods and in pine woods (Zacher, 1917).
=Ectobius semenovi=
Kazakhstan.--Along the shores of the Syr-daria it is found on and around living willows and on Populus euphratica; under loose bark of dying and dead trees (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Ectobius sylvester=
U.S.S.R.--In wooded steppe zones; probably only occurs in association with forests (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Ectobius tadzhicus=
Tadzhikistan.--Great numbers at the roots of Eleagnus shrubs on the banks of reservoirs and frequently under the bark of old trees (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Ectobius vittiventer=
South France.--One male beneath stone (Blair, 1922).
=Ellipsidion affine=
Australia.--From leaves, from scrub (Hebard, 1943). Collected in trees (Pope, 1953a).
=Ellipsidion australe=
Australia.--On eucalyptus leaves, on wattle, under bark (Hebard, 1943). Collected in trees (Pope, 1953a).
=Ellipsidion bicolor=
Australia.--In corn and from tree (Hebard, 1943).
=Ellipsidion simulans=
Australia.--From sugarcane (Hebard, 1943).
=Ellipsidion= spp.
Australia.--All stages are diurnal moving about the foliage of shrubs and small trees in bright sunlight on hottest summer days (Tepper, 1893).
=Epilampra abdomen-nigrum=
Trinidad.--In dried-up drain; among grass; in debris under old cacao tree; under old leaves (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
Puerto Rico.--Abundant in damp lowlands (Seín, 1923). Under dead leaves in wet malojillo meadow (Wolcott, 1936).
This species is amphibious (p. 31). Shelford (1907) suggested that immature stages of other species of the genus may be aquatic, which would place them in moist situations on the shores of rivers and other bodies of water.
=Epilampra azteca=
Panama.--Very scarce, under palm trees in decaying leaf mold and litter; one found under decaying bark of a log (Hebard, 1921a).
=Epilampra mona=
Mona Island, Puerto Rico.--One specimen under bark of dead tree (Ramos, 1946).
=Epilampra tainana=
Cuba.--Under dead leaves on stream bank (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Epilampra wheeleri=
Puerto Rico.--In siftings from high-altitude primeval forest (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Epilampra= spp.
Australia.--By day the insects live under bark, stones, logs, dead vegetable debris, or buried in loose dust or soil. After sunset females wander in grass or ascend low objects (Tepper, 1893).
=Ergaula capensis=
Uganda.--In open bush and short grass (Princis, 1955).
=Eudromiella bicolorata=
Panama.--Under rubbish on edge of jungle (Hebard, 1920).
=Euphyllodromia liturifera=
Colombia.--In brushwood (Princis, 1946).
=Eurycotis biolleyi=
Costa Rica.--Numbers of individuals were found in the large bromeliads of the temperate localities (Picado, 1913).
=Eurycotis decipiens=
Trinidad.--In old, rotten coconut stump (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Eurycotis dimidiata=
Cuba.--"This species was recorded from under stones in the fields ... by Gundlach" (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Eurycotis ferrum-equinum=
Cuba.--Under stones in woods (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Eurycotis floridana=
Florida.--Moderately common under bark of dead pine stumps and logs; at Key West it fairly swarmed under coquina boulders in the woods (Rehn and Hebard, 1905). Many specimens under palmetto leaves on ground (Caudell, 1905). In pine woods under dry bark of dead logs; on Long Key in dry fibers at the base of the heads of coconut palms; "at Key West, a large colony was discovered among boards lying on dry grass in a field, and several were captured upon turning over coquina boulders in the dense bush" (Rehn and Hebard, 1912). Particularly numerous in tree cavities and under bark along the edge of hammock areas (Hebard, 1915). Abundant between basal leaves of Tillandsia utriculata; beneath loose bark of logs and stumps; in and beneath decaying palmetto trunks and leaves; under rubbish (Blatchley, 1920). On ground in heavy tangle after dark; in decaying log of Sabal palmetto; in bromeliads; common under debris and bark in jungle; under signs on Pinus caribaea; in almost every sheltered outdoor place (Hebard, 1917). It moves about at night and hides under bark of logs and in other recesses during the day; where pines are present it almost invariably hides under bark of dead logs and stumps (Rehn and Hebard, 1914). Friauf (1953) found this species in leaf duff, leaf mold, or decaying wood in these habitats: Sandhills (infrequent), xeric hammock (dominant), mesic hammock (frequent), and low hammock (dominant); on tree trunks in sandhills habitat (infrequent) and mesic hammock (frequent); infrequent in saw-grass marsh habitat in the grass stratum and, during the dry season, in decaying vegetation on floor of marsh. Under the bark of logs and beneath logs in the woodpile habitat (Friauf, 1953).
=Eurycotis galeoides=
Cuba.--Under stones in deep woods (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Eurycotis kevani=
Trinidad.--Under debris, trash, and vegetable refuse (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Eurycotis opaca=
Cuba.--In pine and palmetto region (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Euthlastoblatta abortiva=
Texas.--Under dense tangle of bushy vegetation, palms, and vines near Rio Grande; in leaves and dry litter on ground; on dead petiole hanging from palm tree (Hebard, 1917). Under bark of dead hackberry; abundant in dead leaves, dry litter, and rats' (Neotoma sp.) nests in heavy scrub (Hebard, 1943a).
=Graptoblatta notulata=
Tahiti.--On foliage in sun or concealed among dead leaves that collect between the fronds of tree ferns (Cheesman, 1927).
Hawaii.--Quite active during the day, occurring on sugarcane, etc., in the wetter districts; it is also a household insect (Williams et al., 1931).
=Hemiblabera brunneri=
Puerto Rico.--Under bark of tamarind tree (Rehn and Hebard, 1927). Under the bark on a fence post (Wolcott, 1950).
=Henicotyle antillarum=
Dominica.--From rotting wood and wood soil (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Holocompsa metallica=
Dominican Republic.--Along railroad through jungle and swamp (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Hololampra bivittata=
Canary Islands.--Found in numbers among pine needles; nymphs were in the majority, adults rare (Burr, 1911).
=Hololampra chavesi=
Azores.--Very common in the hedges, particularly in brambles. Contrary to most species of this genus, which live on the ground under stones, this species is exclusively dendricolous and is only captured by beating the bushes on which it abounds (Chopard, 1932).
=Hololampra maculata=
Germany.--Abundant in deciduous forest in grass and under fallen leaves; in pine forests under lichens and between fallen needles; in edge of coniferous forest; under stones (Zacher, 1917).
=Hololampra marginata=
Macedonia.--Usually found crawling on the flowers and stems of giant thistles in May; common on thistles in June (Burr, 1923).
=Hololampra= sp.
Caucasus.--Numerous beneath dry leaves in a garden (Burr, 1913).
=Hololeptoblatta= sp.
Seychelles.--Apparently only inhabits Pandanus between the leaf bases (Scott, 1910, 1912).
=Homalopteryx laminata=
St. Vincent.--In decaying leaves in forest (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Trinidad.--In forest debris and debris under old cacao trees; it is not uncommon under dry leaves; it feigns death when disturbed (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Hormetica laevigata=
Brazil.--From crown of palm between leaf bases (Hancock, 1926).
=Ignabolivaria bilobata=
U.S.S.R.--Under rocks and on the edges of woods in the lowlands in the north and in the mountains in the south (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Ischnoptera deropeltiformis=
North Carolina.--Under pine straw on ground in woods (Brimley, 1908).
Georgia.--Under dead oak leaves; under debris in garden; running on ground in pine and oak woods (Rehn and Hebard, 1916).
Indiana.--It is "a ground-frequenting, forest-loving insect, hiding beneath cover or about the edges of deep woodland, more frequently in damp places, and rarely taken beneath bark, signs, or at lights" (Blatchley, 1920).
Missouri.--Twenty to 30 males found resting on heads of wild oats on successive evenings (Rau, 1947).
Texas.--It preferred damp, open woodlands (Hebard, 1943a).
Eastern and southeastern U.S.--Under stone in heavy deciduous forest; under damp, dead leaves on edges of forests; under bark of pine log; in wire grass and sphagnum bordering stream thicket; in leaf mold and rubbish about pothole in pine woods, Pinus caribaea; under debris and leaf mold in hammock; under dead oak leaves in heavy deciduous forest (Hebard, 1917).
Florida.--"This species is distinctly geophilous and appears to prefer damp surroundings" (Rehn and Hebard, 1912). Under boards on very wet ground in everglades; in debris and leaf mold in heavy, junglelike areas of trees, bushes, and vines (Rehn and Hebard, 1914). Adults and numerous nymphs beneath weeds, grass, and other debris washed up on beach of Lake Okeechobee (Blatchley, 1920). Friauf (1953) found this species in leaf duff, leaf mold, and/or decaying wood on ground in these habitats: Dry, ruderal grassland (infrequent), scrub (infrequent), sandhills (occasional), xeric hammock (frequent), mesic hammock (dominant), shrubby, longleaf-pine flatwoods (infrequent), bayhead (dominant), and low hammock (dominant). On open bare soil or bare sand under vegetation in these habitats: Dry, ruderal grassland (infrequent), mesic hammock (dominant), moist, ruderal grassland (infrequent), pond margin (occasional), longleaf-pine flatwoods (infrequent), slash-pine flatwoods (infrequent), and low hammock (dominant). Infrequent in the herbaceous stratum of these habitats: Dry, ruderal grassland, moist, ruderal grassland, and longleaf-pine flatwoods. Infrequent in the shrub stratum of the dry, ruderal grassland habitat. (Friauf, 1953.)
Tennessee.--Taken in traps baited with cantaloupe in a parklike stand of oak, gum, hickory, and tulip trees in a creek bottom, and in a stand of oak on a dry ridge (Walker, 1957).
=Ischnoptera panamae=
Panama.--Under rubbish at edge of jungle and under drift on edge of coral-sand beach (Hebard, 1920).
=Ischnoptera podoces=
Jamaica.--In dead leaf litter along side trail through mountain forest (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Ischnoptera rufa rufa=
Virgin Islands, St. Croix.--Common under rubbish and on shrubbery at night (Beatty, 1944).
Barbados.--Occasionally found in cane fields (Tucker, 1952).
West Indies.--In Puerto Rico, under stones in cultivated area, under debris on alkalie flat. In Jamaica, under dry petioles of coconut palm in grassy area; under logs, logwood on docks, and litter on limestone and near beach. In Panama, under drift on edge of coral-sand beach; under rubbish at edge of jungle (Hebard, 1916c).
Jamaica.--Under limbs and leaf litter in mangrove swamp (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Lamproblatta albipalpus=
Panama.--Under drift on edge of coral-sand beach. Several under decayed banana stem (Hebard, 1920).
=Lamproblatta meridionalis=
Trinidad.--Under debris in forest and debris under old cacao trees (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Latiblattella chichimeca=
Costa Rica.--Very common in the bromeliads of all Costa Rica (Picado, 1913).
=Latiblattella lucifrons=
Arizona.--"Most commonly seen feeding on pollen and dead insects on the flower stalks of Yucca elata in June in the Santa Rita Mountains" (Ball et al., 1942).
=Latiblattella rehni=
Florida.--Widely distributed throughout pine woods (Pinus caribaea); under signs on Pinus clausa and Pinus caribaea (Hebard, 1917). Beneath bark of dead pine tree; beating Spanish moss; they seldom attempt flight when disturbed, but hide in crevices or drop to ground (Blatchley, 1920).
=Latiblattella zapoteca=
Costa Rica.--Under stones on borders of Surubres River (Rehn, 1906).
=Leucophaea maderae=
Barbados.--In cane fields (Tucker, 1952).
Dominica.--In vegetation of royal palms, guava, etc.; under loose bark and banana sheaths. In Jamaica, on logwood docks (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Litopeltis biolleyi=
Costa Rica.--Under bark of tree in forest; in epiphytic bromeliads (Rehn, 1928).
=Litopeltis bispinosa=
Panama Canal Zone.--About 80 specimens from rotting banana stalks at bases of leaves; boring in decaying banana stem (Hebard, 1920).
=Litopeltis deianira=
Costa Rica.--In tree stump on edge of mountain forest; in dead wood on ground (Rehn, 1928).
=Litopeltis musarum=
Costa Rica.--Shaken from dead banana leaves. Footnote to specific name: "In relation to the liking of species of this genus for bananas (Musa) as shelter and possibly food" (Rehn, 1928).
=Lobolampra subaptera=
France.--Under stones and dead leaves, always rare (Chopard, 1947).
=Loboptera decipiens=
France.--All stages common beneath stones (Blair, 1922). Under stones and dead leaves (Chopard, 1947).
Maltese Islands.--Quite common in open country under stones (Valletta, 1955).
Dalmatia.--On seashores under rocks and seaweed cast up on shore (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Loboptera thaxteri=
Argentina.--Common in rubbish and leaf litter in small woodlot (Hebard, 1932).
=Lobopterella dimidiatipes=
Hawaii.--Abundant in wet districts, both in lowlands and to a considerable altitude in the forests, under trash, stones, boards, etc. (Williams et al., 1931). Often it is found with nymphs of Periplaneta australasiae (Fullaway and Krauss, 1945).
=Lophoblatta arawaka=
Trinidad.--On grass, maize, and cut sugarcane fodder; under vegetable and garden refuse; under old cacao (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Macropanesthia rhinocerus=
Australia.--Infrequently seen during dry season from March to October. "They burrow quite deeply, about two feet below the surface of the sandy soil in stands of cypress pine (Callitris sp.). They make a nest of dead leaves, grass roots, etc., frequently among the pine roots. The young nymphs rarely appear above ground, but following rain the adults burrow to the surface, especially at night.... This species is also found in the brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) scrub about 70 miles west of Rockhampton, Queensland, and on Fraser Island off the Coast of Queensland" (Henson in Day, 1950).
=Megaloblatta blaberoides=
Panama.--Under bark on tree (Hebard, 1920).
Ecuador.--Under a dense pile of dead leaves around base of tree (Campos R., 1926).
=Megamareta verticalis=
Australia.--In sugarcane (Hebard, 1943).
=Methana canae=
Australia.--Under loose bark on dead upright tree (Pope, 1953a).
=Methana curvigera=
Australia.--Under loose bark on trees and logs; many specimens on wattle trees where in strong sunlight they hid in curled-up leaves; oöthecae attached to underside of loose bark and leaves (Pope, 1953a).
=Methana marginalis=
Australia.--Under loose bark of trees and logs (Pope, 1953a).
=Moluchia (?) dahli=
Chile.--Collected from lichens and mosses on tree trunks (Princis, 1952).
=Muzoa madida=
Costa Rica.--Under dead wood in dense second-growth forest; in thick mat of hanging dead vegetation in dense forest; under leaves in forest (Rehn, 1930).
=Nauclidas nigra=
St. Vincent.--Under rotten fruit (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Nelipophygus ramsdeni=
Cuba.--Under rotten bark (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Neoblattella detersa=
Jamaica.--Under dried leaves of coconut palm; in dry leaves under acacia on hillside; in debris on beach; under stones on coral rock; in leaf mold under dense brush on hillside; under bracts of banana blossoms (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Neoblattella dryas=
Jamaica.--In bases of dead tree-fern fronds; numerous in bromeliads; nearly all collected specimens were taken in these plants (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Neoblattella eurydice=
Jamaica.--Nearly all collected specimens taken in bromeliads (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Neoblattella grossbecki=
Jamaica.--In epiphytic bromeliads and hollow bases of dead tree-fern fronds; nearly all collected specimens taken in bromeliads (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Neoblattella proserpina=
Jamaica.--Under bark of huckleberry; nearly all collected specimens taken in bromeliads (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Neoblattella semota=
Jamaica.--All specimens collected from under drying bracts of banana blossoms (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Nesomylacris cubensis=
Cuba.--In dry region of palmettos and pines (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Nesomylacris relica=
Jamaica.--Widely distributed from sea level to 5,700 feet elevation; in bromeliads in mountain forest; among dead leaves in heavy leaf mold under dense hillside scrub; under stones and in ground litter about banana trees; under bark of tree in dense ridge-type forest; in dead agave in scrub forest (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Nocticola bolivari=
Ethiopia.--Always found under stones or cement blocks, but not necessarily deeply buried in the ground (Chopard, 1950b).
=Nyctibora laevigata=
Jamaica.--In cracks in dead stump of mimosa; in bromeliads (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Nyctibora lutzi=
Puerto Rico.--Possibly to be found most often in rotten tree trunks in the highest mountains; found in rotten stump with termites, ants, and beetle grubs (Wolcott, 1950).
=Nyctibora obscura=
Trinidad.--Under pile of cornstalks (Princis and Kevan, 1955)
=Nyctibora stygia=
Haiti.--Under loose dead bark of mesquite tree, 52 specimens (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Oniscosoma spp.=
Australia.--The females bury themselves in loose soil or dust (Tepper, 1893).
=Opisthoplatia orientalis=
Formosa.--On or in swampy ground or under rotten trees on the ground (Takahashi, 1924).
=Panchlora antillarum=
Dominican Republic.--In cultivated grounds, palms, fruits, etc. (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Panchlora nivea=
Panama.--As Pycnosceloides aporus, in jungle under decaying banana stem in which were boring individuals of Litopeltis bispinosa (Hebard, 1920).
Texas.--Lives in foliage and in the green sheaths of plants (Hebard, 1943a).
Cuba.--On cane leaves; according to Gundlach this genus lives under the loose bark of trees (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Puerto Rico.--In rotting trunks of coconut palms (Seín, 1923). Most specimens have been collected from the very rotten interior of coconut palms (Wolcott, 1950).
Trinidad.--On corn; under old log; flies readily to lights (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Panchlora sagax=
Dominica.--In decaying stump in banana patch and in rotting wood. In Puerto Rico, in rotten coconut palm (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Panesthia australis=
Australia.--In burrows under the thick bark of fallen and rotting trees (Shaw, 1914). In loose detritus, beneath clods of earth, and in fissures at foot of cliffs along the seashore beyond direct action of the waves (Tepper, 1893).
=Panesthia laevicollis=
Australia.--Under decayed logs in coastal scrub. It burrows into the soft part of the log (Froggatt, 1906).
=Parcoblatta bolliana=
North Carolina.--Under pine straw on ground in pine woods (Brimley, 1908).
Texas.--Under dry cow dung in pine woods (Hebard, 1917).
Nebraska.--Under pile of old boards (Hauke, 1949).
=Parcoblatta caudelli=
North Carolina.--From under the bark of dead trees (Rehn and Hebard, 1910).
Virginia.--At night on shrubbery. In South Carolina, under sign on tree (Hebard, 1917).
Tennessee.--In traps baited with cornmeal, cantaloupe, or fish in a stand of oak on dry ridge, and in abandoned rocky field on a south-facing slope (Walker, 1957).
=Parcoblatta desertae=
Texas.--From mountains, arid, and semi-arid regions; under small boulder on desert (Hebard, 1917). On ground in dry-creek bed through scrub oak, pine, and juniper forest (Hebard, 1943a).
=Parcoblatta divisa=
Eastern and southeastern U.S.--All specimens taken from under signs on red oaks and longleaf and shortleaf pines in Georgia and Virginia (Rehn and Hebard, 1916). Trapped in molasses-baited jar in oak forest in New Jersey; under signs on red and white oaks, sweet gum, and other deciduous trees; under signs on shortleaf and longleaf pines and pine stumps (Hebard, 1917). Widespread in southeastern U.S. in habitats as diverse as dry pine lands, oak scrub, moist hammocks in northern Florida, and deep, cool ravines along Apalachicola River (Hebard, 1943a).
=Parcoblatta fulvescens=
Eastern and southeastern U.S.--Trapped in molasses jars: in heavy, barrier-beach forest; in typical pine-barrens undergrowth; in pine barrens with heavy, grassy undergrowth; on border of pine barrens and on edge of swamp; in heavy deciduous forest; in heavy oak woods. Found under debris in dead, shortleaf-pine needles; under dead leaves on edge of oak and shortleaf-pine woods; under bark of pine log; among dead leaves under live oaks; under sign on Pinus caribaea (Hebard, 1917).
Georgia.--From under bark of pine log, among dead leaves under live oaks, and under leaves on edge of oak and shortleaf-pine woods (Rehn and Hebard, 1916).
Florida.--Very common among dead leaves, under logs, beneath loose bark, and wanders about at night in pinelands, hammock, turkey oak, and sand-scrub habitats (Hubbell and Goff, 1940). Beneath drift, cow dung, leaves, boards, bark of logs, and other debris, usually in open pine woods in sandy areas; frequent at the base of thistle leaves (Blatchley, 1920). Friauf (1953) found this species in leaf duff, debris, or decaying wood in these habitats: Scrub (dominant), sandhills (dominant), xeric hammock (dominant), mesic hammock, longleaf-pine flatwoods (infrequent), low hammock (infrequent), and alluvial hammock (infrequent). In the shrub stratum in these habitats: Scrub (dominant), sandhills (dominant), xeric hammock (dominant), and longleaf-pine flatwoods (infrequent). In the herbaceous stratum of the longleaf-pine flatwoods habitat, and under bark and beneath logs in the woodpile habitat.
=Parcoblatta lata=
Southeastern and southern U.S.--Under bark of pine logs and stumps; in sweet-gum logs and stumps; moderately numerous under bark of dead shortleaf pines; under bark of longleaf-pine stumps; under signs on red oak and longleaf pines; in dead oak. In Texas, under bark of pine stumps (Hebard, 1917).
North Carolina.--All stages under loose bark of dead pines, both prostrate and upright, and stumps. "It seems to prefer the space under the bark to be rather damp" (Brimley, 1908). Under bark of dead pine trees (Rehn and Hebard, 1910).
Florida.--Infrequent in leaf duff and decayed wood of low hammock habitat (Friauf, 1953).
Indiana.--Beneath rocks on sides and tops of high hills, in limestone glades where cedar abounds (Blatchley, 1920).
Missouri.--In leaf stratum of oak-hickory forest (Dowdy, 1951). Earlier, Dowdy (1947) reported finding numerous immature Pseudomopinae [presumably Parcoblatta sp.] in soil and leaf strata of oak-hickory forest.
Texas.--Captured in molasses-baited traps in low, wet, oak woods and in dry woodlot on hillside (Hebard, 1943a).
=Parcoblatta pensylvanica=
Eastern and southeastern U.S.--Trapped in molasses-baited jars; in oak and in chestnut forests, and on knoll with high deciduous trees. Found in oak and pine woods, under bark of decaying chestnut log and dead chestnut stump, and under signs on trees including oaks (Hebard, 1917).
North Carolina.--In all stages under loose bark of upright, dead pines, when the space under the bark was dry (Brimley, 1908).
Virginia, North and South Carolina.--Under signs on trees (white and red oaks); under bark of dead shortleaf-pine and sweet-gum logs and stumps (Rehn and Hebard, 1916).
Indiana.--Beneath bark of logs and stumps; empty oöthecae common beneath loose bark of logs, especially shellbark hickory (Blatchley, 1920). Under loose bark on logs in January (Blatchley, 1895).
Illinois.--In pine forest associes, in black oak forest on sand, in oak-hickory forest on clay, and in climax forest; it evidently moved into the pine associes nightly, great numbers of oöthecae were found under bark of pine logs, where, in October and November, hibernating nymphs were found (Strohecker, 1937). In nests of Vespula maculata (Balduf, 1936; McClure, 1936).
Missouri.--Usually in hollow trees, under loose bark, in woodpiles, and in cracks in rural buildings (Rau, 1940).
Michigan.--Common in oak-dune and beech-maple forests, under loose bark on dead trees and fallen logs, and under debris on forest floor (Hubbell, 1922). "A characteristic inhabitant of the low shrub-terrestrial and probably the terrestrial-hypogeic stratum." It occurred throughout the upland forests; groups were found established in and under logs 100 to 200 feet from the nearest forest (Cantrall, 1943).
Ontario.--Very abundant in rocky, sparsely-wooded country, where it occurred in rotten logs and under loose bark; on tree trunk at night on rocky island in lake (Walker, 1912).
=Parcoblatta uhleriana=
North Carolina.--Under pine straw on ground in woods (Brimley, 1908). Under bark of dead trees; 92 males attracted to lights (Rehn and Hebard, 1910).
Virginia.--Resting on woods foliage; at night on road (Rehn and Hebard, 1916).
Eastern and southeastern U.S.--Trapped in molasses-baited jars: in oak and pine woods, in heavy barrier-beach forest, in both scant and typical undergrowth on pine barrens, in heavy grassy undergrowth on pine barrens, on border of pine barrens, on edge of swamp, in heavy deciduous forest, in heavy oak woods, in upland oak and chestnut forest, in chestnut forest, in forested ravine, and on ridge with heavy oak, chestnut, and maple forest. Found under damp leaves on edge of forest, under bark of decayed chestnut log, inside decaying chestnut log with Cryptocercus punctulatus, under palmetto roots, under bark of pine stump, and in dry leaves under live oaks (Hebard, 1917).
Tennessee.--In traps baited with cornmeal or cantaloupe in maple-gum-oak forest in a mesic valley, and in a stand of oak on a dry ridge (Walker, 1957).
Indiana.--Beneath cover on slopes of high wooded hills. "This is essentially a forest-loving species; usually occurring beneath leaves and other debris on or along the borders of heavy hardwood timber." (Blatchley, 1920.)
Illinois.--In oak-hickory forest on clay and in climax forest (Strohecker, 1937).
Michigan.--In oak-dune woods (Hubbell, 1922). Restricted to woodlands, where it inhabited piles of moist dead leaves and rotten logs in oak-hickory forest (Cantrall, 1943).
U.S.A.--This species, P. uhleriana, and P. virginica were attracted at night to honeydew secreted by aphids on Pyrus sp. (Davis, 1918).
=Parcoblatta virginica=
New England.--Females under loose stones, boards, and other debris on ground; beneath loose bark (Morse, 1920).
North Carolina.--Under debris in dead shortleaf-pine needles (Rehn and Hebard, 1916).
Florida.--Infrequent in the shrub stratum of the scrub habitat. This was the only habitat of 25 studied in which this species was found (Friauf, 1953).
Eastern and southeastern U.S.--Trapped in molasses-baited jars: in pine and oak woods, in pine barrens, in pine woods with heavy grass undergrowth, in oak forest, in heavily forested ravine, on rocky slope with few deciduous trees, on knoll with high deciduous trees, in lofty chestnut forest, and in heavy low chestnut and oak forest on high ridge; under bark of decaying chestnut log and stump; under stones in chestnut forest; under bark of pine stumps (Hebard, 1917).
Indiana.--Frequents borders of open woods and fields; under debris, loose bark, and half-buried logs (Blatchley, 1920).
Illinois.--In black-oak forest on sand, in oak-hickory forest on clay, and in climax forest (Strohecker, 1937).
Michigan.--Common in oak-dune and beech-maple forests; under loose bark on dead trees and fallen logs and under debris on forest floor (Hubbell, 1922). Restricted to woodlands, where it inhabited piles of moist dead leaves and rotten logs in oak-hickory forest (Cantrall, 1943).
Texas.--Captured in molasses traps in moist woods of maple, oak, and pine with much undergrowth and a heavy layer of duff; in open, rather dry woodlot of Spanish oak and other trees; and in low wet woods of willow and oak along creek (Hebard, 1943a).
=Parcoblatta zebra=
Indiana.--Beneath log in cypress swamp (Blatchley, 1920).
Louisiana and Mississippi.--In decay cavity in sweet gum; under sign on shortleaf pine (Hebard, 1917).
=Parcoblatta= spp.
Alabama.--In the dry wall of a sweet-gum stump together with serropalpid and tenebrionid beetles (Snow, 1958).
Ohio.--Oöthecae under loose bark of fallen trees, where as many as 184 oöthecae were found within a few feet of each other; others found under boards and in piles of firewood (Edmunds, 1952).
=Pelmatosilpha coriacea=
Puerto Rico.--Mona Island, under bark of dead trees and under guava leaves (Ramos, 1946). Under bark of Sideroxylon foetidissimum (Wolcott, 1941). Common along the coast and in mountains. "Very much at home" under the loose bark of Sideroxylon foetidissimum (Wolcott, 1950).
=Pelmatosilpha kevani=
Trinidad.--Under debris in bush (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Pelmatosilpha purpurascens=
Dominica.--In decaying logs in forest (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Periplaneta americana=
Bermuda.--Among and under decaying debris, just above high-tide line (Verrill, 1902).
Johnson Island.--Nocturnal, coming out at night in great numbers about Tribulus blossoms. Under timbers on French Frigate Shoals (Bryan, 1926).
United States.--Alleyways and yards may be overrun during the summer; adults and hundreds of nymphs found in decaying maple trees along residential street (Gould and Deay, 1938, 1940). Around fumaroles where a railroad fill was burning internally (Davis, 1927). Common in palm trees along the gulf coast of Texas, where they often fly around street lights at night (Zimmern in Gould and Deay, 1940).
=Periplaneta australasiae=
Bermuda.--Very abundant under stones (Rehn, 1910).
Jamaica.--Under bark of dead tree and under bases of leaves of coconut palms (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Virgin Islands, St. Croix.--Common in sugarcane fields and in woodlands (Beatty, 1944).
Florida.--Juveniles under bark of dead logs of Pinus caribaea (Hebard, 1915). Frequently found under signs on trees near borders of towns; under bases of dead petioles of cabbage palmetto (Hebard, 1917). Beneath logs, burlap bags, and other cover in old orange orchards (Blatchley, 1920).
Marquesas Islands.--Under coconut fronds and grass (Hebard, 1935).
Nihoa Island.--Nymphs only, on Sida, Pritchardia, bunch grass, and about camp (Bryan, 1926).
=Periplaneta brunnea=
Georgia.--Under signs on oaks (Rehn and Hebard, 1916).
Florida.--Beneath bark of stump (Blatchley, 1920).
=Periplaneta fuliginosa=
Southeastern and southern U.S.--"This species is usually encountered out of doors, in or near towns. Over its range it is frequently found under signs on trees" (Hebard, 1917).
=Phidon (?) dubius=
Chile.--Collected from mosses and lichens on tree trunks (Princis, 1952).
=Phoraspis= spp.
Brazil and Guiana.--In grasslands, plantations of maize, sugarcane, and other plants on the borders of forests; the cockroaches were always found between the leaves which form the branches of the plants (Doumerc in Blanchard, 1837).
=Phyllodromica brevipennis=
Asia Minor and western Europe.--On ground among grasses; under moss and brushwood in mountain meadows (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Phyllodromica graeca=
U.S.S.R., western Georgia.--In pine forest mixed with deciduous trees (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Phyllodromica irinae=
U.S.S.R., Turan Lowland.--Along margins of "tugas" under half-fallen bushes of Salsola kali that overhang the ground (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Phyllodromica maculata=
Central Europe and western U.S.S.R.--On the edges of forests of the central-European type that are lighted by the sun; under fallen leaves; on bushes and conifers (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Phyllodromica meglerei=
U.S.S.R.--Among fallen leaves under bushes; on oak branches; under mown hay (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Phyllodromica polita=
Caucasus.--Under fallen leaves on slopes of mountains covered by forest or brushwood (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Phyllodromica pygmaea=
U.S.S.R.--In the sands of Un-dzhal-kum and Zhety-konur it is found in the dense turf of Aristida pennata (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Phyllodromica tartara=
Central Asia.--In lowlands and in mountains up to 2,500 meters; in fruit orchards under trap rings fastened to trees to combat lesser apple worm (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Phyllodromica tartara nigrescens=
Southern Uzbekistan.--Under bark of Juniperus sp., under stones and on flowers of Scorzonera acanthoclada (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Platyzosteria castanea=
Australia.--Under loose wood or bark (Shaw, 1914).
=Platyzosteria novae seelandiae=
New Zealand.--Swarms under loose dry bark and logs (Walker, 1904).
=Plectoptera dominicae=
Dominica.--On moss-covered lime trees. "The species of the genus Plectoptera are all foliage and flower frequenters, generally secured by beating low arborescent vegetation, or are attracted to light" (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Plectoptera dorsalis=
Puerto Rico.--In caladium, grass, weeds, coffee, and bananas; in flowers of Ipomoea tiliasea (Rehn and Hebard, 1927). "... living in trees between leaves, or in 'butterfly-nests' of Tetralopha scabridella in leaves of Inga vera, or of Pilocrocis secernalis in the leaves of 'capá blanco' (Petitia domingensis) in the mountains. Along the coast they have been found under the bracts of cotton squares or bolls, and under the leaf-sheaths of sugar cane, in curled-up leaves of grapefruit, or in the dry flower clusters of 'espino rubial' (Zanthoxylum caribaeum)." These observations apply also to Plectoptera infulata and P. rhabdota (Wolcott, 1950).
=Plectoptera floridana=
Florida.--On fringe of tall bushes at edge of mangrove swamp (Rehn and Hebard, 1914). Rehn and Hebard (1927) stated that on the Keys it frequented dry scrubby vegetation, particularly Ilex cassine.
=Plectoptera infulata=
Puerto Rico.--See Wolcott's (1950) comments under Plectoptera dorsalis above.
=Plectoptera lacerna=
Cuba.--In grasses, sedges, etc., about a waterhole; on grass, pines and oak (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Plectoptera perscita=
Dominica.--On moss-covered lime trees (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Plectoptera porcellana=
Cuba.--Taken on flowers of "Júcaro" (Gundlach in Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Plectoptera pygmaea=
Jamaica.--In relatively dense forest foliage; in shrubbery (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Plectoptera rhabdota=
Puerto Rico.--In mixed vegetation; on grapefruit tree and guava (Psidium guajava); on bushes and shrubs (Rehn and Hebard, 1927). On coffee trees; on Spondias; on sugarcane; in caterpillar nests of Tetralopha scabridella on Inga vera; in old cotton bolls; on grapefruit (Wolcott, 1936). See also Wolcott's (1950) comments under Plectoptera dorsalis.
=Plectoptera vermiculata=
Cuba.--On pine in palmetto region (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Polyphaga aegyptiaca=
Algeria.--Nymphal females under decaying leaves at the end of November (Lucas, 1849).
Transcaucasia.--In burrows in argillaceous cliffs along ravines. Females often covered by attached clay particles, an indication, according to Bei-Bienko, that this species is ecologically connected to compact clay soils or at least does not avoid them (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
See also the section on desert habitats (p. 29).
=Polyphaga saussurei=
South-central Asia.--Occupies compact clay soils; distributed in drier regions than P. aegyptiaca; frequently found near dwellings, in yards, stables, and houses (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Polyzosteria limbata=
Australia.--Common, usually "resting among the foliage or sunning itself on a fence or stumps, seldom or never hiding under bark or logs like most of the species" (Froggatt, 1906).
=Poroblatta= spp.
Tropical America.--"The species of Poroblatta apparently live as borers in stumps and logs in a manner similar to those of Cryptocercus Scudder in the United States" (Gurney, 1937).
=Pseudomops septentrionalis=
Texas.--In dead-brush pile; not scarce in heavy weeds, sunflowers, etc., in openings of river-plain jungle scrub (Hebard, 1917). It lives largely in herbage (Hebard, 1943a).
=Pycnoscelus surinamensis=
Florida.--Under stones and rubbish; very abundant under coquina boulders in woods at Key West (Rehn and Hebard, 1905). "This species is common under planks, stones, and other debris on the ground ... also found at Long Key in the dry fibres at the base of the petioles of a coconut palm" (Rehn and Hebard, 1912). At Musa Isle, found burrowing in sand (Hebard, 1915). In fallen leaves and decaying wood in xeric and mesic hammock habitats (Friauf, 1953).
Hawaii.--The soil swarmed with young of various stages during the summer (Illingworth, 1915). In soil about roots of pineapple under mulching paper; feeding on pineapple roots (Illingworth, 1927, 1929).
Fakarava, Tuamoto Archipelago.--Numerous among dead leaves in tree holes (Cheesman, 1927).
West Indies.--Under decayed stalks of sugarcane and in siftings from mangrove swamps, Cuba. Under manure, bases of leaves of coconut palm, litter, logs, and stones on coral rock and in bromeliads, Jamaica. Under wood, tiles, and boards in stable yards; immature individuals bored into the soil, Puerto Rico. (Rehn and Hebard, 1927.)
Barbados.--Frequents cane fields (Tucker, 1952).
Puerto Rico.--"Altho primarily a xerophytic species: collected among dry stones on Mona Island, under dry cow dung at Boquerón, and under boxes at Guánica, it is reasonably common in the more humid parts of Puerto Rico" (Wolcott, 1950).
Virgin Islands, St. Croix.--Common under rubbish; frequently seen feeding on chicken feces around chicken roosts (Beatty, 1944). By feeding on chicken feces it may become the vector of the chicken eyeworm, Oxyspirura mansoni, as described in the references cited on page 204.
Egypt.--Large numbers were found in moist soil at the site of a manure pile (Chakour, 1942).
Germany.--Under greenhouse conditions the depth to which P. surinamensis penetrated the soil was determined; 21 dug down to a depth of 8 to 10 cm., 3 dug down 10 to 12 cm., but only one dug 13 cm. below the surface. Often the tubes in the soil ended in a chamber which the cockroach might not leave for several days; nymphs molted in such chambers and females bore their young there (Roeser, 1940).
=Rhytidometopum dissimile=
Trinidad.--Male on low herbage in orchard at night; under sacking; on Hibiscus at night (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Riatia orientis=
Trinidad.--Numerous specimens of both sexes at night on roadside Hibiscus rosa-sinensis or low herbage in orchard (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Simblerastes jamaicanus=
Jamaica.--Numerous in fragmentary debris of an abandoned termite nest on ground in the dry Liguanea Plain; a specimen was also taken under a stone in a field of short grass (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Styphon bakeri=
Costa Rica.--Among humus and rubble in crevices and large cavities in rocks of the Tertiary limestone rim and the metamorphosed and igneous rocks of the interior of the islands (Baker in Rehn, 1930).
=Supella supellectilium=
Virgin Islands, St. Croix.--Under rubbish heaps; in sugarcane straw (Beatty, 1944).
Africa.--"A cosmotropical species which occurs both out of doors and as a household pest in many warmer parts of the world. It is apparently endemic to non-forested areas in much of Africa north of the Equator." (Kevan and Chopard, 1954.)
=Symploce flagellata=
Puerto Rico.--Under low trees on hillside and dead leaves in thicket of sea grape (Hebard, 1916c).
=Symploce hospes=
Hawaii.--Under stones and rubbish (Illingworth, 1915).
Virgin Islands, St. Croix.--Under rubbish and on shrubbery at night (Beatty, 1944).
=Symploce jamaicana=
Jamaica.--In dead leaves under acacia and other shrubs in desert tract; under log and rubbish in open on limestone sand near beach (Hebard, 1916c). Very common in short dry grass in roadside gutter at night, often clustered together; under beach trash in stony wash of Hope River (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Symploce ruficollis=
Virgin Islands, St. Croix.--Under rubbish and on shrubbery at night (Beatty, 1944).
Puerto Rico.--In siftings from sea-grape thicket on sandy soil (Rehn and Hebard, 1927). Often living under leaf-sheaths of sugarcane (Wolcott, 1950).
=Tartaroblatta karatavica=
Asia, Kara-tau Mountains.--Many hundreds of individuals found only under stones on moist earth and not where ground seemed dry; found on very stony slopes with sparse vegetation, often with undergrowth present (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
STRUCTURAL HABITATS
In this category we include all man-made structures, whether inhabited by man or not, that may become infested with cockroaches. A nonexhaustive list of such structures would include dwellings, restaurants, mess halls, barracks, groceries, markets, bakeries, dairies, drug stores, department stores, hotels, hospitals, warehouses, mills, factories, packing houses, animal houses, breweries, incinerators, privies, sewers, sewage treatment plants, ships, aircraft, etc. Although dwellings are only one of the many kinds of structures that are colonized by cockroaches, the several species that have adopted this mode of life are generally referred to as domiciliary cockroaches. This term is adequate only if we remember that these cockroaches are not restricted to domiciles but are pests in other structures as well.
Associations between man and certain species of cockroaches possibly started as casually as the short-lived association that Beebe (1953) observed when he discovered three cockroaches in the newly built couch of an orang-utan. Obviously, when man came down from the trees, his fellow travelers found his cave dwellings and other abodes particularly favorable habitats. From such primitive beginnings, domiciliary cockroaches have spread into every kind of structure that man has since devised. We predict that when man develops a suitable vehicle, cockroaches will someday accompany him into space. Yet despite the apparent predilection of certain species of cockroaches for man, man is only incidental to these associations. Only the shelter and food that man unwittingly provides for these unwelcome guests attract cockroaches to him; man's physical presence is unnecessary.
Most, if not all, of the common domiciliary cockroaches apparently originated in the Tropics or sub-Tropics from whence they have spread, through normal commercial channels, into most of the inhabited world. At least eight domiciliary cockroaches originated in Africa (Rehn, 1945): Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, Leucophaea maderae, Nauphoeta cinerea, Oxyhaloa buprestoides, Periplaneta americana, P. australasiae, and Supella supellectilium; and, perhaps, Periplaneta brunnea as well; Neostylopyga rhombifolia was probably of Indo-Malayan origin; Pycnoscelus surinamensis was of oriental origin; and Leurolestes pallidus was endemic in the West Indies (Rehn, 1945). Princis (1954a) rejected Africa as the original home of Blatta orientalis and advanced reasons for placing its origin in Central Asia.
Several domiciliary species have become well established in temperate zones and some even in the Arctic. Bei-Bienko (1950) listed the following 10 species as sinanthropes in the Palearctic zone: Blatta lateralis, B. orientalis, Blattella germanica, Leucophaea maderae, Periplaneta americana, P. australasiae, Polyphaga saussurei, Pycnoscelus surinamensis, and Supella supellectilium. In the warmer parts of the temperate regions, as in their native Tropics, certain domiciliary species breed outdoors as well as indoors. In the less temperate extensions of their ranges most domiciliary species are nearly always found indoors. In regions with low winter temperatures these cockroaches do not survive in unheated structures; but in heated buildings Blattella germanica, for example, has been able to withstand the rigorous climate of Alaska, where it has caused severe infestations (Chamberlin, 1949).
The limiting factors that determine whether man-made structures will provide suitable habitats for cockroaches are favorable temperature and availability of water and food. The range of temperatures that man provides for his own comfort and protection fosters the rapid increase of cockroach populations indoors. Gunn (1934, 1935) has demonstrated that the preferred temperature range (zone of indifference) of Blatta orientalis is 20-29° C. The upper limit of the preferred temperature of Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana is 33° C. (Gunn, 1935). The lower limits of temperature tolerance were not sharply defined in Gunn's work. However, less than optimum temperatures, if they last for only short periods, are not necessarily lethal. The 24-hour mortality for P. americana that had been held for one hour at 0° C. was only 2±2 percent (Knipling and Sullivan, 1957). Gunn (1934) observed that Blatta orientalis would not settle at temperatures above 33° C. and would react violently against higher temperatures (e.g., 39° C.) by running away; thus the thermotactic behavior of cockroaches might be presumed to bring them into favorable environments within structures. Thermal death points have been determined for the above three species by Gunn and Notley (1936).
It is common knowledge among those who rear cockroaches experimentally that, unless the water content of the food is high, fluid water is essential in the insects' dietary. Ten species of domiciliary cockroaches have been shown to be unable to survive as long on dry food alone as they could on food and water at 36-40 percent relative humidity (Willis and Lewis, 1957). Blatta orientalis, when in a state of normal water balance, usually spent more time in the drier part of a humidity gradient; but desiccated insects tended to become hygropositive (Gunn and Cosway, 1938). We presume that other domiciliary species behave similarly. If water is available nearby, it may be presumed that partially desiccated cockroaches could locate a source through the mediation of a humidity sense. Hygroreceptors have been demonstrated on the antennae of Blattella germanica (Roth and Willis, 1952a) and suggested for Blatta orientalis (Gunn and Cosway, 1938).
Drinking water is available to cockroaches in the traps of sinks, wash basins, tubs, and toilet bowls; in flush tanks; as condensation on cold pipes, flush tanks, and windows; around leaking pipes and faucets; as spillage; in miscellaneous water-filled containers, such as pet drinking dishes, aquaria, vases; empty beverage bottles; and drainage from ice boxes. Soft, juicy fruits and vegetables can provide both moisture and food. There seems to be a tendency for certain species (Blatta orientalis and Blattella germanica) to become established in the more humid parts of structures, such as basements, around sinks, and in bathrooms. Whether this is a reaction to a preferred humidity or merely a fortuitous aggregation near sources of drinking water and food has never been clearly demonstrated. The rather widespread dissemination of these species into zones of low as well as high humidity suggests that detailed studies of the microclimatic conditions of structural microhabitats will be needed before meaningful conclusions can be drawn about the stratification of cockroaches within structures according to species.
In nearly all structures infested by cockroaches, food of some kind is available, either in the structure itself or nearby. This may be the food stored by man for his own use or the use of kept animals; it may be crumbs, food spillage, garbage, or excreta; glues and pastes on cartons, boxes, stamps, envelopes, labels, and wall paper; sizing on cloth and book covers; various dried animal and plant products; dead insects; living plants; etc. In fact, it is almost impossible, despite good housekeeping, to keep any structure used by man free of all food suitable for cockroaches.
That the requisite temperature, water, and food are provided, more or less adequately, by a variety of structures is attested by the innumerable infestations of cockroaches that develop when control measures are relaxed. Within structures the accessibility of certain harborages to cockroaches probably depends on the habits of the species and to some extent on their size. Similar types of harborages in different structures may be used by the same species, although there seems to be some overlapping by different species into the same kinds of daytime shelters. The comparative ecology of domiciliary cockroaches has not been thoroughly investigated, so any interpretation of observational data is necessarily speculative and inconclusive at this time. Our discussion on pages 324 to 343 is also pertinent to this section.
LAND-BASED STRUCTURES
Dwellings provide a variety of microhabitats that are acceptable to cockroaches. It has been stated that old houses, or houses that have many cracks and crevices, or have basement kitchens that are not kept clean and in good repair are particularly liable to invasion by cockroaches (Laing, 1946; British Museum [Nat. Hist.], 1951). Although this statement is undoubtedly true, it has been our personal experience, as well as the experience of others, that new, clean, and well-planned houses and apartments are also easily and sometimes quickly invaded by cockroaches. Mallis (1954) has cited the following places that are frequently infested by cockroaches in homes. In the kitchen, cockroaches are found in and around sinks, in cupboards above and below sinks, under tables and chairs, in stoves, around breadboards, in utility cabinets, in kitchen closets, under linoleum, behind, under, and inside refrigerators and iceboxes. In living rooms cockroaches are found in furniture, studio couches, sewing machines, closets, and bookshelves; behind picture frames, pennants, calendars, and other wall ornaments. In bathrooms cockroaches are found in and behind utility cabinets and toilets; they may be found in wicker clothes hampers, in brooms and mops, and in door hinges. Ordinarily, cockroaches are not found in bedrooms unless they are abundant elsewhere in the dwelling. Additional harborages are cited under specific cockroaches in the list below.
In markets DeLong (1948) found the German cockroach in bags of potatoes and onions, in crates of citrus fruits, in pads and shredded papers in banana boxes, and in cases of bottled beverages. The insects were attracted by coffee and crawled into the folds of coffee bags. They were found in cartons of canned goods; in bread and baked goods; in cartons of packaged cookies, cakes, and crackers. Packaged cereals were attractive, and cockroaches were sometimes found in packages of cigarettes. The insects occurred in scales (by the hundreds) and in cash registers. Rather heavy infestations were found under stainless-steel cappings that covered wooden arms on the fish cleaning stand. The insects were numerous in display cases where they were warm and sheltered. They were also found behind mirrors above produce racks, in electrical switch boxes and conduits, and in telephone boxes, as well as generally in cracks and behind loose moldings or loose wall boards. Enclosed boxlike tables were frequently heavily infested.
In restaurants cockroaches may be found in the following places: Crevices in wood, plaster, concrete, and metal; in the bar; in the kitchen and in the associated equipment; in cupboards, lavatories, and garbage storage areas; and on the undersides of chairs and tables (Mallis, 1954).
In drug stores Frings (1948) found cockroaches behind the mirror and between the sink and the cooler. Thousands were found in hollow ornamental shelf edging. The hollow bases of malted-milk dispensers and drink mixers were cockroach havens.
In a hospital Frings (1948) found cockroaches in decorative trim around doorways, by the thousands in wicker laundry baskets, and in incubators for premature babies. In military hospitals we have seen cockroaches (Blattella germanica) in kitchens and dining halls in the usual hiding places mentioned above and on the undersides of stainless-steel serving tables.
In department stores cockroaches have been found in food departments, beauty salons, rest rooms, dressing rooms, linen departments, and stationery departments (Anonymous, 1952). The infestation in the linen department was traced to clean towels which, when returned from the laundry, contained at least 500 cockroaches per bundle. The insects were carried into the rest rooms and beauty salon when the towels were distributed.
The microhabitats of cockroaches in privies and sewers have not been studied. These habitats are particularly important in view of the demonstrated migrations of cockroaches from sewers into dwellings and the possible dissemination of pathogenic microorganisms from feces to food. The reader is referred to our 1957(a) paper for a summary of the known information on cockroach dispersal from sewers.
COCKROACHES ASSOCIATED WITH LAND-BASED STRUCTURES
Most of the cockroaches listed below are either known domiciliary species or they have been found one or more times in houses or other man-made structures. The known structural pests breed within the building. Certain other species, which have been observed only infrequently in structures and are not known to breed there, may possibly be incipient pests; these latter species may attain future economic importance if they establish breeding colonies within a structure. A few species have undoubtedly wandered indoors by accident. It is difficult to decide whether a particular species was an accidental invader or whether it was attracted indoors in response to some stimulus. Only additional information will provide the desired answers.
=Aglaopteryx ypsilon=
Trinidad.--Male found indoors (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Allacta similis=
Hawaii.--Found only indoors at Nauhi. Otherwise this is apparently an outdoor species (Swezey and Williams, 1932).
=Blaberus craniifer=
Cuba.--Household pest (Deschapelles, 1939). Particularly abundant in houses in Santiago and Havana (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Florida.--Under boards in woodshed (Rehn and Hebard, 1912, 1914).
=Blaberus discoidalis=
Ecuador.--In eating places (Campos R., 1926).
Hispaniola.--In houses (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
New Jersey.--In greenhouse (Weiss, 1917).
Puerto Rico.--In homes (Seín, 1923). In fruit stores (Wolcott, 1950).
=Blatta lateralis=
Central Asia.--Household pest, often found in homes with clay floors (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
Turkmen S.S.R.--Males and females occurred in dwellings (Vlasov, 1929).
=Blatta orientalis=
This species is a cosmopolitan domiciliary pest (Hebard, 1917; Rehn, 1945). It is reported to occur particularly in basements and crawl spaces under basementless houses (Mallis, 1954). In damp basements where food is available large colonies are not unusual, but it also may infest offices and apartments several floors off the ground (Gould and Deay, 1940). The number encountered on upper floors is seldom large, but the frequency of occurrence may reach 30 percent of the observations (Spear et al., in Shuyler, 1956). In supermarkets this species hides during the day inside concrete blocks or cracks in the foundation, under furniture, or behind cartons; it is conspicuous on the floors of the markets at night (De Long, 1948). In Great Britain the kitchen is preferred by this pest (and by Blattella germanica); they shelter beneath steam radiators and gas stoves, behind hot-water pipes, underneath furniture and floor coverings, sinks and baths; basements and underground kitchens are especially likely to be infested (Laing, 1946; British Museum [Nat. Hist.], 1951). Goodliffe (1958) noted that B. orientalis may travel long distances to find food.
=Blattella germanica=
This species is a cosmopolitan domiciliary pest (Hebard, 1917; Rehn, 1945). It is one of the commonest insects in homes and restaurants (Gould and Deay, 1940). It is found in kitchens, larders, bathrooms, furnace rooms, and storage rooms of bakeries, breweries, hospitals, barracks, as well as dwellings, where, during daylight, it hides behind cupboards, furniture, hanging pictures, panels and skirting boards, in cracks around drains, water pipes, electric wires, and hot-water and steam heating units (Wille, 1920). The German cockroach may be found in cracks around baseboards, pipes, conduits, sinks, and drawers; behind cabinets; inside switch boxes and refrigerators; on under surfaces of tables, chairs, and shelves; between stacks of stored goods, and in almost every place that is not readily observed (Kruse, 1948). We have also seen this species packed in electric-clock cases and loud-speaker baffles, in cash registers, and clinging to the undersurface of stainless-steel steam tables. The infestation of markets by this species has been described above. Very narrow cracks provide refuges for the German cockroach. Wille (1920) found first-instar nymphs in cracks 0.5 mm. wide and adult males and females without oöthecae in cracks 1.6 mm. wide.
Shuyler (1956) has observed extensions into relatively new structural habitats by Blattella germanica in the north-central area of the United States. A few German cockroaches are now being encountered in living rooms, bedrooms, clothes closets, bedroom furniture, lobbies, entrance halls, checkrooms, nonfood storerooms, nonfood warehouses, and coin-vending machine repair shops. In these situations this species is behaving much like the brown-banded cockroach, Supella supellectilium.
=Blattella schubotzi=
Cameroon.--Five specimens in a house (Princis, 1955).
=Blattella vaga=
U.S.A.--Although this is mostly an outdoor species, during dry seasons it may temporarily enter houses in great numbers, occasionally breeding indoors in Arizona (Flock, 1941a). Two adults were collected indoors in Texas (Riherd, 1953).
=Chromatonotus notatus=
Trinidad.--A male was found indoors (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Cutilia soror=
Hawaii.--Almost as common in houses as Neostylopyga rhombifolia (Hebard, 1922).
=Ectobius duskei=
U.S.S.R.--Frequently occurs in living apartments in farming localities as an accidental inhabitant (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Ectobius pallidus=
Massachusetts.--A summertime pest in houses along coast (Gurney, 1953; E. R. Willis, personal observation). Generally an outdoor species.
=Epilampra abdomen-nigrum=
Trinidad.--Male, indoors (Princis and Kevan, 1955). An outdoor species generally.
=Ergaula capensis=
Cameroon.--A male taken in a house (Princis, 1955).
=Eublaberus posticus=
Trinidad.--Indoors, feeding on bat feces (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Eurycotis floridana=
Florida.--Occasionally found in homes (Creighton, 1954; Roth and Willis, 1954a).
=Euthyrrhapha pacifica=
Hawaii.--Found outdoors and indoors where it breeds in neglected cupboards and in rubbish (Fullaway and Krauss, 1945).
=Holocompsa azteca=
Mexico.--Household pest (Ball et al., 1942).
=Holocompsa cyanea=
Costa Rica.--One specimen in house (Rehn, 1906).
=Holocompsa nitidula=
Apparently domiciliary in American Tropics (Hebard, 1917). In houses under chests, etc., Cuba (Gundlach, 1890-1891); Puerto Rico (Gundlach, 1887). In folds of burlap bag, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1914).
=Ischnoptera rufa occidentalis=
Panama.--Thrives about human habitations under litter, though not domiciliary (Hebard, 1920).
=Ischnoptera rufa rufa=
Jamaica.--In hotel. "While hardly a domiciliary form it would seem to frequent environments where man has considerably disturbed natural conditions, as under debris, docks, under logs and stones in cultivated areas" (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Leucophaea maderae=
West Indies.--In habitations, warehouses, and other structures; "At times it is a very abundant and serious pest" (Rehn, 1945). In Puerto Rico it was also found in fruit stores, markets, and inns (Seín, 1923; Wolcott, 1950).
Reported as a domiciliary pest in Madeira (Heer, 1864); Windward Islands (Marshall, 1878); Tropics and sub-Tropics (Rehn, 1937); Philippine Islands (Uichanco, 1953); New York City (Anonymous, 1953; Gurney, 1953); Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955). This species is also established in coastal Brazil, Central America, all the Greater Antilles, several other tropical islands, and tropical Africa, where it probably originated (Rehn, 1945).
=Leurolestes circumvagans=
Hispaniola, Grenada.--Largely domiciliary (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Leurolestes pallidus=
Cuba.--All over island, in houses, under lockers, etc. (Rehn, 1945; Gundlach, 1890-1891).
Florida.--Rehn and Hebard (1914).
This species has been recorded from various islands in the West Indies, from Mexico, Guatemala, and Brazil (Rehn, 1945).
=Methana marginalis=
Australia.--Reported entering houses (Pope, 1953a).
=Nauphoeta cinerea=
Australia.--In hospital (Mackerras and Mackerras, 1948). In dwellings, grain stores, and fowl-feeding pens (Pope, 1953).
Sudan.--Domiciliary in huts of the Shilluk natives; fairly widely distributed in eastern Africa (Rehn, 1945).
Hawaii.--In feed rooms of poultry plants (Illingworth, 1942).
Florida.--Established in feed mills around Tampa (Gresham, 1952; Gurney, 1953).
The wide distribution of this species from East Africa, where it originated, to the Orient and the New World was undoubtedly mediated by shipping (Rehn, 1945).
=Neoblattella= sp.
Puerto Rico.--Observed [as Blatta caraibea, Rehn and Hebard (1927)] in houses (Gundlach, 1887).
=Neostylopyga rhombifolia=
Domiciliary in Indo-Malaya and New World Tropics (Rehn, 1945); Philippine Islands (Uichanco, 1953); and Hawaii (Hebard, 1922).
=Oxyhaloa buprestoides=
Presumably to some extent domiciliary, as it evidently spread from Africa to the New World via slave ships (Rehn and Hebard, 1927; Rehn, 1945).
=Panchlora nivea=
Colombia.--A male and a female taken in a dwelling (Princis, 1946). This is primarily an outdoor species which is frequently taken indoors as an adventive on bananas (see p. 150 for references).
=Parcoblatta fulvescens=
Florida.--Males found in laboratory and dormitory buildings, ostensibly attracted by lights (Friauf, 1953).
=Parcoblatta lata=
Connecticut.--Domiciliary pest (Moore, 1957). Generally an outdoor species.
=Parcoblatta notha=
Arizona.--It may occasionally be a nuisance in houses (Ball et al., 1942).
=Parcoblatta pensylvanica=
U.S.A.--Country houses often badly infested, Indiana (Blatchley, 1920). Frequently taken in houses in wooded areas, Michigan (Hubbell, 1922). Infestation by males, females, and nymphs on fourth floor of building, South Dakota (Severin, 1952). Houses in wooded areas infested by nymphs and occasionally by adults (Gould and Deay, 1940).
Canada.--Pest in summer cottages in Ontario (Walker, 1912).
=Periplaneta americana=
This is a cosmopolitan domiciliary pest (Hebard, 1917; Rehn, 1945). It is common in restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and where food is prepared or stored; it was trapped regularly in the basement and upper floors of store buildings, and it was also found in all heated parts of an old meat-packing plant (Gould and Deay, 1938). P. americana was numerous in latrines in Iran (Bei-Bienko, 1950) and in privies in Texas (Dow, 1955) and Georgia (Haines and Palmer, 1955). Large numbers of this species also occur in sewers adjacent to human habitations (Roth and Willis, 1957a).
=Periplaneta australasiae=
Generally domiciliary, but also occurs outdoors in the West Indies (Rehn and Hebard, 1927). It is a very abundant domiciliary pest in tropical Africa and tropical America (Rehn, 1945); Ecuador (Campos R., 1926); Puerto Rico (Sein, 1923); Philippine Islands (Uichanco, 1953); Australia (Pope, 1953).
Also occurs as a pest in greenhouses in Pennsylvania (Thilow and Riley, 1891); France (Giard, 1900); Italy (Boettger, 1930); Great Britain (Laing, 1946; British Museum [Nat. Hist.], 1951).
=Periplaneta brunnea=
Circumtropical domiciliary pest which is apparently more nearly peculiar to the Tropics and adjacent regions than P. americana (Hebard, 1917). This species has been trapped in significant numbers in privies and dwellings in Georgia (Haines and Palmer, 1955). It is the species of Periplaneta present in homes in San Antonio, Texas (Mallis, 1954).
=Periplaneta fuliginosa=
U.S.A.--Frequently encountered out of doors, but has been reported common after dark about a hotel in Alabama and was captured in a house in Louisiana; it was also extremely abundant on the wharves at night in Jacksonville, Florida (Hebard, 1917). As a domiciliary pest it was, next to Blattella germanica, the most common cockroach inside homes in southwest Georgia, where it was also the most common cockroach in privies (Haines and Palmer, 1955). This species has become a very common domiciliary pest in Texas (Eads, personal communication, 1955). It infested a greenhouse for five years in Indiana (Gould and Deay, 1940).
=Periplaneta ignota=
Australia.--It occurs in dwellings occasionally (Pope, 1953).
=Phaetalia pallida=
Colombia.--Three specimens from three dwellings (Princis, 1946).
Trinidad.--Male indoors; male and female at light (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Plectoptera dorsalis=
Puerto Rico.--According to Gundlach (1887) it enters houses at night attracted by light (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Polyphaga aegyptiaca=
Iraq.--Common in houses (Weber, 1954).
Caucasus.--Winged male in kitchen (Burr, 1913).
U.S.S.R.--Listed as a sinanthrope (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Polyphaga saussurei=
South-central Asia.--One of the commonest domiciliary species (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Pseudophoraspis nebulosa=
East Indies.--This species is sometimes difficult indoors (Karny, 1925).
=Pycnoscelus surinamensis=
A household pest in the East Indies (Karny, 1925); Philippine Islands (Uichanco, 1953); Tanganyika (Smith, 1955); Trinidad, eight records indoors (Princis and Kevan, 1955). It is also a greenhouse pest (Hebard, 1917; Zappe, 1918; Doucette and Smith, 1926; Saupe, 1928; Roeser, 1940). Common in or around chicken batteries and yards in Hawaii (Schwabe, 1949).
=Supella supellectilium=
Domiciliary wherever distributed (Rehn, 1945), this species is especially difficult to control because of its apparently nonselective dispersal throughout dwellings. For example, Mallis (1954) observed in Texas that it was widely distributed throughout the apartment and was probably the most common cockroach seen in the bedroom; its favorite harborages were beneath and behind corner braces on kitchen chairs, underneath tables, behind pictures and other objects on walls, and in shower stalls; its oöthecae were commonly fastened on walls and ceilings throughout the house. Gould and Deay (1940) reported that this species prefers high locations, such as shelves in closets, behind pictures, and picture molding; oöthecae were found about kitchen sink, desks, tables, and other furniture, and even in bedding. Hafez and Afifi (1956) stated that the adult wanders in nearly all rooms of the house and only visits the kitchen when searching for food; it hides in cupboards, pantries, closets, bookshelves, drawers, and behind picture frames; the nymphs normally hide in the corners of drawers, behind frames, and in similar situations.
=Symploce bicolor=
Puerto Rico.--In houses, Sardinera Beach, Mona Island (Ramos, 1946).
=Symploce hospes=
North American Tropics.--Domiciliary, but not exclusively so, and apparently widely distributed (Hebard, 1917). In Florida, as Ischnoptera rufescens, found in a greasy cupboard (Rehn and Hebard, 1914).
Hawaii.--Illingworth (1915).
SHIPS
Sailing ships have long been notorious for their unwelcome hordes of cockroaches, and it was by ship that at least 11 domiciliary species migrated from their centers of origin to other parts of the world (Rehn, 1945). Over 40 nondomiciliary species have been carried by ship from the American Tropics to other parts of the world in cargoes of bananas (p. 146). In addition to these, other adventive cockroaches appear from time to time in ports to which they have been carried by ships. Yet by far the most numerous cockroaches on shipboard are the breeding populations of a few common domiciliary pests. Except in the most rigorously disinsectized ships, this commerce in cockroaches has continued to the present day.
Cockroaches undoubtedly infested the first ships that sailed the Mediterranean; of these we have no records. The earliest recognizable record of cockroaches on shipboard is Moffett's (1634) statement that when Drake captured the ship Philip, he found it overrun with cockroaches [Blattarum alatarum]. Bligh (1792) described disinfesting H.M.S. Bounty with boiling water to kill cockroaches. Chamisso (1829) reported that he had seen ships casks, in which rice or grain had been stored, that were found to be filled with Blattella germanica when opened. During a voyage from England to Van Diemen's Land, Lewis (1836) was greatly annoyed by hundreds of cockroaches flying about his cabin at night; the most numerous resembled Periplaneta americana and another was similar to Ectobius lapponicus. This latter was undoubtedly B. germanica, which is the only ship-infesting species that resembles the feral E. lapponicus. Lewis continued, P. americana "were in immense profusion, and had communication with every part of the ship, between the timbers or skin. The ravages they committed on everything edible were very extensive; not a biscuit but was more or less polluted by them, and amongst the cargo 300 cases of cheeses, which had holes in them to prevent their sweating, were considerably damaged, some of them being half devoured and not one without some marks of their residence."
Kingsley (1870), Kellogg (1908), Gates (1912), Heiser (1936), and Bronson (1943) have all reported that cockroaches were so numerous on ships that they gnawed the skin and nails of the men on board. These are all independent observations of what may well have been a common occurrence on ships. We have discussed in detail the subject of cockroaches biting man in our 1957(a) paper.
Mosely (1892) reported, "At the time that England was left the ship [H.M.S. Challenger] seemed nearly free of animals, other than men, dogs, and livestock required for food. The first cockroaches apparently came on board at St. Vincent, Cape Verdes.... Cockroaches soon became plentiful on board, and showed themselves whenever the ship was in a warm climate.
"At one period of the voyage, a number of these insects established themselves in my cabin, and devoured parts of my boots, nibbling off all the margins of leather projecting beyond the seams on the upper leathers."
Sir Edmund Freemantle (1904) recalled some of his experiences in the British Navy. "Cockroaches in the tropics were also terrible scourges. One saw little of them in fine, dry weather, but in damp, wet weather they seemed to come from every hidden corner ... our remedy in the 'Spartan' was to make the boys catch them--on pain of being caned.... One brig, the 'Lily,' was so overrun by cockroaches that the officers' clothes smelt of them."
The quotation from Sonan (1924) on page 348 describes similar conditions in the Japanese Navy.
On modern cargo ships cockroaches are reported to be extremely numerous in the galley, the crew's quarters, and sometimes in the holds; they dwell in hot, humid environments such as the casing around steam pipes (Monro, 1951). Williams (1931) reported that Blattella germanica was the most important cockroach pest on ships seen at New York. Although often numerous in the holds, the cockroaches as a rule congregated in living quarters. They were also frequently found between tarpaulins covering the hatches. It was not unusual to kill 20,000 to 50,000 in the forecastle, and more than 20,000 have been taken from a single stateroom. Simanton (1946) inspected the S.S. William Kieth when it berthed at San Francisco from a 10-month voyage to the South Pacific. The holds were infested with thousands of Periplaneta americana, but in the crew's quarters, mess halls, and storerooms B. germanica predominated. After insecticidal treatment about 2,000 P. americana were seen in each hold and as many as 24 B. germanica in each cabin. Richardson (1947) reported that in Army transports inspected between 1943 and 1946 at New York, P. americana was found in the galleys and messes, and occasionally heavy infestations were found deep in the holds; B. germanica was found in the galleys and messes; Blatta orientalis was found only in the hold.
Additional references indicating the presence of Blattella germanica on ships may be found in the account of its parasite Ripidius pectinicornis (p. 232). Although Rice (1925) and Williams (1931) cite B. germanica as the most numerous cockroach on ships, Brooke (1920) stated that the great majority of ship cockroaches were Periplaneta americana. In addition to citing cockroach infestations on ships, the following authors reported various methods for disinfecting ships: Canalis (1916), Pryor (1918), Brooke (1920), Rice (1925), Williams (1931), Simanton (1946), Richardson (1947), and Anonymous (1951, 1954).
COCKROACHES ASSOCIATED WITH SHIPS
In the following list we include some previously unpublished data on cockroaches that were recovered from ships at the Miami, Fla., Quarantine Station for the periods November 1945 through May 1946; May, June, August, and September 1950; and 17 July 1957 (Porter, personal communication, 1958). These data were lumped, without breakdown to species, under the entry Orthoptera in Porter (1958).
Certain of the species listed below occur only accidentally on shipboard and will probably never establish breeding colonies on ships or become pests on shipboard or elsewhere; some were merely passengers between one land-based colony and another. Others, the truly domiciliary pests, are as likely to be pests on shipboard as they are in land-based structures.
=Blaberus discoidalis=
Hispaniola.--On board ship (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Blatta orientalis=
U.S.A.--At Port of New York (Richardson, 1947).
=Blattella germanica=
At sea?--In ships casks (Chamisso, 1829).
U.S.A.--Port of New York (Williams, 1931; Richardson, 1947). San Francisco (Simanton, 1946). At Miami, 7,852 live specimens recovered from ships (Porter, personal communication, 1958). Most numerous species on ships (Rice, 1925).
=Epilampra maya=
At sea.--One male and one female found dead on S.S. Tenadores (Hebard, 1917).
=Epilampra= sp.
Florida.--One dead specimen, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
=Ischnoptera= sp.
Florida.--Five live and one dead specimen, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
=Latiblattella= sp.
At sea.--One female alive in hold of S.S. Tenadores (Hebard, 1917).
=Leucophaea maderae=
Brought from West Africa to West Indies and Brazil by slave ships (Rehn, 1945).
=Nauphoeta cinerea=
Widely disseminated by sailing ships (Rehn, 1945).
=Neoblattella fratercula=
At sea.--Two females found dead on S.S. Tenadores (Hebard, 1917).
=Neoblattella fraterna=
At sea.--One male found dead in hold of S.S. Tenadores (Hebard, 1917).
=Neoblattella nahua=
At sea.--One female dead in hold of S.S. Tenadores (Hebard, 1917).
=Neoblattella= sp.
Florida.--Five dead specimens recovered from ships, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
=Neostylopyga rhombifolia=
Widely distributed by sailing ships (Rehn, 1945).
England.--Captured on a sugar vessel from Java (Lucas, 1920).
=Nyctibora noctivaga=
At sea.--One male and one female nymph found dead on S. S. Tenadores (Hebard, 1917).
=Nyctibora= sp.
Florida.--Two dead specimens recovered from ships at Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
=Oxyhaloa buprestoides=
Spread from Africa to New World by ships (Rehn and Hebard, 1927; Rehn, 1945).
=Panchlora nivea=
At sea.--One female dead in hold of S.S. Tenadores (Hebard, 1917).
Florida.--Fifteen dead specimens taken from ships, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
From the numerous records of this species as an adventive taken on bananas (p. 150), it may be presumed to be a frequent traveler on banana boats.
=Periplaneta americana=
At sea.--Lewis (1836). Hebard (1933a) stated that this is "often a serious pest on the smaller ships sailing the South Seas."
U.S.A.--San Francisco (Simanton, 1946). Port of New York (Richardson, 1947). At Miami, 62 live and 123 dead specimens (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
=Periplaneta australasiae=
Migrated from West Africa to America in slave ships (Rehn, 1945).
=Pycnoscelus surinamensis=
Probably in part reached the New World by way of Africa in slave ships (Rehn, 1945).
=Supella supellectilium=
Reached America from West Africa by slave ship (Rehn, 1945).
=Xestoblatta festae=
At sea.--One female found dead in hold of S.S. Tenadores (Hebard, 1917).
AIRCRAFT
Michel (1935) stated that the development of air transportation brought the same insect dispersal problems that exist in land and water transportation; in addition, the problem of cockroach infestation had become a very serious one, quite aside from the hygienic point of view, because it had been discovered that these insects seek out the wings of airplanes, where they subsisted on the glue and dope used in airplane construction. However, Dethier (1945) found no cockroaches in dismantled or wrecked wing and tail structures of metal aircraft in central Africa. In fact, all-metal aircraft would seem to provide little in the way of food or water for stowaway cockroaches.
Laird (1951, 1952, 1956a) found living specimens of Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, and Periplaneta australasiae in baggage compartments and/or kitchens in aircraft. Other species which have been recovered from undisclosed spaces in aircraft are listed below. Some of the cockroaches that were reported as dead may not have died from exposure during flight but may have been killed by insecticide applied by inspecting personnel at the airports.
COCKROACHES ASSOCIATED WITH AIRCRAFT
In the following list we include some previously unpublished data on cockroaches that were recovered from aircraft in Miami, Fla., International Airport from 1 July 1956 through 30 June 1957 (Porter, personal communication, 1958). These data were lumped under the entry Orthoptera without breakdown to species in Porter (1958).
Species reported by Hughes (1949), and cited below as from southern United States, were recovered from aircraft that arrived at Brownsville, Fort Worth, Miami, New Orleans, and San Juan. There was no way of linking a specific record with any particular city.
The comments we made above about species that are infrequently encountered on ships apply with equal validity to similar species found on aircraft.
=Anaplecta= sp.
U.S.A.--One live and 15 dead specimens recovered from 16 aircraft at Miami (Denning et al., 1947).
=Blatta orientalis=
U.S.A.--Six live and four dead specimens recovered from six aircraft at Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949).
=Blattella germanica=
Hawaii.--Williams (1946a).
Khartoum.--Whitfield (1940).
New Zealand.--Laird (1951, 1952, 1956a).
U.S.A.--At Miami 193 live and 184 dead specimens were recovered from 141 aircraft (Denning et al., 1947). Recovered at airports in southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949). Recovered at Miami, 51 live and 24 dead specimens (Porter, personal communication, 1958). Exposed experimentally in jet aircraft (Sullivan et al., 1958).
=Blattella= sp.
Khartoum.--Whitfield (1940).
Southern U.S.--Hughes (1949).
=Cariblatta= ssp.
U.S.A.--One live and three dead specimens recovered from three aircraft at Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949).
=Epilampra= sp.
U.S.A.--One dead specimen, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949).
=Eublaberus posticus=
Southern U.S.--Hughes (1949).
=Ischnoptera rufa rufa=
U.S.A.--Two dead specimens recovered from two aircraft at Miami (Denning et al., 1947).
=Ischnoptera= sp.
U.S.A.--Two live and one dead specimen recovered from three aircraft, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949). One dead specimen, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
=Leucophaea maderae=
U.S.A.--Three dead specimens recovered from three aircraft at Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949).
=Nauphoeta cinerea=
U.S.A.--One live and one dead specimen, Miami (Denning et al., 1947).
=Neoblattella= sp.
U.S.A.--One dead specimen recovered at Miami (Denning et al., 1947).
=Panchlora nivea=
U.S.A.--Two dead specimens recovered from two aircraft, Miami (Denning et al., 1947).
=Periplaneta americana=
U.S.A.--Five live and three dead specimens recovered from seven aircraft, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949). Three live and five dead, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958). Experimentally exposed in jet aircraft, U.S. (Sullivan et al., 1958).
New Zealand.--Laird (1951, 1952).
=Periplaneta australasiae=
U.S.A.--Two dead specimens recovered from two aircraft, Miami (Welch, 1939). Five live and three dead from five aircraft, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949). Three live and two dead, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
New Zealand.--Laird (1952).
=Periplaneta= spp.
U.S.A.--One live and three dead specimens from four aircraft, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949). One live and six dead, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
=Pycnoscelus surinamensis=
U.S.A.--Two live and three dead specimens from five aircraft, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949).
New Zealand.--Laird (1956a).
=Supella supellectilium=
U.S.A.--Two live and one dead specimen from one aircraft, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949).
Khartoum.--Whitfield (1940).
=Supella= sp.
U.S.A.--Two live specimens from two aircraft, Miami (Welch, 1939). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949).
=Symploce= sp.
U.S.A.--Two live and one dead specimen from three aircraft, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949).
=Unidentified cockroaches=
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.--At Khartoum (Whitfield, 1940).
Brazil.--From flying boats, 62 specimens; from land planes, 45 specimens (Carneiro de Mendonça and Cerqueira, 1947).
Central Africa.--Dethier (1945).
Kenya.--At Kisumu (Symes in Whitfield, 1940).
New Zealand.--Laird (1956a).
U.S.A.--Four live and 14 dead specimens from 4 aircraft, Miami (Welch, 1939). One live and 15 dead specimens (adults?) from 16 aircraft; 8 oöthecae from 7 planes; 147 live and 83 dead nymphs from 108 planes, Miami (Denning et al., 1947). Southern U.S. (Hughes, 1949). Five live and 7 dead specimens, Miami (Porter, personal communication, 1958).
IV. CLASSIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATIONS
Asano (1937) classified the natural enemies of cockroaches into two types as follows:
1. Enemies that feed mainly on cockroaches (certain ripiphorid beetles and certain chalcid, evaniid, and ampulicid wasps).
2. Organisms which, in their search for food, devour cockroaches that may be encountered (certain species of scorpions, spiders, ticks, centipedes, Strepsiptera, ants, birds, rats, and "parasitic bacteria").
Cameron (1955) arranged the associates of cockroaches in two groups as follows:
Group A. Parasites and predators.
1. Parasites: Hymenoptera (Evaniidae, Eulophidae, Eupelmidae, Encyrtidae, Pteromalidae, Cleonymidae) and Coleoptera (Ripiphoridae).
2. Predators: Hymenoptera (Ampulicidae), Hemiptera (Reduviidae), Coleoptera (Dermestidae), Arachnida (Araneae, Acarina).
Group B. Parasites and symbionts.
1. Protozoa (including examples of both parasites and commensals).
2. Nematoda (including both primary "parasites" and secondary parasites).
3. Bacteria (including the mutualistic bacteroids).
4. Algae [Arthromitis (= Hygrocrocis) intestinalis; see p. 124].
Asano's arrangement, although essentially true, is limited; Cameron's system is divided into arthropods (group A) and lower forms (group B), but does not include higher animals. Both attempts at classification need amplification; this we have endeavored to do below.
In classifying the biotic associates of cockroaches, we were immediately confronted with a problem in semantics. The concepts parasitism, predatism, and symbiosis have all been used with various shades of meaning by different authors. The problem is not solved merely by accepting as authoritative specific definitions, however apt they seem to be, because, unfortunately, these concepts are not mutually exclusive. For example, among the entomophagous insects, as Sweetman (1936) has pointed out, there can be no definite line of separation between parasitism and predatism: the two intergrade, only the extremes being quite distinct. In fact, Andrewartha and Birch (1954) generalized these relationships by calling both categories predatism. These authors divided natural populations of associated organisms into nonpredators and predators. Although this simplifies their presentation of the general principles of ecology, for our purpose more narrowly defined terms have proved useful.
In the main we have followed Sweetman (1936) and Allee et al. (1949) in arriving at the following definitions:
=Symbiosis= is the living together in more or less intimate association of organisms of different species; it includes virtually all relationships between cockroaches and other organisms, such as parasitism, predatism, commensalism, and mutualism. Allee et al. (1949) apparently do not include predatism in symbiosis.
=Mutualism= is symbiosis in which both members benefit by the association. The smaller partner has commonly been called a symbiont or symbiote by authors.
=Commensalism= includes associations in which neither party appears to benefit or be harmed. One partner may live on the surplus food or wastes of the other; shelter and transport may be involved.
=Parasitism= is the state of symbiosis in which one of the members feeds upon the other during the whole of either the immature or mature feeding stage; the host is harmed in some way and may be killed.
=Predatism= is an association in which one member attacks and feeds upon, or stores as food for its progeny, one or more other organisms; the predator spends less than the immature or mature feeding period on the prey. This category includes a few invertebrates and all the vertebrates that capture, kill, and feed on cockroaches. This association may be divided into interspecies predatism, in which the predator preys upon a different species, and intraspecies predatism (cannibalism) in which the predator preys upon its own species.
Although we have attempted to adhere to these definitions throughout this discussion, we realize that in doing so we may have tended to oversimplify complex relations. Some questionable interpretations stem from insufficient knowledge of the basic relationships between cockroaches and their associates. Only further study will clarify these relationships. Some of the problems are discussed below.
Probably many of the so-called parasites (e.g., Protozoa like Nyctotherus, and intestinal nematodes of the family Thelastomatidae), which do not invade the host's tissues and seem to have no effect on the activity and vitality of the host, are commensals. Although we consider these forms to be commensals, we realize that they might actually affect the host in some way even though this has not been shown. It is possible that Rothschild and Clay's (1957) statement about bird parasites may well apply to the apparently harmless organisms found in the cockroach. These authors wrote, "It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the effect of all types of parasites on the host is detrimental. If we find that a bird seems little, if at all, inconvenienced by the presence of Protozoa or worms or lice, or a cuckoo in the nest, we can nevertheless assume that it would be better off without them.... Small effects such as lack of vitality, loss of voice, excessive blinking, or perverted habits like dirt eating are extremely difficult to gauge. Nevertheless, it is only a question of degree. Potentially all parasites are harmful." It should also be pointed out that some workers would consider certain of our commensals of cockroaches to be parasites. Thus Faust (1955) stated that "A truly successful parasite is one which has developed a state of equilibrium with its host, so that no detectable damage is produced which endangers the health or life of the host. In a suitable host the parasite may obtain food and shelter without any evidence of trauma or toxicity. The damage produced may be so slight that repair and functional readjustment keep pace with the injury." Faust's successful parasite would be indistinguishable from a commensal, but there is undeniably a difference between an organism causing slight, and undetectable, damage to a host and one causing none. Certain of the organisms we list as commensals may eventually be shown to be parasites.
Certain organisms which live in cockroaches appear to have no effect on the vitality of the host even though the tissues of the host are invaded. Gregarines may penetrate the intestinal wall of the cockroach without seeming to injure the host. Fungi of the genus Herpomyces invade the cuticle of cockroaches producing pathological changes; yet the insects' behavior is apparently unaffected (see p. 129). We consider these organisms to be parasites because the host's tissues are invaded and, as far as we know, no benefit to the host results.
In the literature certain insects have been considered to be either parasites or predators or both. Among these are the ensign wasps (Evaniidae), whose larvae feed on the eggs of cockroaches within the oötheca, and the ampulicid wasps, which capture, paralyze, and store in their nests (as food for their larvae) nymphs and adults of cockroaches. Clausen (1940) claimed that the evaniid Zeuxevania splendidula is a true egg parasite when it destroys the first egg in a cockroach oötheca; but after the wasp larva molts and proceeds to devour the other eggs, he considered it to be a predator. Clausen's definition of an entomophagous parasite is an insect that in its larval stage develops either internally or externally upon a single host which is eventually killed; with few exceptions the adults are free-living and their food is usually different from that of the larvae. A predatory insect, by Clausen's definition, is principally free-living in the larval as well as adult stage, kills the host immediately by direct attack, and requires a number of victims to reach maturity; the predator is of greater size than the prey, and the food sources of the adults and immature stages are frequently the same.
It is apparent, as Clausen and other writers have pointed out, that there are instances of a particular species showing characteristics which fit both the definitions for predator and parasite. Thus, among the evaniids one wasp larva destroys all the eggs in an oötheca, but in spite of this the larva has more of the characteristics of a parasite than of a predator; the adult wasp does not utilize the same food as the larva (adults have been taken on flowers and on honeydew from scale insects). It is questionable whether the evaniid larva kills the cockroach egg outright. The wasp larva, being restricted to the inside of the oötheca, is not free-living. Probably the only criterion by which the evaniid could be judged to be a predator, by Clausen's definition, is that more than a single egg is devoured by the maturing wasp larva.
Among the other wasp parasites (Encyrtidae, Eulophidae, Eupelmidae) of cockroach eggs many individuals develop in a single oötheca. When a hundred or more wasps emerge from an oötheca which contained less than 20 eggs, it is obvious that a single cockroach egg supported more than one wasp, yet it is possible that one particular wasp larva may have fed upon more than one cockroach egg before becoming an adult. We consider all entomophagous wasps that develop in cockroach oöthecae to be parasites rather than predators.
On the other hand, even though Anastatus floridanus, A. tenuipes, and Tetrastichus hagenowii are egg parasites as larvae, the adult females are, in a sense, predators when they sometimes eat part of the cockroach egg that oozes through the oviposition puncture (Roth and Willis, 1954a, 1954b). Williams (1929) has seen the female of Ampulex canaliculata imbibe blood that oozed from the cut ends of the cockroach's antennae after she had clipped them off before leading the prey to her nest. Yet despite this evident predatism on the part of the adult, the larva feeds as a parasite on the stored cockroaches in accordance with Sweetman's (1936) (though not Clausen's 1940) definition of parasitism, which is "that form of symbiosis in which one symbiont lives in or on the host organism and feeds at its expense during the whole of either the immature or mature feeding stage." The ampulicid larva, as the evaniid, is not free-living and does not kill the host immediately by direct attack, even though it may require more than one victim to reach maturity. Thus, within one individual both parasitic and predatory behavior are operant during different stages of its life history.
With the above discussion in mind we have summarized below the various biotic associations of cockroaches. Only a few examples are given for each section, but all organisms with similar habits presumably would be classified in the same categories.
Class A. Associations in which cockroaches serve as hosts, vectors, or prey for other organisms.
Type I. Obligate associates. Animals and plants that normally develop only on or in the cockroach; in general, these organisms depend entirely upon the cockroach for survival.
Group 1. Mutuals (symbiotes or symbionts of authors).
(a) Bacteria-like organisms (bacteroids which are found in the fat body of all cockroaches that have been examined; p. 96).
(b) Bacteria (wood-digesting forms in Panesthia, and possibly certain bacteria in the intestines, of other cockroaches; p. 100).
(c) Protozoa (several genera and species found in Cryptocercus; p. 101).
Group 2. Commensals.
(a) Protozoa (Nyctotherus, Herpetomonas, Lophomonas, etc.; p. 172).
(b) Nematodes (Thelastomatidae; p. 193).
Group 3. Parasites.
(a) Fungi (Laboulbeniales; p. 134).
(b) Protozoa (gregarines, Plistophora, etc.; p. 181).
(c) Helminths.
(1) Primary parasites (mermithids and gordian worms; p. 201).
(2) Secondary parasites (Gongylonema neoplasticum, Oxyuris mansoni, Moniliformis spp.; p. 206).
(d) Arthropods.
(1) Mites (Pimeliaphilus podapolipophagus; p. 219).
(2) Insects (larvae of ripiphorids, evaniids, and ampulicids; p. 231).
Type II. Facultative associates. Animals and plants that prey on cockroaches or are incidentally or accidentally picked up by the cockroach, but which can survive or propagate readily on some other host or prey. Steinhaus (1946) emphasized the importance of the environment in determining the type of microbial flora associated with the cockroach which may carry one type of flora in an area which is exposed to filth and a different type in other areas. Because many of these organisms survive passage through or on the cockroach, the blattid may act as a vector of these animals and plants.
Group 1. Commensals.
(a) Viruses (strains of poliomyelitis virus; p. 103).
(b) Bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Micrococcaceae, etc.; p. 111).
(c) Fungi (Aspergillus; p. 130).
(d) Protozoa (Iodamoeba, Dobellina, and cysts of Entamoeba coli and Entamoeba histolytica; p. 179).
(e) Helminths (cysts of various helminths parasitic in vertebrates; p. 208).
(f) Arthropods.
(1) Mites (Tyrophagus lintneri; p. 218).
Group 2. Parasites.
(a) Bacteria (Serratia marcescens; p. 117).
(b) Helminths (Protospirura spp.; p. 206).
(c) Arthropods.
(1) Mites (Locustacarus sp.; p. 219).
(2) Insects (Melittobia chalybii; p. 248).
Group 3. Predators, active.
(a) Arthropods.
(1) Spiders (p. 214).
(2) Scorpions (p. 212).
(3) Centipedes (p. 222).
(4) Mites (Rhizoglyphus tarsalus; p. 218).
(5) Insects (dermestids, reduviids, and on occasion adult females of Tetrastichus, Anastatus, Ampulex; p. 234).
(b) Vertebrates.
(1) Amphibia (p. 269).
(2) Reptilia (p. 272).
(3) Aves (p. 276).
(4) Mammalia (p. 283).
Group 4. Predators, passive: Pitcher plants (p. 154).
Class B. Associations in which cockroaches serve as commensals or predators.
Group 1. Commensal cockroaches.
(a) Associates of social insects (Attaphila spp., etc.; p. 315).
(b) Obscure associates (p. 316).
Group 2. Predatory cockroaches.
(a) Interspecies predators (p. 319).
(b) Intraspecies predators (p. 322).
Class C. Associations of cockroaches with other cockroaches.
Group 1. Intraspecies associations.
(a) Familial associations (p. 325).
(b) Other conspecific associations (aggregations and fighting) (p. 336).
Group 2. Interspecies associations.
(a) Compatible associations (p. 337).
(b) Antagonistic associations (p. 329).
Class D. Ecological associations of cockroaches with higher plants.
Group 1. Benign associations (p. 139).
Group 2. Associations detrimental to plants (p. 162).
V. MUTUALISM
BACTEROIDS
Blochmann (1887, 1888) discovered intracellular particles (the bacteroids or symbiotes of authors) that resembled bacteria in the fat body of males and females of Blatta orientalis and Blattella germanica (pl. 26), in the ova of these insects, and in their embryos. Bacteroids have since been found in at least 25 species and 19 genera of cockroaches. Presumably such microorganisms are universally distributed throughout the Blattaria. General reviews of the bacteroids of cockroaches and other insects have been published by Glaser (1930b), Schwartz (1935), Steinhaus (1946, 1949), Buchner (1952, 1953), Brooks (1954), and Richards and Brooks (1958). The reader is referred to these papers, and those of authors cited in the list at the end of this section, for discussions of the morphology of the bacteroids, their distribution within the host, and attempts to culture them in vitro.
It has long been assumed, without proof, that cockroaches and their bacteroids form a mutually beneficial association. As it has not been possible to cultivate bacteroids apart from their cockroach hosts, it may be assumed that the host is essential to the continued existence of the microorganism, which also derives from the association other obvious benefits as well. Experiments to show that the host also benefits from the association have centered around rendering cockroaches bacteroid free. Starvation, parasites, electromagnetic radiation, heat or cold, or chemicals have all been used in attempts to eliminate the bacteroids. Of these, only chemical treatment has provided a satisfactory technique.
Few chemicals other than antibiotics have proved to be useful in the elimination or reduction of bacteroids. Yetwin (1932) injected various dilutions of 22 compounds into Blattella germanica. He observed decreases in the bacteroids of the fat body only following injection of methylene blue, but did not pursue this lead further. Gier (in Steinhaus, 1946) observed reduction in the numbers of bacteroids after cockroaches were injected with crystal violet, hexylresorcinol, or metaphen. Bode (1936) reported that injection of irritants such as lithium salts or quinine hydrochloride had no apparent effect on the symbiotes.
Brooks (1957) reared Blattella germanica on diets containing different concentrations of inorganic ions. On a manganese-deficient diet the cockroaches grew poorly and some of their progeny lacked normal bacteroids; about 10 percent of the aposymbiotic generation grew and reproduced on a diet fortified with yeast. Varying the concentrations of other salts in the diets gave results in which the progeny were either aposymbiotic or the fat body was abnormal but the mycetocytes were abundant; all these cockroaches soon died even on fortified diets.
The administration of certain antibiotic drugs has produced cockroaches very nearly free of bacteroids. Brues and Dunn (1945) found that although sulfa drugs had no effect on the bacteroids, penicillin in large doses reduced the number of bacteroids in Blaberus craniifer, but the cockroaches died within a few days. Death was attributed to lack of bacteroids rather than effect of the drug; this is perhaps an unwarranted conclusion in view of the survival of aposymbiotic cockroaches that have been produced by other drugs (Brooks, 1954; Brooks and Richards, 1955). Glaser (1946) found that the bacteroids of Periplaneta americana could be adversely affected or destroyed by sulfathiazole, or sodium or calcium penicillin. Fraenkel (1952) questioned the conclusions of Brues and Dunn (1945) and of Glaser (1946) because of the high mortality in their experiments, and he suggested that the described phenomena "were due rather to direct toxic effects on the host than to loss of the symbionts." Noland (in Brooks, 1954; Brooks and Richards, 1955) confirmed Glaser's results with penicillin and extended sulfa treatments to include Blattella germanica. Every female whose bacteroids were reduced to the vanishing point resorbed her ovaries and was incapable of reproduction. Brooks (1954; Brooks and Richards, 1955) found that administration of several antibiotics did not eliminate the bacteroids from the fat body of B. germanica unless the dose was so high that it caused excessive mortality. Frank (1955, 1956) was able to eliminate bacteroids from Blatta orientalis by injecting or feeding chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, or penicillin; survival of treated insects was not good and reproduction was poor; the aposymbiotic individuals were smaller than normal. As Richards and Brooks (1958) have pointed out, it is uncertain how much of this difference was the result of loss of bacteroids and how much the effect of the drug. It is obvious that in all these experiments the action of the drugs on the bacteroids was accompanied by equivocal side effects which confused interpretation of the results. The effect on the cockroach of a loss of bacteroids cannot be separated from a possible toxic effect of the drug.
Fortunately Brooks (1954; Brooks and Richards, 1955) obtained completely aposymbiotic offspring from Blattella germanica that had been reared on aureomycin. These bacteroid-free nymphs were practically incapable of growth on a natural diet that was adequate for nymphs with symbiotes. However, the addition of large amounts of dried yeast to the diet enabled aposymbiotic nymphs to mature in two to three times the period required by normal nymphs. Final proof of the function of the bacteroids was obtained by reestablishing them in aposymbiotic cockroaches. The insects that received implants of normal fat body of B. germanica showed a slow, steady gain in weight over the controls (Brooks, 1954; Brooks and Richards, 1956). Obviously, the intracellular symbiotes subserve the normal nutrition of the cockroach. Whether the bacteroids produce only vitaminlike substances, as suggested by Keller (1950), or function in some other way is still to be determined. Brooks (1954) concluded that the amount of vitamin-containing food required for increased growth by aposymbiotic cockroaches is much greater than the known vitamin requirements; hence the factor(s) needed is unknown and present in low concentration, or it serves as a precursor of a second factor(s) whose synthesis is aided by the bacteroids. Brooks (in Richards and Brooks, 1958) has since found that the bacteroids of Blattella germanica "can supply the insect with B vitamins, amino acids and some larger protein fragment."
Gier (1947) stated that the symbiotes of cockroaches are generically all the same. However, as the symbiotes are presumed to have been associated with cockroaches for over 300,000,000 years (Buchner, 1952) they may be assumed to have developed specific differences that link them inseparably to their respective hosts. Ries (1932) transplanted symbiote-containing fat body from Blatta orientalis into the mealworm and larva of Ephestia kühniella, and from Blattella germanica and Stegobium paniceum (=Sitodrepa panicea) into B. orientalis. The implants did not become established in the new host, although most of the transplantations were successful in that the hosts survived and the implants remained intact for some time before they were encapsulated by host tissue. Brooks (1954; Brooks and Richards, 1956) transplanted fat body of Periplaneta americana and B. orientalis into aposymbiotic B. germanica. The growth of the cockroaches injected with foreign tissue was not different from that of aposymbiotic controls. Sections of host insects did not contain mycetocytes and no bacteroids were found. Haller (1955a) injected bacteroids or implanted mycetocytes of B. germanica into gryllids, acridids, and locustids. These implants and innoculations were rapidly destroyed by the hosts. But as Richards and Brooks (1958) have pointed out, none of these experiments provide information about the specificity of the bacteroids themselves.
COCKROACHES IN WHICH BACTEROIDS HAVE BEEN FOUND
Bantua stigmosa. Fraenkel (1921)
Blaberus craniifer. Brooks (1954); Brues and Dunn (1945); Hoover (1945).
Blaberus giganteus. Blochmann (1892).
Blatta orientalis. Blochmann (1887, 1888, 1892); Bode (1936); Brooks (1954); Buchner (1912); Cuénot (1896); Fraenkel (1921); Frank (1955, 1956); Gier (1936, 1947); Glaser (1920); Gropengiesser (1925); Gubler (1948); Heymons (1895); Hollande and Favre (1931); Hoover (1945); Hovasse (1930); Javelly (1914); Keller (1950); Koch (1949); Menel (1907)?; Mercier (1906a, 1907, 1907b, 1907c); Ries (1932); Ronzoni (1949); Tacchini (1946); Wolf (1924, 1924a).
Blattella germanica. Blochmann (1887, 1888, 1892); Bode (1936); Borghese (1946, 1948, 1948a); Brooks (1954); Brooks and Richards (1954, 1955, 1955a, 1956); Fraenkel (1921); Gier (1936, 1947); Glaser (1920, 1930a); Gropengiesser (1925); Haller (1955, 1955a); Heymons (1892, 1895); Hoover (1945); Koch (1949); Lwoff (1923); Milovidov (1928); Neukomm (1927, 1927a, 1932); Pérez Silva (1954, 1954a); Ries (1932); Rizki (1954); Ronzoni (1949); Tacchini (1946); Wollman (1926); Yetwin (1932, 1953).
Cryptocercus punctulatus. Gier (1936, 1947); Hoover (1945).
Derocalymma cruralis. Fraenkel (1921).
Ectobius lapponicus. Heymons (1892); Cuénot (1896); Koch (1949).
Ectobius pallidus. Heymons (1892, 1895); Cuénot (1896).
Epilampra grisea. Fraenkel (1921).
Eurycotis floridana. Gier (1936, 1947).
Loboptera decipiens. Buchner (1930).
Nauphoeta cinerea. Fraenkel (1921).
Nyctibora noctivaga. Gier (1947).
Parcoblatta lata. Gier (1936, 1947).
Parcoblatta pensylvanica. Brooks (1954); Gier (1936, 1947).
Parcoblatta uhleriana. Gier (1936, 1947); Hoover (1945).
Parcoblatta virginica. Glaser (1920); Gier (1947).
Periplaneta americana. Baudisch (1956); Bode (1936); Cuénot (1896); Gier (1936, 1937, 1947); Glaser (1920, 1930, 1946); Gubler (1948); Hertig (1921); Hoover (1945); Ketchel and Williams (1953).
Periplaneta australasiae. Gier (1936, 1947); Koch (1949).
Platyzosteria armata. Fraenkel (1921).
Polyphaga aegyptiaca. Fraenkel (1921).
Pseudoderopeltis aethiopica. Fraenkel (1921).
Pycnoscelus surinamensis. Bode (1936); Koch (1949).
Supella supellectilium. Brooks (1954).
BACTERIA
Evidence showing that intestinal bacteria contribute to the nutrition of cockroaches is meager. Cleveland et al. (1934) isolated a bacterial organism from the foregut of the wood-feeding cockroach Panesthia angustipennis. The bacterium digested cellulose rapidly in vitro and these workers believe that this cockroach and other related wood-feeding species are dependent on symbiotic bacteria for the digestion of their food.
Mencl (1907) described cell nuclei in "symbiotic," not closely defined types of bacilli that he found in abundance in the digestive tract of the Küchenschabe, Periplaneta (presumably Blatta orientalis). Unfortunately, he was more concerned about the morphology of the bacteria than the stated mutualistic relationship, so nothing is known of their physiology.
The growth rates of Periplaneta americana and Blattella germanica were retarded when the insects were reared aseptically, which suggests that microorganisms normally found in the digestive tract supply certain necessary dietary constituents (Gier, 1947a; House, 1949). Noland et al. (1949) suggested that microorganisms in the digestive tract of B. germanica synthesized riboflavin since the nymphs reared on a low riboflavin diet accumulated more of the vitamin than could have been ingested in the diet. However, Metcalf and Patton (1942) found little or no bacterial synthesis of riboflavin in P. americana. Noland and Baumann (1951) suggested that methionine, one of the amino acids essential for rapid growth of B. germanica, was synthesized by intestinal microorganisms in the insects.
PROTOZOA
It is probable that with few exceptions protozoa found in the digestive tract are not necessary for survival of the cockroach. However, very few experiments have been performed to determine the importance, if any, of these microorganisms to the host. Cleveland (1925) removed the protozoa from the cockroach (possibly Periplaneta americana) by oxygenation at 3.5 atmospheres. The ciliates Nyctotherus and Balantidium, flagellates Lophomonas and Polymastix, the amoeba Endamoeba blattae, and three unidentified protozoa were killed by this treatment, yet the insects lived normally after defaunation.
Armer (1944) studied the effects of high-carbohydrate, high-fat, and high-protein diets, as well as starvation, on the intestinal protozoa (Nyctotherus ovalis, Endamoeba blattae, Endolimax blattae, Lophomonas striata, and Lophomonas blattarum) in Periplaneta americana. Starvation of the host lowered the incidence or eliminated most of the protozoa, but a high-carbohydrate diet maintained them at a relatively high level. Lophomonas blattarum was eliminated by a high-protein diet, and practically eliminated by a high-fat diet. Lophomonas striata was eliminated from some hosts that were kept on high-fat and high-protein diets. Endamoeba blattae showed a decrease in infection rate when the cockroaches were maintained on high-fat and high-protein diets. The effects of diets on Endolimax blattae were not uniform.
It has been shown by Cleveland (1930, 1948) and Cleveland et al. (1931, 1934) that the wood-feeding cockroach Cryptocercus punctulatus depends upon certain intestinal protozoa for survival; these protozoa utilize as food the wood ingested by this cockroach. The wood is broken down into compounds the cockroach can utilize by the protozoa which elaborate a cellulase and possibly a cellobiase (Trager, 1932). Only molting nymphs of Cryptocercus can pass the protozoa on to the newly hatched young, so that molting and hatching must happen concurrently each year or the young die.
The sexual cycles in species of protozoa in the genera Trichonympha, Saccinobaculus, Oxymonas, Monocercomonoides, Hexamita, Eucomonympha, Leptospironympha, Urinympha, Rhynchonympha, Macrospironympha, and Barbulanympha (fig. 3, B) are induced by hormones produced by Cryptocercus only during its molting period (Cleveland, 1931, 1947, 1947a, 1949-1956a). Perhaps the prothoracic gland hormone of the host may be responsible for initiation of the flagellate sexual cycles (Cleveland and Nutting, 1955). The protozoan sexual cycles may be used as indicators of the onset of molting in Cryptocercus; thus different species of protozoa begin their sexual cycles from 35 days before to 2 days after molting of the cockroach (Cleveland and Nutting, 1954). Hollande (1952) and Grassé (1952) have reviewed the roles and the evolution of the flagellates in Cryptocercus and in termites.
The protozoa of cockroaches and termites are clues to the relationship between these two groups of insects. Kirby (1927) pointed out similarities between Endamoeba blattae of Periplaneta and the amoebae of the termite Mirotermes, suggesting that these protozoans were probably derived from an amoeba in an ancestor common to both blattid and termite. Kirby (1932, in Kidder, 1937) found a species of Nyctotherus in Amitermes that resembles Nyctotherus ovalis from domestic cockroaches. The belief that the termites and cockroaches had a common origin is also strengthened by the similarities between the hypermastigotes of both Cryptocercus and termites (Cleveland et al., 1934).
The cockroaches Cryptocercus and Panesthia both feed on wood, but the protozoa found in Panesthia resemble more closely the species in domestic cockroaches than those in Cryptocercus. The Clevelandellidae (from Panesthia) are closely related to Nyctotherus and have probably evolved from common ancestors. However, the separation of the Clevelandellidae from Nyctotherus must have taken place at a later date than the divergence of their hosts, otherwise representatives of that family would probably also be found in Periplaneta and Blatta (Kidder, 1937).
The protozoa of Cryptocercus can be transferred from one individual to another (Nutting and Cleveland, 1954). They can also be transferred to the termite Zootermopsis where they survive only until the host molts; the reverse is also true, Zootermopsis Protozoa can survive in Cryptocercus until the cockroach molts (Nutting and Cleveland, 1954a).
VI. VIRUSES ASSOCIATED WITH COCKROACHES
Annotations on some of the following observations may be found in Roth and Willis (1957a). Use of asterisk is explained in footnote 3, page 4.
POLIOMYELITIS VIRUSES
* =Lansing strain=
Experimental vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Hurlbutt, 1949, 1950).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Hsiang et al., 1952).
* =Brunhilde type, Minnesota and Mahoney strains=
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Fischer and Syverton, 1951; Syverton et al., 1952).
* =Columbia SK virus=
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Great Britain? (Findlay and Howard, 1951): Results with Blattella germanica were negative.
* =Four unspecified strains=
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica and/or Blattella vaga, Periplaneta americana and/or Periplaneta brunnea, and Supella supellectilium, U.S.A. (Syverton et al., 1952; Dow, 1955; Dow in Roth and Willis, 1957a).
OTHER VIRUSES
* =Coxsackie viruses=
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Fischer and Syverton, 1951a, 1957): Recently Fischer and Syverton (1957) found that after feeding a single meal of Coxsackie virus to Periplaneta americana, the gastrointestinal tracts of the insects, which were removed at 5-day intervals up to 20 days, contained sufficient virus to paralyze and kill test mice. Cockroach salivary glands, removed 5 days after the insects had fed, contained the virus which caused paralysis and death in test mice; mice were also infected by virus obtained from salivary glands removed from the insects 10 and 20 days after the cockroaches had fed once on the virus. The virus was also isolated from the cockroaches' feces and rarely from the fat bodies and reproductive organs. Fischer and Syverton concluded that it is possible that cockroaches could acquire the virus, by feeding on mammalian excreta, maintain it for a period of time, and transmit it by contamination of food. The virus could also be transmitted through the feces of wild mice if the mice happened to feed on virus-infected cockroaches.
* =Mouse encephalomyelitis virus=
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Syverton and Fischer, 1950).
* =Yellow-fever virus=
Experimental vectors.--Blattella germanica, Great Britain? (Findlay and MacCallum, 1939).
VII. BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH COCKROACHES
Classification of the bacteria follows Breed et al. (1948). Synonymy in most cases was taken from the same source. Names of bacteria preceded by the symbol [cross] are either not listed by Breed et al. or are stated by them to be insufficiently characterized for definite classification. Use of asterisk is explained in footnote 3, page 4.
Phylum SCHIZOPHYTA
Class SCHIZOMYCETES
Order EUBACTERIALES
Family PSEUDOMONADACEAE
* =Pseudomonas aeruginosa= (Schroeter) Migula
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949).
Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Olson and Rueger, 1950).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Olson and Rueger, 1950; Janssen and Wedberg, 1952).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a; Olson and Rueger, 1950).
Experimental vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Herms and Nelson, 1913).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
* =Pseudomonas eisenbergii= Migula
Natural and experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1906).
* =Pseudomonas fluorescens= Migula
Natural and experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906; Spinelli and Reitano, 1932).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Gier, 1947): The organism was pathogenic to the cockroach when injected.
[cross] =Spirillum periplaneticum= Kunstler and Gineste
Habitat.--Periplaneta americana, France? (Kunstler and Gineste, 1906): From intestinal tract.
[cross] =Spirillum α, β, and γ= Dobell
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, England (Dobell, 1911, 1912): From hind gut.
=Spirillum= sp.
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Zasukhin, 1930): From intestinal tract.
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926): From digestive tract.
* =Vibrio comma= (Schroeter) Winslow et al.
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898; Spinelli and Reitano, 1932).
Blattella germanica, Orient (Toda, 1923); Germany (Jettmar, 1927).
Periplaneta americana, Philippine Islands (Barber, 1914); Netherlands (Akkerman, 1933); Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
Periplaneta australasiae, Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
* =Vibrio metschnikovii= Gamaléia
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906).
=Vibrio tyrogenus= (Flügge) Holland
Synonymy.--Vibrio of Deneke.
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898): The organism passed through the intestinal tract unchanged.
[cross] =Vibrio Types I and II= Heiberg
Habitat.--Water.
Natural vectors.--Cockroaches, India (Pasricha et al., 1938): The vibrios were found in 16 or 17 percent of 94 cockroaches and resembled Vibrio comma in their morphology and their main biochemical reactions; however, serum-agglutination reactions differed.
=Vibrio= sp.
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Leidy, 1853): From intestine.
Family RHIZOBIACEAE
=Chromobacterium violaceum= (Schroeter) Bergonzini
Synonymy.--B. violaceus.
Habitat.--Water.
Experimental vectors.--Cockroach, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913): Recovered from outer part of body and intestinal tract.
Family MICROCOCCACEAE
* =Micrococcus aurantiacus= (Schroeter) Cohn
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952).
* =Micrococcus citreus= Migula
Natural vectors.--Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
* =Micrococcus epidermidis= (Winslow and Winslow) Hucker
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952).
[cross] =Micrococcus nigrofaciens= Northrup
Source.--Diseased June beetle larvae.
Experimental infection.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Northrup, 1914): Three of four adults were infected by feeding them bread saturated with a broth culture of the Micrococcus. After 11 days the tarsi of the cockroaches became infected, and the hind legs split and broke off. Antennae and setae also were affected and micrococci were recovered from the feces.
* =Micrococcus pyogenes= var. =albus= (Rosenbach) Schroeter
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949).
Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Tauber, 1940; Tauber and Griffiths, 1942).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Herms and Nelson, 1913; Herms, 1939; Janssen and Wedberg, 1952).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898); U.S.A. (Tauber and Griffiths, 1942).
Micrococcus pyogenes var. albus (=Staphylococcus albus) and an unidentified short rod form were found by Tauber (1940) in the hemolymph of B. orientalis. These microorganisms were never found together in the same insect and caused loss of appetite, sluggishness, irregular respiratory movements, and paralysis in the cockroach; in the final stages of the disease the legs were folded under the body, the head was tucked beneath the forelegs, the whole insect became arched and maintained this position until death. In some cockroaches infected with the rod pathogen, conjunctival folds, particularly those between the dorsal abdominal sclerites, and the joints of the metathoracic legs ruptured liberating thick white hemolymph filled with bacteria. Tauber suggested that the infection might be spread by contact, especially to newly molted individuals or by actual ingestion of the bacteria by the cockroaches feeding on dead or dying individuals. All the roaches died after successful inoculation with the Micrococcus. The bacterial infection was associated with high total hemocyte counts and high percentages of mitotically dividing hemolymph cells (Tauber, 1940); these responses of the insect were interpreted as a mechanism whereby the number of hemocytes increases resulting in an increase in the number of phagocytes for combating the bacteria (Tauber and Griffiths, 1942).
* =Micrococcus pyogenes= var. =aureus= (Rosenbach) Zopf
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949).
Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1906).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Herms, 1939).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
=Micrococcus ureae= Cohn
Habitat.--Stale urine and soil containing urine.
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952): From intestinal tract and feces.
* =Micrococcus= spp.
These organisms were obtained from pus or were designated as staphylococci [i.e., pathogenic micrococci (Blair in Dubos, 1948)].
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Spinelli and Reitano, 1932); Germany (Jettmar, 1935).
Blattella germanica, Germany (Jettmar, 1935).
Experimental vectors.--Blattella germanica, on shipboard (Morrell, 1911); Germany (Vollbrechtshausen, 1953).
=Micrococcus= sp.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana? ("Blatella americana"), England (Shrewsbury and Barson, 1948): From intestinal tract.
[cross] =Sarcina alba= Zimmermann
Habitat.--Water.
Natural and experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao 1898, 1906): From intestinal contents.
=Sarcina aurantiaca= Flügge
Habitat.--Air and water.
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1906): Intestinal contents.
=Sarcina lutea= Schroeter
Habitat.--Air, soil, water, skin surfaces.
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1906): From intestinal contents.
[cross] =Sarcina symbiotica= Pribram
Habitat.--Oöthecae of Blatta orientalis and/or Blattella germanica, Germany (Gropengiesser, 1925): It was described as "eine gelbe Sarcina"; Pribram (1933) named the organism.
=Sarcina ventriculi= Goodsir
Habitat.--Garden soil, dust, mud; isolated from a diseased stomach.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): From intestinal tract.
=Sarcina= sp.
Natural and experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Gier, 1947): Organism not pathogenic to the cockroach when injected.
[cross] =Sarcina= sp.
Synonymy.--Sarcina "blanche" of Sartory and Clerc.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, France (Sartory and Clerc, 1908): Isolated from intestinal tract.
*[cross] =Sarcina= sp.
Synonymy.--Sarcina alba "patogena" of Cao.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906).
*[cross] =Sarcina= sp.
Synonymy.--Sarcina "bianca" and "gialla" of Cao.
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
Family NEISSERIACEAE
* =Neisseria meningitidis= (Albrecht and Ghon) Holland
Experimental vectors.--Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
* =Veillonella parvula= (Veillon and Zuber) Prévot
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Hatcher, 1939).
Family LACTOBACTERIACEAE
* =Diplococcus pneumoniae= Weichselbaum
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
[cross] =Enterococcus= sp.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Spinelli and Reitano, 1932): From intestinal tract.
=Lactobacillus fermenti= Beijerinck
Habitat.--Fermenting plant or animal products.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): From intestinal canal.
[cross] =Pneumococcus Type I, No. 1231=
Experimental vectors.--Blattella germanica, Germany (Vollbrechtshausen, 1953).
* =Streptococcus faecalis= Andrewes and Horder
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Steinhaus, 1941).
Periplaneta americana? ("Blatella americana"), England (Shrewsbury and Barson, 1948).
Cockroaches [presumably any or all of the above three species], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945).
* =Streptococcus liquefaciens= Sternberg emend. Orla-Jensen
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946).
*[cross] =Streptococcus microapoika= Cooper, Keller, and Johnson
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946).
*[cross] =Streptococcus non-hemolyticus II= Holman
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana? ("Blatella americana"), England (Shrewsbury and Barson, 1948).
* =Streptococcus pyogenes= Rosenbach
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1906).
Experimental vectors.--Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
* =Streptococcus= sp. (pyogenic group)
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Jettmar, 1935).
* =Streptococcus= sp. (viridans group)
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Jettmar, 1935).
* =Streptococcus= spp.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Jettmar, 1935).
Blattella germanica, Germany (Jettmar, 1935); U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
Family CORYNEBACTERIACEAE
* =Corynebacterium diphtheriae= (Flügge) Lehmann and Neumann
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
Family ACHROMOBACTERIACEAE
[cross] =Achromobacter hyalinum= (Jordan) Bergey et al.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Hatcher, 1939): Isolated from feces.
=Achromobacter= sp.
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952).
=Alcaligenes faecalis= Castellani and Chalmers
Synonymy.--Bacillus faecalis alkaligenes; Bacillus alcaligenes faecalis; B. alcaligenes faecalis.
Habitat.--Intestinal canal of man. Has been isolated from feces, abscesses related to intestinal canal, and occasionally in the bloodstream. However, it is generally considered nonpathogenic.
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): Isolated from feces.
Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): Isolated from intestinal tract.
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952): From intestinal tract and feces.
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949): Isolated from intestinal tract.
Cockroaches [presumably Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945): From suspensions of macerated whole insects.
=Alcaligenes recti= (Ford) Bergey et al.
Synonymy.--B. alcaligenes recti.
Habitat.--Intestinal canal.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): Isolated from intestinal tract.
=Alcaligenes viscosus= (Weldin and Levine) Weldin
Habitat.--Water, dairy utensils; produces ropiness in milk.
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952): Isolated from intestine and feces.
Family ENTEROBACTERIACEAE
=Aerobacter aerogenes= (Kruse) Beijerinck
Synonymy.--Bacillus lactis aerogenes.
Habitat.--Grains, plants, intestinal tract of man and other animals.
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): Isolated from feces.
Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): Isolated from intestinal tract.
Blattella germanica, on shipboard (Morrell, 1911): Isolated from feces.
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949): Isolated from intestinal tract.
Cockroaches [presumably Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945): Isolated from outer surface of body, intestinal tract, and suspensions of macerated whole insects.
=Aerobacter cloacae= (Jordan) Bergey et al.
Synonymy.--Bacillus cloacae.
Habitat.--Sewage, soil, water, human and other animal feces.
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, on shipboard (Morrell, 1911): From feces. U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952; Steinhaus, 1941): From intestinal tract, feces, and oötheca.
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949): From intestinal tract.
=Aerobacter= sp.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949): Isolated from intestines.
[cross] =Eberthella oedematiens= Assis
Habitat.--Intestinal canal.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949): Intestinal tract.
* =Escherichia coli= (Migula) Castellani and Chalmers
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao 1898, 1906; Spinelli and Reitano, 1932); France (Sartory and Clerc, 1908); Europe (Jettmar, 1935); Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Steinhaus, 1941).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a).
Cockroaches [presumably one or all of the above three species], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
Experimental vectors.--Blattella germanica, Germany (Vollbrechtshausen, 1953): When injected anally or orally the bacteria invaded the intestinal cells and in heavy infections killed the cockroaches.
=Escherichia coli= var. =acidilactici= (Topley and Wilson) Yale
Synonymy.--Bacillus acidi lactici.
Source.--Diseased nun moth larvae.
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Europe (Filatoff, 1904): Organism pathogenic to cockroach when injected but not when fed.
=Escherichia coli= var. =communior= (Topley and Wilson) Yale
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): From feces.
=Escherichia freundii= (Braak) Yale
Habitat.--Soil, water, intestinal canal of man and other animals.
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): From feces.
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952): From intestinal canal and feces.
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949): From intestinal tract.
=Escherichia intermedium= (Werkman and Gillen) Vaughn and Levine
Habitat.--Soil, water, intestinal canal of man and other animals.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949): From intestinal canal.
* =Klebsiella pneumoniae= (Schroeter) Trevisan
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
* =Paracolobactrum aerogenoides= Borman, Stuart and Wheeler
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949).
* =Paracolobactrum coliforme= Borman, Stuart and Wheeler
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949).
* =Paracolobactrum= spp.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Olson and Rueger, 1950).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Olson and Rueger, 1950).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949; Olson and Rueger, 1950).
* =Paracolon bacilli=
Natural vectors.--Cockroaches [presumably Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945).
* =Proteus mirabilis= Hauser
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a).
* =Proteus morganii= (Winslow et al.) Rauss
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a).
Cockroaches [presumably Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and/or Periplaneta americana], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945).
* =Proteus rettgeri= (Hadley et al.) Rustigian and Stuart
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949).
* =Proteus vulgaris= Hauser
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949).
Blatta orientalis, Italy (Spinelli and Reitano, 1932).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
* =Proteus= spp.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Olson and Rueger, 1950).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949; Olson and Rueger, 1950).
* =Salmonella anatis= (Rettger and Scoville) Bergey et al.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eads et al., 1954).
* =Salmonella choleraesuis= (Smith) Weldin
Experimental vectors.--Polyphaga saussurei, U.S.S.R. (Zmeev in Pavlovskii, 1948).
* =Salmonella enteritidis= (Gaertner) Castellani and Chalmers
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Rozengolts and Ȋȗdina in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Olson and Rueger, 1950); U.S.S.R. (Rozengolts and Ȋȗdina in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Polyphaga saussurei, U.S.S.R. (Zmeev in Pavlovskii, 1948).
* =Salmonella morbificans= (Migula) Haupt
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Australia (Mackerras and Mackerras, 1948, 1949).
Experimental vectors.--Nauphoeta cinerea, Periplaneta australasiae, Periplaneta ignota, and Supella supellectilium, Australia (Mackerras and Pope, 1948).
* =Salmonella paratyphi= (Kayser) Castellani and Chalmers
Experimental vectors.--Polyphaga saussurei, U.S.S.R. (Zmeev in Pavlovskii, 1948).
* =Salmonella schottmuelleri= (Winslow et al.) Bergey et al.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a).
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
Polyphaga saussurei, U.S.S.R. (Zmeev in Pavlovskii, 1948).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Adelaidae=)
Experimental vectors.--Nauphoeta cinerea, Periplaneta australasiae, Periplaneta ignota, and Supella supellectilium, Australia (Mackerras and Pope, 1948).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Bareilly=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eads et al., 1954).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Bredeny=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Derby=)
Experimental vectors.--Nauphoeta cinerea, Periplaneta australasiae, and Supella supellectilium, Australia (Mackerras and Pope, 1948).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Kentucky=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eads et al., 1954).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Kottbus=)
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta australasiae, Australia (Mackerras and Pope, 1948).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Meleagris=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eads et al., 1954).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Montevideo=)
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Jung and Shaffer, 1952).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Newport=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eads et al., 1954).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Oranienburg=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a; Eads et al., 1954).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Olson and Rueger, 1950).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Panama=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eads et al., 1954).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Rubislaw=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eads et al., 1954).
* =Salmonella= sp. (=Type Tennessee=)
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eads et al., 1954).
* =Salmonella typhimurium= (Loeffler) Castellani and Chalmers
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, Belgium (Graffar and Mertens, 1950).
Nauphoeta cinerea, Australia (Mackerras and Mackerras, 1948).
Experimental vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949).
Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Rozengolts and Ȋȗdina in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Blattella germanica, Belgium (Graffar and Mertens, 1950); U.S.A. (Olson and Rueger, 1950; Janssen and Wedberg, 1952; Beck and Coffee, 1943); U.S.S.R. (Rozengolts and Ȋȗdina in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Nauphoeta cinerea, Australia (Mackerras and Pope, 1948).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Beck and Coffee, 1943; Jung and Shaffer, 1952).
Periplaneta australasiae and Supella supellectilium, Australia (Mackerras and Pope, 1948).
Polyphaga saussurei, U.S.S.R. (Zmeev in Pavlovskii, 1948).
* =Salmonella typhosa= (Zopf) White
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Antonelli, 1930, 1943).
Experimental vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949).
Blatta orientalis, Italy (Spinelli and Reitano, 1932); U.S.A. (McBurney and Davis, 1930); U.S.S.R. (Rozengolts and Ȋȗdina in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952); Germany (Jettmar, 1927); U.S.S.R. (Rozengolts and Ȋȗdina in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922); Netherlands (Akkerman, 1933); Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926); U.S.A. (Olson in Roth and Willis, 1957a).
Periplaneta australasiae, Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
Polyphaga saussurei, U.S.S.R. (Zmeev in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Cockroaches [presumably Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and/or Periplaneta americana], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945).
=Serratia marcescens= Bizio
Synonymy.--Bacillus prodigiosus, Bacterium prodigiosum.
Habitat.--Water, soil, milk, foods, and various insects.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): From intestinal tract. Italy (Spinelli and Reitano, 1932).
Blattella germanica, Canada (Heimpel and West, 1959).
Diploptera punctata, Nauphoeta cinerea, Neostylopyga rhombifolia, Panchlora nivea, Pycnoscelus surinamensis, and Supella supellectilium, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1958): The organism was isolated and identified by Dr. Hillel Levinson, Quartermaster bacteriologist, from dead specimens found in our laboratory colonies which showed the red coloration characteristic of insects that have died with infections of S. marcescens (pl. 16, A, B).
Leucophaea maderae, U.S.A. (Levinson, personal communication, 1958): The organism was isolated from the hemolymph of living insects while attempting to determine the cause of unexplained mortality in our laboratory colony of this insect.
Leucophaea maderae or Periplaneta americana, Philippine Islands (Barber, 1912): From hemolymph.
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Gier, 1947; Steinhaus, 1959).
Periplaneta australasiae and Periplaneta brunnea (Roth and Willis, unpublished data [1954]): In laboratory colonies. Isolated from suspensions of ground insects. In 1954 we received a culture of Periplaneta brunnea from the Department of Public Health, University of Minnesota. These insects began to die off rapidly and the normally lightly pigmented parts of the body became red. Dr. Hillel Levinson, Quartermaster bacteriologist, cultured Serratia marcescens from several moribund individuals. The Department of Public Health of Minnesota had at times in the past cultured S. marcescens but had discarded the cultures and was unaware that it might be surviving in the cockroach colonies (Richards, personal communication, 1954).
Periplaneta sp., U.S.A. (Olson in Roth and Willis, 1957a): Isolated from an undetermined species of Periplaneta, received in a shipment from the South, a strain of S. marcescens which was toxic to mice when administered intraperitoneally.
Experimental hosts.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): When fed in small numbers, S. marcescens increased to such an extent that the insect's extremities and upper halves of their bodies turned deep red. The insects died after this color appeared and practically pure cultures of Serratia were recovered from the reddened areas.
Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898): Isolated from intestinal contents. Passed unchanged through the gut.
Blattella germanica, Canada (Heimpel and West, 1959): Not normally pathogenic per os; LD_{50} by injection, is approximately 38,000 bacteria per insect.
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Gier, 1947): Organism toxic to the cockroach when injected.
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913): Isolated from legs and viscera after feeding experiments.
* =Shigella alkalescens= (Andrewes) Weldin
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Bitter and Williams, 1949, 1949a).
* =Shigella dysenteriae= (Shiga) Castellani and Chalmers
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Spinelli and Reitano, 1932).
Periplaneta americana, Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
Polyphaga saussurei, U.S.S.R. (Zmeev in Pavlovskii, 1948).
* =Shigella paradysenteriae= (Collins) Weldin
Natural vectors.--Blatta lateralis, Tadzhikistan (Zmeev, 1940).
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
Polyphaga saussurei, U.S.S.R. (Zmeev in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Family PARVOBACTERIACEAE
=Bacteroides uncatus= Eggerth and Gagnon
Habitat.--Probably intestinal canal of mammals; from human feces.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): From intestinal canal.
* =Brucella abortus= (Schmidt and Weis) Meyer and Shaw
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Ruhland and Huddleson, 1941).
=Fusiformis lophomonadis= Grassé
Habitat.--Surface of a flagellate (Lophomonas striata) which lives in the intestine of cockroaches (Breed et al., 1948; Grassé 1926, 1926a).
* =Malleomyces mallei= (Zopf) Pribram
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
* =Pasteurella multocida= (Lehmann and Neumann) Rosenbusch and Merchant
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Küster, 1902, 1903); Italy (Cao, 1906).
* =Pasteurella pestis= (Lehmann and Neumann) Holland
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Hongkong (Hunter, 1906).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898); Germany (Küster, 1903).
Blattella germanica, Germany (Jettmar, 1927).
Leucophaea maderae and Periplaneta americana, Philippine Islands (Barber, 1912).
Family BACTERIACEAE
[cross] =Bacterium alkaligenes= Nyberg
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana? ("Blatella americana"), England (Shrewsbury and Barson, 1948): From intestinal tract.
[cross] =Bacterium delendae-muscae= Roubaud and Descazeaux
Source.--Diseased fly larvae.
Experimental infection.--Cockroach, France (Roubaud and Descazeaux, 1923): Organism pathogenic to cockroach when injected.
=Bacterium haemophosphoreum= Pfeiffer and Stammer
Habitat.--Diseased larvae of Mamestra oleracea.
Experimental infection.--Blatta orientalis and Blattella germanica, Germany (Pfeiffer and Stammer, 1931): Organism pathogenic, when injected, to eight B. orientalis and two B. germanica.
=Coccobacillus cajae= Picard and Blanc
Experimental host.--Blatta orientalis, France (Picard and Blanc, 1913): The organism was pathogenic to B. orientalis when injected.
Family BACILLACEAE
* =Bacillus anthracis= Cohen emend. Koch
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906); Germany (Küster, 1903).
[cross] =Bacillus bütschlii= Schaudinn
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Schaudinn, 1902): Isolated from intestinal tract. Three percent of the cockroaches from Berlin bakeries were infected.
=Bacillus cereus= Frankland and Frankland
Synonymy.--Bacillus albolactis.
Habitat.--Soil, dust, milk, plants.
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): From feces.
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Hatcher, 1939): In feces.
Experimental host.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Babers, 1938): The cockroaches died within 96 hours after being injected with 10^{-3} ml. of a 24-hour broth culture.
=Bacillus circulans= Jordan
Habitat.--Soil, water, dust.
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952): From intestine and feces.
[cross] =Bacillus flacheriae= (Hoffman)
Source.--Diseased nun moth larvae.
Experimental infection.--Blatta orientalis, Europe (Filatoff, 1904): The organism was not pathogenic when fed to the cockroach, but killed the insects when injected into the body cavity; after the insects died Filatoff reisolated this pathogen together with another bacillus from the cadavers. He succeeded in culturing the new microorganism and found it to be pathogenic when injected into, but not when fed to, the cockroaches. The diseased insects became sluggish, failed to eat or drink, turned over on their backs, their extremities became totally paralyzed, and they finally died.
=Bacillus megaterium= De Bary
Habitat.--Soil, water, decomposing materials.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana? ("Blatella americana"), England (Shrewsbury and Barson, 1948): From intestinal tract.
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898): Organism recovered, apparently unchanged, from intestinal contents.
[cross] =Bacillus monachae= (von Tubeuf) Eckstein
Synonymy.--Bacterium monache.
Source.--Diseased larvae of nun moth, Lymantria monacha.
Experimental infection.--Blatta orientalis, Europe (Filatoff, 1904): Organism pathogenic to the cockroach when injected but not when fed.
[cross] =Bacillus periplanetae= Tichomiroff
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R.? (Tichomiroff, 1870[?], in Filatoff, 1904): The infected insects suffered from a diarrhea and the liquid feces were yellow-brown.
[cross] =Bacillus stellatus= Hollande
Natural infection.--Blatta orientalis, France (Hollande, 1934): Organism observed regularly in the intestine (especially rectum). Extensive description given.
[cross] =Bacillus radiciformis=
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao 1898): Organism recovered, apparently unchanged, from intestinal contents.
* =Bacillus subtilis= Cohn emend. Prazmowski
Natural vectors.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949).
Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906; Spinelli and Reitano, 1932); France (Sartory and Clerc, 1908); Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946).
Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A. (Hatcher, 1939).
Periplaneta americana? ("Blatella americana"), England (Shrewsbury and Barson, 1948).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Longfellow, 1913).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906).
"=Bacillus subtilis= group"
Natural infection.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Ronzoni, 1949): Isolated from oöthecae.
[cross] =Bacillus tritus= Batchelor
Habitat.--Isolated from feces (man?).
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): Isolated from intestinal tract.
* =Clostridium feseri= Trevisan
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
=Clostridium lentoputrescens= Hartsell and Rettger
Habitat.--Soil, intestinal tract of man.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): Isolated from intestinal tract.
* =Clostridium novyi= (Migula) Bergey et al. or
* =Clostridium sporogenes= (Metchnikoff) Bergey et al.
Natural and experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
* =Clostridium perfringens= (Veillon and Zuber) Holland
Natural vectors.--Cockroaches [presumably Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and/or Periplaneta americana], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945).
* =Clostridium tetani= (Flügge) Holland
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
* =Clostridium= spp.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana? ("Blatella americana"), England (Shrewsbury and Barson, 1948).
Order ACTINOMYCETALES
Family MYCOBACTERIACEAE
* =Mycobacterium avium= Chester
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Ekzempliarskaia in Pavlovskii, 1948).
=Mycobacterium friedmannii= Holland
Habitat.--Parasitic in turtles and possibly sparingly distributed in soils.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., Texas (Micks, in Roth and Willis, 1957a): Organism isolated from batches of intestinal tracts of cockroaches collected at random.
* =Mycobacterium lacticola= Lehmann and Neumann?
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Leibovitz, 1951).
* =Mycobacterium leprae= (Armauer-Hansen) Lehmann and Neumann
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica, Southern Rhodesia and Kenya (Moiser, 1945, 1946, 1946a; Anonymous, 1946).
Periplaneta americana and Periplaneta australasiae, Formosa (Arizumi, 1934, 1934a).
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926); Belgian Congo (Radna, 1939).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Europe (Paldrock in Klingmüller, 1930); Nyasaland (Lamborn, 1940).
Blattella germanica, Europe (Paldrock in Klingmüller, 1930); Southern Rhodesia and Kenya (Moiser, 1945, 1946, 1946a, 1947; Anonymous, 1946).
Nauphoeta cinerea, Nyasaland (Lamborn, 1940).
Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922); Formosa (Arizumi, 1934, 1934a).
Periplaneta australasiae, Formosa (Arizumi, 1934, 1934a).
Cockroaches, Belgian Congo (Radna, 1939); Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
* =Mycobacterium lepraemurium= Marchoux and Sorel
Experimental vectors.--Cockroaches, Belgian Congo (Radna, 1939).
* =Mycobacterium phlei= Lehmann and Neumann
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Leibovitz, 1951; Micks in Roth and Willis, 1957a).
* =Mycobacterium piscium= Bergey et al.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Leibovitz, 1951).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Ekzempliarskaia in Pavlovskii, 1948).
* =Mycobacterium tuberculosis= (Schroeter) Lehmann and Neumann
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898); Germany (Küster, 1903); U.S.S.R. (Ekzempliarskaia in Pavlovskii, 1948).
Blattella germanica, on shipboard (Morrell, 1911).
Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926); U.S.A. (Read, 1933).
* =Mycobacterium= spp.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Leibovitz, 1951; Micks in Roth and Willis, 1957a).
Family ACTINOMYCETACEAE
* =Nocardia= sp.?
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Leibovitz, 1951).
Family STREPTOMYCETACEAE
=Streptomyces leidynematis= Hoffman
Habitat.--Surface of the nematodes Hammerschmidtiella diesingi and Leidynema appendiculata in Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Hoffman, 1952, 1953): Eighteen percent of 192 nematodes found in 52 adult cockroaches were infected with the bacterium.
Order CARYOPHANALES
Family ARTHROMITACEAE
=Arthromitus intestinalis= (Valentin) Peshkoff
Synonymy.--Hygrocrocis intestinalis.
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, Europe (Valentin, 1836; Robin, 1847, 1853; Peshkoff, 1940): Isolated from intestinal tract. The organism appears as fragments in fecal masses or as fibers adhering to the mucous membrane of the large intestine (Robin, 1853).
Cockroach, France? (Chatton and Pérard, 1913).
Order SPIROCHAETALES
Family SPIROCHAETACEAE
[cross] =Spirochaeta blattae= Tejera
Habitat.--Blaberus atropos, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926): Isolated from intestinal tract.
* [cross] =Spirochaeta periplanetae= Laveran and Franchini
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, France (Laveran and Franchini, 1920a).
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926): Tejera reported finding "Spirochaeta blatarum Laveran et Franchini" which may have been a lapsus.
Family TREPONEMATACEAE
[cross] =Treponema parvum= Dobell
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, England (Dobell, 1912); U.S.S.R.? Zasukhin (1930): From intestinal tract.
[cross] =Treponema stylopygae= Dobell
Synonymy.--Spirochaeta stylopygae Zuelzer.
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, England (Dobell, 1912); U.S.S.R.? Zasukhin (1930): From intestinal tract.
=Unidentified spirochaetes=
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922): Spirochaetes and spirilla were found in the intestines of 70 percent of 124 specimens collected in Petrograd.
Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
ADDITIONAL BACTERIA WHOSE TAXONOMIC POSITION IS UNKNOWN
* "=B. aerobio del pseudoedema maligno=" of Cao
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1906).
=B. alcaligenes beckeri=
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Poland (Nicewicz et al., 1946): Isolated from intestinal tract.
* "=B. del pseudoedema maligno=" of Cao
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1906).
* "=Bacillo proteisimile=" of Cao
Natural and experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906).
* "=Bacillo del barbone dei bufali=" of Cao
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898).
* "=Bacillo similcarbonchio=" of Cao
Natural and experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906).
* "=Bacillo similtifo=" or "=Bacillo tifosimile=" of Cao
Natural and experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898, 1906).
"=Bacillus="
Natural infection.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Heinecke, 1956): Disease organism found in the hemolymph of infected cockroaches. It can be spread by mouth and through wound infection. The animals died with symptoms of paralysis in 85-90 days. The organism has been isolated and is in the culture collection of the Institute for Microbiology and Experimental Therapy, Jena, under the numbers SG 896, Strain A; SG 897, Strain B; SG 898, Strain C.
Experimental infection.--Blattella germanica, Germany (Heinecke, 1956): Infected animals died in 26-30 days.
Periplaneta americana was unaffected even by heavy inoculations of the pathogen.
"=Bacterium="
Source.--(I) Diseased silkworm larvae. (II) Diseased Ocneria dispar larvae and blood of Blatta orientalis.
Experimental infection.--(I)(II) Blatta orientalis, Europe (Filatoff, 1904): Organism pathogenic when injected, nonpathogenic when ingested.
(I) Cockroach, U.S.A. (Glaser, 1925): Organism pathogenic to cockroach when injected.
"=Coccobacillus="
Natural infection.--Blatta orientalis, France (Hollande, 1934): Organism described morphologically.
"=Colon bacilli="
Natural vectors.--Cockroaches [presumably Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and/or Periplaneta americana], Egypt (El-Kholy and Gohar, 1945): From the outer surface, intestinal tract, and suspensions of macerated insects.
"=Diplococci="
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Jettmar, 1935): From intestinal tract.
Blattella germanica, Germany (Jettmar, 1935): From outer surface of body.
"=Diphtheroid I and II="
Source.--Periplaneta americana.
Natural and experimental infections.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Gier, 1947): Pathogenicity to the cockroach variable when organism injected.
"=Gram positive rods="
Source.--Feces of Blattella germanica.
Experimental vector.--Blattella germanica, Germany (Vollbrechtshausen, 1953): Nonpathogenic to the insect when injected into the mouth or anus.
"=Silkworm disease bacillus="
Cockroaches that were inoculated with living cultures succumbed in a few days (Glaser, 1925).
[cross] =Spirillochaeta blattae= Hollande
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, France (Hollande, 1934; Hollande and Hollande, 1946): Organism found in hind intestine. This spirillum was stated to be related in external morphology to Spirillum periplaneticum Kunstler and Gineste, but it was believed that S. blattae should be in the Spirochaetaceae rather than the Spirillaceae.
"=Spirochaetoid bacteria="
Habitat.--Blatta orientalis, France (Hollande, 1934): Two kinds described but not named.
[cross] =Tetragenous= sp.
Natural and experimental infections.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Gier, 1947): Pathogenicity to the cockroach variable when organism injected.
VIII. FUNGI AND YEASTS
By far the greatest number of fungi known to be associated with cockroaches belong to the Laboulbeniaceae, genus Herpomyces, the species of which are restricted to parasitizing cockroaches (Thaxter, 1908). Most species are hyaline, small and inconspicuous (Thaxter, 1931) and are usually, but not exclusively, found on the insects' antennae. Species of Herpomyces are highly, but not completely, host specific (Richards and Smith, 1954). While attached to the host, these fungi appear like minute dark-colored, yellow, or white (e.g., H. arietinus) bristles or bushy hairs (pl. 27, A).
Richards and Smith (1955, 1955a) have studied the life history of Herpomyces stylopygae on the oriental cockroach. The plants grow only on living cockroaches, and the infection is disseminated by contact. The mature plants are found mostly on the antennae (pl. 27, B), either on setae or on hard or soft cuticle. Spores are ejected from perithecia singly or in groups of 2 to 4 spores, although groups as large as 12 spores have been found. The presence of single, paired, or multiple spore groups on the surface of the host was correlated with the presence of single, paired, or multiple plants on infected cockroaches. Development from spore to mature perithecia takes about two weeks. The plant obtains nutriment from the host by means of a tubular haustorium that extends through the cockroach's cuticle and expands into a large bulb in the underlying epidermal cells (fig. 1). Infections on nymphs are lost when the nymph moults, but infections on adults persist throughout life. However, nymphs which have lost the fungus upon moulting are readily reinfected. Collart's (1947) statement that nymphs are never infected with Herpomyces is not true.
Richards and Smith (1956) concluded that there is no evidence of pathogenicity in Herpomyces infections because heavily infected cockroaches appear fully active in laboratory colonies; they can run at the same speed as uninfected cockroaches; they reproduce normally and do not appear to die prematurely. These workers stated that the infections cause a dermatitis which is neither pathogenic nor debilitant. So far as we know there are no comparative data on longevity and reproductive performance of fungus-infected versus normal cockroaches. However, Gunn and Cosway (1938) have shown that the presence of these fungi (identified as Stigmatomyces sp.; see p. 138) on the antennae seemed to interfere with the humidity reactions of Blatta orientalis. Although Richards and Smith (1956) admit that humidity receptors and other sense organs on the antennae may be destroyed by the fungus, they state that "insects possess such a large number of sensilla that the result may well be more distressing to the sensory physiologist than to the insect." Yet it seems to us that the loss of sense organs from fungal infection and concomitant shortening of the antennae (pl. 27, A) might be considerably more of a handicap to free-living cockroaches than those in laboratory colonies.
Bode (1936) studied the flora of Periplaneta americana and cultured Aspergillaceae and Mucorinae from the insect's body surface and intestinal contents; he also found nonsporulating yeasts in P. americana. To prevent fungal growth on oöthecae of P. americana, Griffiths and Tauber (1942a) autoclaved their rearing containers and dipped the oöthecae in 70-percent alcohol for 10 seconds.
Mercier (1906) isolated and cultured a pathogenic yeastlike parasite which had invaded the fat body and blood of Blatta orientalis. The abdomens of the infected insects became swollen, distended, and soft. McShan (unpublished MS., 1953) consistently isolated Saccharomycetes from the feces of Periplaneta americana.
FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH COCKROACHES
The use of the asterisk (*) is explained in footnote 3, page 4.
Phylum THALLOPHYTA
Class FUNGI IMPERFECTI
Order MONILIALES
Family PSEUDOSACCHAROMYCETACEAE
=Candida zeylanoides= (Castellani) Langeron and Guerra
Natural host.--Oötheca of Blatta orientalis, Italy (Ronzoni, 1949).
=Torulopsis= sp.
Natural host.--Oötheca of Blatta orientalis, Italy (Ronzoni, 1949).
Family MONILIACEAE
=Spicaria prasina= (Maublanc) Sawada
Natural host.--Ischnoptera rufa rufa, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): A dead specimen of this cockroach was found stuck to a leaf and covered with this fungus.
=Aspergillus flavus= Link
Natural hosts.--Oöthecae of Blattella germanica and Eurycotis floridana, U.S.A., Pennsylvania (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1952): On outer surface. Determination by Miss Mary Downing.
Oöthecae of Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., Pennsylvania (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1952): Inside oöthecae. Determination by Miss Mary Downing.
* =Aspergillus fumigatus= Fresenius
Natural vector.--Blatta orientalis, France (Sartory and Clerc, 1908): From intestine.
* =Aspergillus niger= van Tieghem
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., Texas (McShan in Roth and Willis, 1957a): From feces.
Experimental vector.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898): Organism passed unchanged through the gut of the insects.
=Aspergillus sydowi= (Bainier and Sartory) Thom and Church
Natural host.--Oötheca of Eurycotis floridana, U.S.A., Pennsylvania (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1952): On outer surface. Determination by Miss Mary Downing.
=Aspergillus tamarii= Kita
Natural host.--Oöthecae of Blattella germanica, U.S.A., Pennsylvania (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1952): On exterior surface. Determination by Miss Mary Downing.
=Aspergillus= sp.?
Natural and experimental vector.--Blattella germanica, on shipboard (Morrell, 1911): Isolated from feces. Experimentally Morrell also showed that the spores of the fungus could be recovered from feces of cockroaches that had fed on them.
=Aspergillus= sp.
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, England (Bunting, 1956): The fungus was isolated mostly from imperfectly excreted feces.
=Beauveria bassiana= (Balsamo) Vuillemin
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Dresner, 1949, 1950): The nymphs of American cockroaches became infected when they (1) were injected with a 1-percent suspension of spores, (2) ate rat pellets sprayed with the spore suspension, or (3) were dusted with the fungus spores. The symptoms of the fungus infection were paralysis followed by death; some of the infected insects liquefied, others dried up after the appearance of a subcuticular blackening.
=Cephalosporium= sp.
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., Texas (McShan, unpublished MS., 1953): From feces of cockroaches collected in the basement of a grain elevator at the docks in Galveston.
* =Geotrichum candidum= Link
Experimental vector.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Cao, 1898): Organism retained its pathogenicity after passing through the insect's gut.
=Penicillium= sp.
Natural vector.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): From feces.
Periplaneta americana, England (Bunting, 1956): Mostly from imperfectly excreted feces.
=Metarrhizium anisopliae= (Metschnikoff) Sorokin
Natural hosts.--Blattidae, Seymour (1929); Charles (1941).
Panesthia australis, U.S.A., Massachusetts (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1957): Growing on adult specimens that were found dead in a laboratory colony. Determination by Miss Dorothy Fennell.
Periplaneta americana, England (Bunting, 1956): Growing on genitalia of females where it prevented oöthecal formation.
Cockroach, Puerto Rico (Johnston, 1915): From a "small roach" in the pathological collection at Rio Piedras (no data).
Family DEMATIACEAE
=Memnoniella echinata= (Rivolta) Galloway
Natural host.--Oötheca of Blattella germanica, U.S.A., Pennsylvania (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1952): On material that had oozed from a damaged oötheca. Determination by Miss Mary Downing.
=Torula acidophila= Owen and Mobley
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Owen and Mobley, 1948): The digestive tract of this cockroach is the normal habitat of this yeast which was transmitted to sirup by the insects. The yeast superimposed a foreign taste, suggestive of malic acid, upon the original flavor of the sirup.
=Torula gropengiesseri= Lodder
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Gropengiesser, 1925; Lodder, 1934): Isolated from fat body and oöthecae. Gier (1947) is of the opinion that the so-called yeasts that supposedly may displace the bacteroids in the fat body (Mercier, 1907b; Gropengiesser, 1925) may actually represent poorly fixed and insufficiently stained bacteroids.
=Torula rosea= Preuss
Experimental host.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): Upon repeated feeding of massive doses of this yeast to the cockroach, these workers were able to isolate the organism from the feces up to six days thereafter. There was no evidence that T. rosea was pathogenic for B. craniifer.
Class PHYCOMYCETES
Order MUCORALES
Family MUCORACEAE
=Mucor guilliermondii= Nadson and Filippov
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.S.R. (Nadson and Filippov, 1925; Filippov, 1926): Isolated and cultured from intestine.
=Mucor= sp.
Natural host.--Oötheca of Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., Pennsylvania (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1952): Inside oötheca. Determination by Miss Mary Downing.
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Germany (Bode, 1936): Isolated from fat body which it had stained red.
=Rhizopus nigricans= Ehrenberg
Natural vector.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): From feces.
=Rhizopus= sp.
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., Texas (McShan, unpublished MS., 1953): From feces.
=Syncephalastrum= sp.
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., Texas (McShan, unpublished MS., 1953): From feces.
Order ENTOMOPHTHORALES
Family BLASTOCYSTIDACEAE
=Blastocystis hominis= Brumpt
Natural vector.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Zasukhin, 1930): In hind gut in 40 percent of over 3,000 cockroaches.
=Blastocystis= sp.
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922): Found in the intestinal contents of 29 percent of 124 B. orientalis.
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
* * * * *
The placement of the following fungus is problematic.
=Coccidioides periplanetae= Avrech
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Avrech, 1931): Found in cells lining the lumen of midgut and caeca. The whole upper part of the epithelium was filled with sporangia and spores.
Class ASCOMYCETES
Order ENDOMYCETALES
Family SACCHAROMYCETACEAE
=Saccharomyces cerevisiae= Hansen
Natural vector.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Wedberg et al., 1949): In feces.
=Saccharomyces= sp.
Natural vector.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Janssen and Wedberg, 1952): Found consistently in alimentary tract of B. germanica fed sucrose solutions.
Order HYPOCREALES
Family HYPOCREACEAE
=Cordyceps amazonica= Hennings
Natural host.--Cockroaches, British Honduras (Mains, 1940).
=Cordyceps blattae= Petch
Natural host.--Blattella germanica, Ceylon (Petch, 1924): Collected at Hakgala twice. A slight covering of brown mycelium overran the insect and fastened it to the underside of a living leaf.
Order LABOULBENIALES
Family LABOULBENIACEAE
=Herpomyces amazonicus= Thaxter
Natural host.--Nyctibora obscura, Brazil, Natal (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae.
=Herpomyces anaplectae= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Anaplecta sp., Venezuela, Caracas (Thaxter, 1905, 1908); Trinidad (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae.
Cockroach, Sumatra (Thaxter, 1931).
=Herpomyces appendiculatus= Thaxter
Natural host.--Platyzosteria scabra, Australia, N.S.W. (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae.
=Herpomyces arietinus= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Ischnoptera sp., U.S.A., Georgia (Thaxter, 1908).
Parcoblatta uhleriana, U.S.A., Massachusetts (Roth, unpublished data, 1957): The nymphs were in a culture of Parcoblatta virginica which was infected with this fungus; it is possible that these P. uhleriana became infected by contact with P. virginica. Fungus identified by Dr. R. K. Benjamin.
Parcoblatta virginica, U.S.A., Massachusetts (Roth, unpublished data, 1957): Fungus determined by Dr. R. K. Benjamin. Fungus found on antennae, palpi, legs, body surface (pl. 27, A).
Parcoblatta sp., U.S.A., Kentucky, Massachusetts (Thaxter, 1902, 1908): On antennae.
It is likely that Thaxter's host records (certainly those assigned to Temnopteryx and possibly those assigned to Ischnoptera) were species of Parcoblatta. Hebard (1917) has shown that all the species referred to Ischnoptera in the United States, except I. deropeltiformis, now belong in the genus Parcoblatta. All species originally referred to the genus Temnopteryx in the United States are now synonymized with species of Parcoblatta.
=Herpomyces chaetophilus= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Thaxter, 1931).
Periplaneta sp., Zanzibar and Mauritius (Thaxter, 1902, 1908): On spines of legs, antennae, and cerci.
=Herpomyces chilensis= Thaxter
Natural host.--Cockroach, Chile (Thaxter, 1918): On antennae.
=Herpomyces diplopterae= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Diploptera punctata, Ascension Island (Thaxter, 1902, 1908): On antennae. This species also was infected experimentally (Richards and Smith, 1954).
Cockroach, Fiji (Thaxter, 1931).
=Herpomyces ectobiae= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A., Massachusetts (Thaxter, 1902, 1908); Burma, Tenasserim (Spegazzini, 1915); Argentina, Buenos Aires (Spegazzini, 1917): On antennae. U.S.A., Minnesota (Richards and Smith, 1955): Scattered over entire body, wings. France? (Picard, 1913): On tibial spines. Chile and Philippine Islands (Thaxter, 1931).
"Ectobia" spp., Zanzibar and Saint Kitts, B.W.I. (Thaxter, 1902, 1908): Possibly on species that are now in the genus Blattella rather than in the genus Ectobius as it is known today, because Thaxter also used the synonym Ectobia germanica for the German cockroach, Blattella germanica.
Experimental hosts.--Blattella germanica and Blattella vaga, U.S.A. (Richards and Smith, 1954).
=Herpomyces forficularis= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Cockroaches, Mauritius? and Fiji (Thaxter, 1902, 1908, 1931): On antennae.
=Herpomyces gracilis= Thaxter
Natural host.--Blattella humbertiana, Philippine Islands, Luzon (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae.
=Herpomyces grenadinus= Thaxter
Natural host.--Cockroach, Grenada, B.W.I. (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae of a "brown wingless blattid."
=Herpomyces leurolestis= Thaxter
Natural host.--Leurolestes pallidus, British Guiana and Trinidad (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae.
=Herpomyces lobopterae= Thaxter
Natural host.--Loboptera sp., Argentina (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae.
=Herpomyces macropus= Spegazzini
Natural host.--Blaberus sp.?, Argentina (Spegazzini, 1917).
Cockroaches, Peru, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, and Haiti (Spegazzini, 1915, 1917): Material previously assigned by Spegazzini (1915) to H. paranensis was also placed by him in this new species. However, Thaxter (1931) believed that H. macropus may be synonymous with H. paranensis, but he provisionally retained H. macropus because he had not seen Spegazzini's material.
=Herpomyces nyctoborae= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Nyctibora tomentosa, U.S.A., Texas (Thaxter, 1905, 1908): On antennae. This cockroach is not established in Texas, and the specimen may have been misidentified (Gurney, personal communication, 1958).
Nyctibora sp., Argentina (Spegazzini, 1917): On antennae.
=Herpomyces panchlorae= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Panchlora nivea, Trinidad (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae.
=Herpomyces panesthiae= Thaxter
Natural host.--Panesthia lobipennis, Ceylon (Thaxter, 1915): On antennae.
=Herpomyces paranensis= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Blaberus sp.? Brazil (Thaxter, 1902, 1908): On antennae.
Blaberus sp., Brazil and Argentina (Spegazzini, 1917): On antennae.
Cockroaches, Trinidad and Argentina (Thaxter, 1931).
=Herpomyces periplanetae= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Blaberus sp.?, Argentina (Spegazzini, 1917).
Blatta orientalis, U.S.A., Massachusetts (Thaxter, 1902, 1908); Locality? (Spegazzini, 1915); France? (Picard, 1913).
Periplaneta americana, Bermuda and U.S.A., Massachusetts (Thaxter, 1902, 1908); Plains of Biajar, Italian Somaliland, and Argentina (Spegazzini, 1915, 1917).
Periplaneta australasiae, Bermuda (Thaxter, 1902, 1908).
Periplaneta brunnea, Brazil (Thaxter, 1931).
Periplaneta sp., Mexico, West Indies, Panama, Brazil, Africa, South Seas, and China (Thaxter, 1902, 1908).
Cockroaches, Belgium (Collart, 1947).
Additional locality records: Grenada, Trinidad, B.W.I., and Tangier (Thaxter, 1931).
The fungus was found growing on spines, tegmina, integument, and antennae, at times abundantly.
Experimental hosts.--All the following data are from Richards and Smith (1954):
Blatta orientalis: A few plants matured.
Neostylopyga rhombifolia: Some development but no mature plants.
Periplaneta americana: Fungus developed prolifically with a density equal to that on original host.
Periplaneta australasiae: Some development but no mature plants.
Periplaneta brunnea: Fungus developed prolifically with a density equal to that on original host.
=Herpomyces phyllodromiae= Thaxter
Natural host.--"Phyllodromia" sp., Abyssinia (Thaxter, 1905, 1908): On antennae.
=Herpomyces platyzosteriae= Thaxter
Natural host.--"Eurycotis floridana," Mexico (Thaxter, 1905, 1908): On antennal setae.
Since this cockroach is not found in Mexico (J. A. G. Rehn, personal communication, 1957), E. floridana is undoubtedly not the host for this fungus. W. B. Brown (personal communication, 1957) searched the cockroach collection at the Museum of Comparative Zoology but was unable to find Thaxter's insect for reidentification.
=Herpomyces stylopygae= Spegazzini
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Argentina (Spegazzini, 1917); U.S.A. (Richards and Smith, 1955a).
Experimental hosts.--Neostylopyga rhombifolia (Richards and Smith, 1954): A few plants matured.
Pycnoscelus surinamensis (Richards and Smith, 1954): Some development but no mature plants.
The fungus (fig. 1) is found on antennae (pl. 27, B, C), palpi, cerci, and femurs. Thaxter (1931) believed H. stylopygae to be synonymous with H. periplanetae. However, Richards and Smith (1954) concluded that H. stylopygae would not grow on P. americana under their laboratory conditions although H. periplanetae would grow on B. orientalis. This indicated a strain or species difference between the two fungi. Gunn and Cosway (1938) reported a species of Stigmatomyces on the antennae of B. orientalis; this fungus was probably H. stylopygae (Richards and Smith, 1956).
=Herpomyces supellae= (Thaxter)
Natural host.--Supella supellectilium, Trinidad (Thaxter, 1931): On antennal spines.
=Herpomyces tricuspidatus= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A., Key West (Richards and Smith, 1955).
Blaberus sp. and Epilampra? sp., Panama (Thaxter, 1902, 1908).
Epilampra sp., Saint Kitts, B.W.I., and Haiti (Thaxter, 1902, 1908).
Leucophaea maderae, Fernando Po (Spegazzini, 1915).
Nauphoeta cinerea, Brazil (Thaxter, 1931).
Cockroaches, China? (Thaxter, 1902); Philippine Islands, Mindanao (Thaxter, 1931).
Experimental hosts.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Richards and Smith, 1955).
Infections on the antennae. Richards and Smith (1954) were unable to secure experimental infections in L. maderae with H. tricuspidatus. Experiments with N. cinerea showed some development but no mature plants although identification of the growing fungus was uncertain because of simultaneous exposure to H. ectobiae, H. stylopygae, and H. tricuspidatus.
=Herpomyces zanzibarinus= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Eurycotis manni, Brazil (Thaxter, 1931): On antennae.
Gyna sp.?, Isle of Nias (Spegazzini, 1915): On antennae.
Cockroach, Zanzibar (Thaxter, 1902): On antennae.
=INCERTAE SEDIS=
According to Dr. R. K. Benjamin (personal communication, 1957) and Dr. E. G. Simmons (personal communication, 1957), the phylogenetic position of the following genus is uncertain.
=Amphoromorpha blattina= Thaxter
Natural hosts.--Cockroaches, Grenada, B.W.I. (Thaxter, 1920): On the axis of the antennae of a dark wingless and a pale winged blattid.
=Amphoromorpha= sp.
Natural host.--Cockroach, Grenada, B.W.I. (Thaxter, 1920): On antennal setae.
IX. HIGHER PLANTS
The significance of many observed associations between cockroaches and the higher plants is still obscure. Undoubtedly many associations are ecological, but lack of adequate supporting evidence makes this conclusion somewhat tentative. The ecological aspects are covered in Section III (p. 14). Other associations may be accidental (e.g., certain unique observations that have never again been confirmed). In the absence of contrary evidence, most associations are presumed to be benign; exceptions to this conclusion are found among the cockroaches that feed on living plants (p. 162) and those allegedly captured as prey by the carnivorous pitcher plants (Sarracenia and Nepenthes). In all the records cited below the cockroaches were stated to have been on, in, or feeding on the plant.
The plants are listed below by family according to the taxonomic arrangement of Lawrence (1951). Botanical nomenclature follows Bailey (1925), Fernald (1950), or Dr. R. A. Howard (personal communications, 1958, 1959). We take full responsibility for referring to appropriate taxa certain plants that were reported by common name only in the cited literature.
Division PTERIDOPHYTA
Family CYATHEACEAE
=Alsophila= sp.
Associate.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Louisiana (Anonymous, 1893): Feeding on heart of tree fern.
Family POLYPODIACEAE
=Asplenium nidus= Linnaeus
Associate.--Comptolampra liturata, Malaya (Karny, 1924): Often found between dry foliage of the beakers of this fern.
Division EMBRYOPHYTA SIPHONOGAMA
Family PINACEAE
=Pinus australis= Michaux
Associates.--Aglaopteryx gemma and Parcoblatta lata, Alabama (Hebard, 1917): The former species was common under signs on longleaf pines, and P. lata was occasional.
Parcoblatta divisa, Georgia (Rehn and Hebard, 1916): Under signs.
=Pinus caribaea= Morelet
Associates.--Eurycotis floridana, Latiblattella rehni, and Parcoblatta fulvescens, Florida (Hebard, 1917): Many records under signs on the tree trunks.
=Pinus clausa= Vasey
Associate.--Latiblattella rehni, Florida (Hebard, 1917): Under sign on tree.
=Pinus echinata= Mill.
Associates.--Parcoblatta divisa, Virginia (Rehn and Hebard, 1916): Under signs on shortleaf pine.
Parcoblatta zebra, Mississippi (Hebard, 1917): Under sign.
=Pinus sylvestris= Linnaeus
Associate.--Ectobius pallidus, England (Milton, 1899; Burr, 1899b): On Scotch fir.
=Pinus= spp.
Associates.--Plectoptera lacerna and Plectoptera vermiculata, Cuba (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Latiblattella rehni, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1905): Under signs. Cuba (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Family TAXODIACEAE
=Cryptomeria= sp.
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Pemberton and Williams, 1938; Zimmerman, 1948).
Family CUPRESSACEAE
=Cupressus macrocarpa= Hartweg
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Hebard, 1922): "The species is common and injurious in the territory infesting particularly the Monterey cypress trees ... and doing particular damage by gnawing away the bark." Similar injury has been cited by Pemberton (1934), Fullaway and Krauss (1945), and Zimmerman (1948).
=Juniperus= sp.
Associate.--Phyllodromica tartara nigrescens, Southern Uzbekistan (Bei-Bienko, 1950): Under bark.
Family PANDANACEAE
=Freycinetia= sp.
Associate.--Graptoblatta notulata and Kuchinga remota, Tahiti (Hebard, 1933).
=Pandanus= sp.
Associate.--Hololeptoblatta sp., Seychelles (Scott, 1910, 1912).
Family GRAMINEAE
=Aristida pennata= Trin.
Associate.--Phyllodromica pygmaea, U.S.S.R. (Bei-Bienko, 1950): Found in the dense turf.
=Bamboo=
Associate.--Comptolampra liturata, Malaya (Karny, 1925).
=Chloris gayana= Kunth
Associate.--Blattella vaga, Texas (Riherd, 1953): This field cockroach was rather abundant in clumps of Rhodes grass.
=Panicum purpurascens= Raddi
Synonymy.--Panicum barbinode [Hitchcock, 1936].
Associate.--Epilampra abdomen-nigrum, Puerto Rico (Seín, 1923; Wolcott, 1936): Abundant in "malojillo" meadow.
=Saccharum officinarum= Linnaeus
Associates.--Balta quadricaudata, Balta scripta, Balta torresiana, Balta verticalis, Ellipsidion simulans, and Megamareta verticalis, Australia, Queensland (Hebard, 1943): All collected by J. F. Illingworth on sugarcane.
Blattella humbertiana, Ischnoptera schenklingi, and Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Formosa (Box, 1953).
Cariblatta stenophrys, Puerto Rico (Seín, 1923; Wolcott, 1936): Between the leaves and under the leaf sheaths.
Panchlora nivea, Cuba (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): On the leaves.
Pelmatosilpha coriacea, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936).
Phoraspis spp., Brazil and Guiana (Doumerc in Blanchard, 1837).
Plectoptera dorsalis, Plectoptora infulata, and Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): Under the leaf sheaths.
Symploce ruficollis, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): Often found living under the leaf sheaths.
Cockroaches, Philippine Islands (Uichanco in Williams et al., 1931): Between cane leaf sheaths.
=Setaria verticillata= (Linnaeus) Beauv.
Synonymy.--Chaetochloa verticillata (Linnaeus) [Howard, personal communication, 1958].
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Severin, 1911): The cockroach was caught on the barbed awns of this grass.
=Wild oats=
Associate.--Ischnoptera deropeltiformis, Missouri (Rau, 1937).
=Zea mays= Linnaeus
Associates.--Cariblatta stenophrys, Puerto Rico (Seín, 1923; Wolcott, 1936).
Ellipsidion bicolor, Australia, Queensland (Hebard, 1943).
Lophoblatta arawaka, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
Phoraspis sp., Brazil and Guiana (Doumerc in Blanchard, 1837).
Supella supellectilium, New Caledonia (Cohic, 1956).
Family CYPERACEAE
=Cyperus= sp.
Associate.--Maretina uahuka, Marquesas Islands, Uahuka (Hebard, 1933a).
Family PALMAE
=Acrocomia aculeata= (Jacq.) Lodd.
Associate.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955): On "gru-gru" fruits.
=Cocos nucifera= Linnaeus
Associates.--Aglaopteryx gemma, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1912).
Cariblatta lutea minima, Florida, and Cariblatta delicatula, San Domingo (Hebard, 1916a).
Eurycotis floridana, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1912; Hebard, 1917).
Periplaneta australasiae, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1912; Hebard, 1917). Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Phoenix dactylifera= Linnaeus
Associate.--Blattella germanica, California (Herms, 1926): On date palms.
=Pritchardia= sp.
Associate.--Periplaneta australasiae, Nihoa Island (Bryan, 1926). Hawaii (Zimmerman, 1948).
=Roystonea regia= O. F. Cook
Associate.--Cariblatta punctulata, San Domingo (Hebard, 1916a).
=Sabal palmetto= Lodd.
Associate.--Eurycotis floridana, Florida (Scudder, 1879).
Periplaneta australasiae, Florida (Hebard, 1917).
=Undetermined palms=
Associates.--Euthlastoblatta abortiva, Texas (Hebard, 1917).
Hormetica laevigata, Brazil (Hancock, 1926).
Panchlora antillarum, Dominican Republic (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Periplaneta americana, Texas (Zimmern in Gould and Deay, 1940).
Family ARACEAE
=Arum= sp.
Associate.--Latiblattella vitrea, Mexico (Hebard, 1921b): In flower shaft.
=Caladium= sp.
Associate.--Plectoptera dorsalis, Puerto Rico (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Family BROMELIACEAE
=Aechmaea porteoides= Britton
Associate.--Dryadoblatta scotti, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Ananas comosus= Merr.
Associates.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Illingworth, 1927, 1929): Feeding on roots of pineapple.
Blattella humbertiana, Formosa (Takahashi, 1940): Imago and grown nymphs occasionally lie concealed in the leaves.
=Catopsis fulgens= Griseb.
Associates.--Cockroaches, Costa Rica (Calvert and Calvert, 1917).
=Glomeropitcairnia erectiflora= Mez
Associate.--Dryadoblatta scotti, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Grevisia= sp.
Associate.--Notolampra antillarum, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955): One male only.
=Tillandsia fasciculata= Swartz
Associate.--Eurycotis floridana, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1914; Hebard, 1917).
=Tillandsia usneoides= Linnaeus
Associates.--Parcoblatta sp., Louisiana (Rainwater, 1941).
Latiblattella rehni, Florida (Blatchley, 1920): By beating.
Cockroaches, Louisiana (Rosenfeld, 1911, 1912): One mature and 39 immature blattids were collected from 8 of 12 samples of Spanish moss.
=Tillandsia uttriculata= Linnaeus
Associate.--Epilampra mona, Mona Island, West Indies (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): The type and one paratypic female of E. mona were collected in this bromeliad.
Eurycotis floridana, Florida (Blatchley, 1920).
=Tillandsia= sp.
Associates.--Aglaopteryx gemma, Texas (Hebard, 1917).
Dryadoblatta scotti, Trinidad (Scott, 1912): Found in the leaf bases.
=Undetermined bromeliads=
Associates.--Aglaopteryx diaphana, Jamaica (Hebard, 1917; Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Anaplecta azteca and Anaplecta sp., Costa Rica (Picado, 1913).
Anaplecta mexicana, Costa Rica (Calvert and Calvert, 1917).
Audreia bromeliadarum, Panama (Caudell, 1914).
Audreia jamaicana, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Blattella sp., Costa Rica (Picado, 1913).
Buboblatta armata, Panama (Caudell, 1914): "Probably not a typical bromeliadicolous species."
Cariblatta insularis, Jamaica (Hebard, 1916a, 1917; Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Cariblatta nebulicola, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927); One immature male.
Dryadoblatta scotti, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
Epilampra conspersa, Dominica (Scott, 1912).
Epilampra maya, Panama (Hebard, 1920).
Epilampra sodalis, Panama (Caudell, 1914).
Epilampra sp. and Hormetica laevigata, Brazil (Hancock, 1926).
Eurycotis biolleyi, Costa Rica (Picado, 1913).
Ischnoptera rufa occidentalis, Mexico (Caudell, 1914).
Latiblattella chichimeca, Costa Rica (Picado, 1913).
Litopeltis biolleyi, Costa Rica (Rehn, 1928).
Litopeltis bispinosa, Panama (Caudell, 1914).
Neoblattella brunneriana, Costa Rica (Calvert and Calvert, 1917).
Neoblattella dryas, Neoblattella eurydice, Neoblattella grossbecki, and Neoblattella proserpina, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Neoblattella fratercula, Mexico (Hebard, 1921b).
Neoblattella nahua, Mexico (Caudell, 1914).
Nesomylacris relica, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Nyctibora brunnea(?), Panama (Caudell, 1914): According to Hebard (1920) Caudell's specimen was almost certainly incorrectly identified. It may have been Nyctibora noctivaga or a smaller species of the genus. Brazil (Hancock, 1926).
Nyctibora laevigata, Jamaica (Hebard, 1917; Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Nyctibora lutzi, Puerto Rico (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): "in epiphytes with pencil-like leaves."
Pelmatosilpha rotundata, Panama (Caudell, 1914).
Pseudomops laticornis, Costa Rica (Picado, 1913).
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Costa Rica (Picado, 1913). Mexico (Caudell, 1914). Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
"Rhicnoda" sp., Costa Rica (Picado, 1913). This genus is now recognized as not being in the New World fauna. Probably the specimen was a species of Epilampra or Hyporhicnoda as suggested by Gurney (personal communication, 1959) and confirmed by Rehn (p.c., 1959).
Cockroaches, Costa Rica (Calvert, 1910): Cockroaches were said to be common in bromeliads on the moist Atlantic slope.
Family LILIACEAE
=Yucca elata= Engelman
Associate.--Latiblattella lucifrons, Arizona (Ball et al., 1942).
=Easter lilies=
Associate.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Connecticut (Zappe, 1918).
Family MUSACEAE
=Bananas=
Cockroaches have been captured in bunches of bananas, in bracts of banana flowers, under banana leaves, and burrowing in rotten banana stalks. Although many of the species associated with bananas are indigenous to the banana-growing areas of the American Tropics, most of the specimens cited below were captured elsewhere as adventitious insects that had been imported with the fruit. It is obvious that many of these insects must have been closely associated with bananas on the plantations, where, undoubtedly, the growing plants provided attractive ecological niches. Bunting (1956) deduced, from the presence of healthy cockroaches on bananas allegedly sprayed with copper arsenate, that the insects did not feed on stems or fruit but hid among the bananas and foraged elsewhere; however, certain reports are of cockroaches actually feeding on bananas. Some of the records cited by Hebard (1917) were compiled from earlier reports not all of which we have seen. Numbers in parentheses following certain citations indicate the number of times the association had been observed. Known or suspected adventive material is so indicated.
Aglaopteryx diaphana, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): Found in bracts of banana blossoms. England (Bunting, 1955): Adventive, on bananas from Dominica.
Aglaopteryx vegeta, Finland (Princis, 1947): Adventive, in banana box.
Amazonina emarginata, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955): In banana bunch.
Archimandrita marmorata, Denmark (Henriksen, 1939): Adventive (2), in bananas from Jamaica(?). As Princis (1947) and Gurney (personal communication, 1959) point out, this is a Central American species, so Jamaica may be an error.
Archimandrita tessellate, Sweden (Princis, 1947): Adventive, from Honduras.
Blaberus atropos(?), Denmark (Henriksen, 1939): Adventive, from Jamaica. Princis (1947) pointed out that this species was more likely to have been Blaberus craniifer or Blaberus discoidalis, which are West Indian species, than B. atropos which is a South American species.
Blaberus boliviensis, Ecuador (Princis, 1952): In a shipment of bananas from near Puna.
Blaberus discoidalis, Puerto Rico (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): From banana ripening room. Great Britain (Pearce, 1929): Adventive. England (Bunting, 1955, 1956): Adventive, from Dominica.
Capucinella delicatula, California (Caudell, 1931): Adventive.
Cariblatta delicatula, Cuba (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Cariblatta hylaea, Honduras (Rehn, 1945a): Shaken from hanging dead banana leaves.
Cariblatta insularis, Finland (Frey, 1948): Adventive.
Cariblatta landalei, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): All specimens taken from under drying bracts of banana blossoms.
Cariblatta punctipennis and Chorisoneura barbadensis, England (Bunting, 1956): Adventive, from Dominica.
Epilampra abdomen-nigrum and Epilampra sp., England (Bunting, 1955): Adventive, from Dominica.
Epilampra maya, Massachusetts (Hebard, 1917): Adventive.
Epilampra mexicana(?), Denmark (Henriksen, 1939): Adventive (2), from Danish West Indies. Princis (1947) suggested that this should be Epilampra sp., because E. mexicana is not a West Indian species.
Eudromiella calcarata and Eurycotis bananae, U.S.S.R., Leningrad (Bei-Bienko, 1947): Adventive, from Colombia.
Euphyllodromia angustata, Sweden (Princis, 1947): Adventive.
Eurycotis caraibea, New York (Hebard, 1917): Adventive.
Eurycotis dimidiata, Washington, D. C. (Caudell, 1931): Adventive.
Eurycotis lixa, New York (Rehn, 1930): Adventive, on banana ship from Jamaica.
Graptoblatta notulata, Marquesas Islands, Uahuka (Hebard, 1933a): In banana leaves.
Holocompsa nitidula, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955): Eating banana pulp.
Hormetica laevigata, Wales (Sandemann, 1934): Adventive, in pile of banana sacks.
Hormetica ventralis, Sweden (Princis, 1947): Adventive, in local warehouse of banana company.
Hormetica spp., Europe and North America (Bei-Bienko, 1950): Adventive, introduced with bananas and other tropical fruits.
Ischnoptera rufa rufa, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): Brought into houses on bunches of bananas.
Kuchinga remota, Society Islands, Moorea (Hebard, 1933a): In dead banana leaves.
Lamproblatta albipalpus, Panama Canal Zone (Hebard, 1920): Several under decayed banana stem.
Latiblattella sp., Finland (Frey, 1948): Adventive.
Leucophaea maderae, New York (Hebard, 1917): Adventive. Dominica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): Under banana sheaths. England (Palmer, 1928): Adventive, captured at railroad station after bananas had been unloaded. England (Bunting, 1955): Adventive, from Dominica. Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955): Nymph, eating bananas in cupboard. Puerto Rico (Seín, 1923): Seín stated that bananas are the favorite food of L. maderae.
Litopeltis bispinosa, Panama Canal Zone (Hebard, 1920): From rotting banana stalks at bases of leaves.
Litopeltis musarum, Costa Rica (Rehn, 1928): Shaken from dead banana leaves.
Nauclidas nigra, England (Bunting, 1955, 1956): Adventive, from Dominica.
Nauphoeta flexivitta, Denmark (Vestergaard, 1958): Adventive.
Neoblattella carcinus, Neoblattella celeripes, and Neoblattella laodamia, England (Bunting, 1956): Adventive, from Dominica. Bunting (1955) first reported these as Neoblattella spp. and stated that they were common.
Neoblattella detersa, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): From under the bracts of banana blossoms. Sweden (Princis, 1947): Adventive.
Neoblattella detersa and Neoblattella tridens, Finland (Frey, 1948): Adventive.
Neoblattella fratercula, Nebraska (Hebard, 1916b): Adventive.
Neoblattella semota, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): From under drying bracts of banana blossoms.
Neoblattella vatia, Cuba (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Neoblattella sp., Finland (Princis, 1947): Adventive, from Jamaica.
Nyctibora azteca, England (Bunting, 1955): Adventive, from Dominica. Bunting reported this species as Nocticola azteca. Dr. A. B. Gurney called our attention to the fact that Nocticola is an Old World genus, presumably combined in error with the New World species azteca. The true identity of the specimen was confirmed by Dr. D. Ragge (personal communication, 1958), who examined it at the British Museum (Natural History).
Nyctibora holoserica, Canada (Walker, 1912): Adventive.
Nyctibora laevigata, Canada, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania (2) (Hebard, 1917): Adventive. Taken from banana boat Annetta at Philadelphia (Rehn and Hebard, 1927). England (Bunting, 1956): Adventive, from Dominica. Sweden, Denmark (Princis, 1947): Adventive.
Nyctibora mexicana(?), Denmark (Henriksen, 1939): Adventive (5), from Jamaica and West Indies. Princis (1947) suggested that these specimens were probably the West Indian Nyctibora noctivaga, because N. mexicana is not a West Indian insect.
Nyctibora noctivaga, Canada, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nebraska (4), Virginia (Hebard, 1917): Adventive. Nebraska (Hauke, 1949): Adventive (2). Panama Canal Zone (Hebard, 1920): From banana stalks. England (Blair in Turner, 1930): Adventive, from Costa Rica. Washington (Hatch, 1938): Adventive. Sweden (Princis, 1947): Adventive (2). Finland (Princis, 1947): Adventive, from Jamaica.
Nyctibora obscura, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955): In banana bunch.
Nyctibora sericea, Canada (Stevenson, 1905; Walker, 1912): Adventive; Hebard (1917) synonymized Walker's specimen under N. laevigata. Isle of Wight (Meade-Waldo, 1910): Adventive, from Jamaica. England (Tulloch, 1939): Adventive, in banana crates from Brazil.
Nyctibora sp., England (Welch, 1935): Adventive, in railway truck that had carried bananas. England (Tulloch, 1939): Adventive, from Brazil.
Oxyhaloa deusta, U.S.S.R., Leningrad (Bei-Bienko, 1947): Adventive, from Colombia.
Panchlora antillarum, England (Bunting, 1955): Adventive, from Dominica.
Panchlora exoleta, Scotland (Distant, 1902): Adventive. Great Britain (Shaw, 1902): Adventive. England (Coney, 1918): Adventive. Sweden, Norway (Princis, 1947): Adventive, Norwegian specimen from Brazil. Germany (Zacher, 1917): Adventive, from Jamaica.
Panchlora nivea, Colorado, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York (2), Utah (Hebard, 1917): Adventive. Nebraska (Hauke, 1949): Adventive. Washington (Hatch, 1938): Adventive. Massachusetts (Roth and Willis, 1958): Adventive. England (Bunting, 1955): Adventive, from Dominica. U.S.S.R. (Bei-Bienko, 1947): Adventive, from Colombia. Sweden (13), Norway (3), Finland (3) (Princis, 1947): Adventive, mostly females; origin (where known) Jamaica.
Panchlora fraterna(?) and Panchlora peruana(?), Denmark (Henriksen, 1939): Adventive; origin (where known) Danish West Indies and Jamaica; Princis (1947) suggested that both species were probably Panchlora nivea.
Panchlora sagax, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936).
Panchlora virescens, Canada (Walker, 1912): Adventive; this was probably P. nivea as we now know it (Gurney, personal communication, 1959).
Panchlora sp., Canada (Walker, 1912): Adventive. England (Tulloch, 1939): Adventive, from Brazil.
Pelmatosilpha coriacea, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936).
Pelmatosilpha marginalis and Pelmatosilpha purpurascens, England (Bunting, 1955, 1956): Adventive, from Dominica; both species common.
Pelmatosilpha vagabunda, New Zealand (Princis, 1954): Adventive, probably from South America.
Periplaneta americana, Belgium (Schepdael, 1931): Adventive, on bananas from the American Tropics.
Periplaneta americana and Periplaneta brunnea, England (Bunting, 1955, 1956): Adventive, from Dominica.
Periplaneta americana and Periplaneta australasiae, England (Watson, 1907): Adventive; they ate ripening bananas in the tropical plant house of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where they hid in "the sheathing bases of palm, banana and pandanus leaves." Sweden (Princis, 1947): Adventive.
Periplaneta australasiae, Canada (Walker, 1912): Adventive. Denmark (Henriksen, 1939): Adventive (9); origin mostly Jamaica. England (Tulloch, 1939): Adventive, from Brazil. England (Bunting, 1955, 1956): Adventive, from Dominica; common.
Platyzosteria bifida, Nebraska (Hebard, 1917): Adventive.
Plectoptera dorsalis, Puerto Rico (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): Captured by beating banana plants.
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Canada (Walker, 1912; Hebard, 1917): Adventive: Marquesas Islands, Nukuhiva (Hebard, 1933a): In banana leaves. England (Goodliffe, 1958): Adventive, doing considerable damage to banana plants growing in a conservatory.
Sibylloblatta panesthoides, Massachusetts (Rehn, 1937a): Adventive, from Jamaica.
Family ZINGIBERACEAE
=Renealmia= sp.
Associate.--Cariblatta orestera, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): The male was taken in a head of wild ginger.
Family CANNACEAE
=Canna= sp.
Associate.--Periplaneta americana, Hawaii (Zimmerman, 1948).
Family ORCHIDACEAE
=Cattleya= sp.
Associates.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Rau, 1940a).
Periplaneta australasiae, England (Lucas, 1918).
=Vanda= sp.
Associates.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Rau, 1940a).
Periplaneta australasiae, England (Lucas, 1918).
=Undetermined orchids=
Associates.--Blaberus discoidalis, Blatta orientalis, Periplaneta americana, Hawaii (Swezey, 1945).
Blatta orientalis, americana, cinerea, maderae, unidentified cockroaches, England, in bulb from Ecuador (Westwood, 1876).
Graptoblatta notulata, Hawaii (Swezey, 1945): On orchid from India.
Homalopteryx laminata and Hormetica apolinari, New York (Hebard, 1912c): In orchids shipped from Colombia.
Pelmatosilpha coriacea, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936).
Periplaneta americana, Germany (Tashenberg, 1884).
Periplaneta australasiae, England (Wainwright, 1898). Pennsylvania (Skinner, 1905). Massachusetts (Morse, 1920).
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, England (Westwood, 1869). Germany (Zacher, 1920). Massachusetts (Morse, 1920). Hawaii (Swezey, 1945).
Family CASUARINACEAE
=Casuarina= sp.
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Zimmerman, 1948).
Family SALICACEAE
=Populus euphratica= Oliv.
Synonymy.--Populus diversifolia Schrenk. [Howard, personal communication, 1959].
Associate.--Ectobius semenovi, Kazakhstan (Bei-Bienko, 1950).
=Populus= sp.
Associate.--Ectobius lapponicus, U.S.S.R. (Stark in Bei-Bienko, 1950): On aspen.
=Salix= sp.
Associate.--Ectobius semenovi, Kazakhstan (Bei-Bienko, 1950): On willow.
Family MYRICACEAE
=Myrica cerifera= Linnaeus
Associate.--Chorisoneura texensis, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1916): On bayberry. Florida (Blatchley, 1920): Beaten from foliage.
Family FAGACEAE
=Quercus alba= Linnaeus
Associate.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica, Virginia (Rehn and Hebard, 1916): Under signs on white oaks.
=Quercus rubra= Linnaeus
Associates.--Parcoblatta divisa, Virginia, and Parcoblatta pensylvanica, North Carolina (Rehn and Hebard, 1916): Under signs on red oak.
Parcoblatta lata, North Carolina (Hebard, 1917): Under sign.
=Quercus virginiana= Mill.
Associate.--Eurycotis floridana, Georgia (Rehn and Hebard, 1916): Under dead bark on live-oak tree. Georgia (Hebard, 1917): In cavity in tree.
=Quercus= spp.
Associates.--Aglaopteryx gemma, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas (Hebard, 1917): Under signs on oaks.
Blatta orientalis, England (Donisthorpe, 1918): Under bark.
Cariblatta lutea lutea, Mississippi (Hebard, 1916a): By beating low oaks on hills.
Chorisoneura texensis, Mississippi (Hebard, 1917). Florida (Blatchley, 1920): By beating.
Ectobius pallidus, England (Milton, 1899; Burr, 1899b). Massachusetts (Flint, 1951): Under loose lichens and bark.
Parcoblatta divisa, Georgia, Louisiana, and Parcoblatta pensylvanica, Georgia (Hebard, 1917): Under signs.
Periplaneta australasiae, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1905): Ten specimens taken from under a tin sign.
Periplaneta brunnea, Georgia (Rehn and Hebard, 1916): Under signs.
Phyllodromica megerlei, U.S.S.R. (Bei-Bienko, 1950): By shaking oak branches.
Plectoptera lacerna, Cuba (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Family MORACEAE
=Cecropia= sp.
Associate.--Cariblatta hylaea, Honduras (Rehn, 1945a).
Family CHENOPODIACEAE
=Beta maritima= Linnaeus
Associate.--Ectobius panzeri, England (Lucas, 1920a).
=Beta vulgaris= var. =cicla= Linnaeus
Associate.--Ectobius pallidus, Massachusetts (Flint, 1951): Many specimens collected in the bases of Swiss chard plants.
Family LAURACEAE
=Nectandra coriacea= (Sw.) Griseb.
Synonymy.--Ocotea catesbyana Sarg. [Howard, personal communication, 1959].
Associate.--Chorisoneura texensis, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1912).
Family SARRACENIACEAE
Only a few records have been found of cockroaches being trapped in the pitchers of carnivorous plants of this and the following family. The insects drown in the fluid within the pitcher where they are apparently digested by proteinases secreted by the plant (Meyer and Anderson, 1939; Lloyd, 1942).
=Sarracenia flava= Linnaeus
Natural prey--Cariblatta lutea lutea, Ischnoptera deropeltiformis, Parcoblatta lata, and nymphs of Parcoblatta sp., North Carolina (Wray and Brimley, 1943): Most of the cockroaches seemed to have been trapped accidentally with the possible exception of C. lutea lutea, 11 of which were found in Sarracenia pitchers.
=Sarracenia purpurea= Linnaeus
Natural prey.--Cariblatta lutea lutea, North Carolina (Wray and Brimley, 1943).
=Sarracenia minor= Walter
Synonymy.--Sarracenia variolaris Michx. [Howard, personal communication, 1958].
Natural and experimental prey.--Periplaneta australasiae, Florida (Treat, 1876): After the insect imbibed some of the fluid in the pitcher it became docile; others became highly active and rushed wildly about before becoming quiescent. See also Treat in Scudder (1877).
Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Riley, 1875).
Family NEPENTHACEAE
=Nepenthes ampularia= Jack
Natural prey.--Cockroaches, Singapore (Dover, 1928).
=Nepenthes gracilis= Korth.
Natural prey.--Cockroaches, Singapore (Dover, 1928).
=Nepenthes= sp.
Natural prey.--Cockroach, Old World Tropics? (Hooker, 1874): The insect was apparently attracted into the pitcher, where it drowned, by a piece of cartilage placed there by Hooker.
Family CUNONIACEAE
=Weinmannia= sp.
Associates.--Aneurina viridis, Marquesas Islands, Nukuhiva and Fatuhiva (Hebard, 1933a).
Maretina uahuka, Marquesas Islands, Uahuka (Hebard, 1933a).
Family HAMAMELIDACEAE
=Liquidambar styraciflua= Linnaeus
Associate.--Parcoblatta divisa, Georgia (Rehn and Hebard, 1916): Under sign on sweet gum.
Parcoblatta zebra, Louisiana (Hebard, 1917): In decay cavity.
Family ROSACEAE
=Crataegus= sp.?
=Associates.=--Plectoptera dorsalis, Plectoptera infulata, Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): In the dry flower clusters of "espino rubial."
=Rosa= sp.
Associate.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Connecticut (Zappe, 1918); Rhode Island and Pennsylvania (Caudell, 1925); Pennsylvania (Doucette and Smith, 1926): Feeding on canes in greenhouses.
=Rubus= spp.?
Associate.--Hololampra chavesi, Azores (Chopard, 1932): This species is exclusively dendricolous and was found only by beating the bushes on which it abounds. It was very common in hedges, particularly on brambles (ronces).
Family LEGUMINOSAE
=Acacia farnesiana= Willd.
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Bridwell and Swezey, 1915; Zimmerman, 1948): Feeding on pods.
=Acacia= sp.
Associates.--Ellipsidion australe, Australia, New South Wales (Hebard, 1943).
Methana curvigera, Australia, Queensland (Pope, 1953a).
=Ceratonia siliqua= Linnaeus
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Pemberton and Williams, 1938): Damaging algarroba.
=Erythrina glauca= Willd.
Associates.--Aglaopteryx absimilis, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): In abandoned cocoon.
Aglaopteryx facies, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936): In empty cocoons.
=Inga laurina= Willd.
Associate.--Aglaopteryx facies, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936): On trunk.
=Inga vera= Willd.
Associates.--Aglaopteryx facies, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936): In larval tents.
Cariblatta stenophrys, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936): On leaves.
Plectoptera dorsalis, Plectoptera infulata, and Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): In "butterfly nests" in leaves.
=Mesquite=
Associate.--Nyctibora stygia, Haiti (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Samanea saman= Merr.
Associate.--Aglaopteryx absimilis, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950).
=Tamarindus indica= Linnaeus
Associate.--Hemiblabera brunneri, Puerto Rico (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Family GERANIACEAE
=Geraniums=
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Zimmerman, 1948).
Family ZYGOPHYLLACEAE
=Tribulus= sp.
Associates.--Periplaneta americana and Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Johnston Island (Bryan, 1926). Zimmerman (1948) lists Tribulus as a host plant for these cockroaches.
Family RUTACEAE
=Citrus aurantifolia= Swingle
Associates.--Plectoptera dominicae and Plectoptera perscita, Dominica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927): Beaten from moss-covered lime trees.
=Citrus maxima= Merr.
Associates.--Plectoptera dorsalis, Plectoptera infulata, Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950).
Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Citrus sinensis= Osbeck
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Bridwell and Swezey, 1915; Zimmerman, 1948): Feeding on oranges on tree.
=Citrus= sp.
Associates.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Zimmerman, 1948).
Riatia [=Lissoblatta] fulgida, Panama, Rio Trinidad (Hebard, 1920).
Plectoptera porcellana, Puerto Rico (Sein, 1923).
=Zanthoxylum caribaeum= Lam.
Associates.--Plectoptera dorsalis, Plectoptera infulata, Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): In the dry flower clusters.
Family BURSERACEAE
=Bursera simaruba= (L.) Sarg.
Associate.--Chorisoneura texensis, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1912; Hebard, 1917): Beaten from the lower branches of gumbo limbo.
Family EUPHORBIACEAE
=Poinsettia= sp.
Associate.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Connecticut (Zappe, 1918): Ate bark of greenhouse plants.
Family ANACARDIACEAE
=Mangifera indica= Linnaeus
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Bridwell and Swezey, 1915; Zimmerman, 1948): Feeding on mangoes on the tree.
=Spondias mombin= Linnaeus
Associates.--Plectoptera dorsalis, Plectoptera infulata, Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950): Living on leaves of "jobo."
=Spondias purpurea= Linnaeus
Associate.--Eurycotis biolleyi, Costa Rica (Rehn, 1918): In the crown of dry jocoto.
Family AQUIFOLIACEAE
=Ilex cassine= Linnaeus
Associate.--Plectoptera poeyi, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1912, 1914; Hebard, 1917).
=Ilex coriacea= (Pursh) Chapm.
Synonymy.--Ilex lucida [Fernald, 1950].
Associate.--Cariblatta lutea lutea, Florida (Hebard, 1916a).
Family SAPINDACEAE
=Exothea paniculata= (Juss.) Radlk.
Associate.--Aglaopteryx gemma, Florida (Hebard, 1917).
Family MALVACEAE
=Gossypium= spp.
Associates.--Graptoblatta notulata, Marquesas Islands, Tahuata (Hebard, 1933a).
Periplaneta australasiae, St. Kitts, B.W.I. (Ballou, 1916).
Periplaneta fuliginosa and Plectoptera poeyi, Florida (Rainwater, 1941).
Plectoptera dorsalis, Plectoptera infulata, Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1950).
=Hibiscus rosa-sinensis= Linnaeus
Associate.--Riatia orientis, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Hibiscus= sp.
Associates.--Amazonina emarginata, Cariblatta antiguensis, Eurycotis kevani, and Rhytidometopum dissimile, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Sida= sp.
Associate.--Periplaneta australasiae, Nihoa Island (Bryan, 1926). Hawaii (Zimmerman, 1948).
Family STERCULIACEAE
=Theobroma cacao= Linnaeus
Associate.--Ceratinoptera picta, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
Family BIXACEAE
=Bixa= sp.
Associate.--Notolampra antillarum, Trinidad (Princis and Kevan, 1955): Nymphs in dry fruits on "annato" tree.
Family FLACOURTIACEAE
=Xylosma suaveolens= Forst.
Associate.--Graptoblatta notulata, Marquesas Islands, Uahuka (Hebard, 1933a).
Family PASSIFLORACEAE
=Passiflora= sp.
Associate.--Aristiger [=Plumiger] histrio, Malaya (Karny, 1924).
Family CARICACEAE
=Carica papaya= Linnaeus
Associate.--Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Bridwell and Swezey, 1915; Zimmerman, 1948): Feeding on papaya fruit on tree.
Family RHIZOPHORACEAE
=Rhizophora mangle= Linnaeus
Associate.--Aglaopteryx gemma, Florida (Hebard, 1917).
Family COMBRETACEAE
=Conocarpus erectus= Linnaeus
Associate.--Plectoptera poeyi, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1914): Running on leaves.
Family MYRTACEAE
=Eucalyptus= sp.
Associate.--Ellipsidion australe, Australia, New South Wales (Hebard, 1943).
=Eugenia aromatica= Baill.
Synonymy.--Syzygium aromaticum [Bailey, 1925].
Associate.--Plectoptera dorsalis, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1936): On flowers of "pomarrosa."
=Metrosideros collina= Gray
Associates.--Aneurina viridis, Marquesas Islands: Nukuhiva, Fatuhiva, and Tahuata (Hebard, 1933a)
Aneurina tahuata, Marquesas Islands, Tahuata (Hebard, 1933a).
Graptoblatta notulata, Marquesas Islands, Nukuhiva (Hebard, 1933a).
=Psidium guajava= Linnaeus
Associate.--Plectoptera rhabdota, Puerto Rico (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Family ONAGRACEAE
=Jussiaea natans= Humb. and Bonpl.
Associate.--Epilampra abdomen-nigrum, Panama (Crowell, 1946): In an aquarium the cockroach fed on leaves of this aquatic plant which had been collected in the lagoon where the insect was captured.
Family ERICACEAE
=Calluna vulgaris= Salisb.
Associates.--Ectobius lapponicus, England (Lucas, 1925): "Nymphs of varying size were beaten out of heather ... on 9 February and later."
Ectobius panzeri, England (Lucas, 1927): "numerous imagines of both sexes were swept from heather."
=Vaccinium meridionale= Sw.
Associates.--Chorisoneura formosella, Neoblattella dryas, Neoblattella proserpina, Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Family SAPOTACEAE
=Sideroxylon foetidissimum= Jacq.
Associate.--Pelmatosilpha coriacea, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1941): Under bark.
Family APOCYNACEAE
=Vinca minor= Linnaeus
Associate.--Ectobius pallidus, Massachusetts (Willis, unpublished observation, 1958).
Family CONVOLVULACEAE
=Ipomoea tiliasea= Choisy
Associate.--Plectoptera dorsalis, Puerto Rico (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
Family BORAGINACEAE
=Cordia dentata= Poiret
Synonymy.--Calyptracordia alba [Howard, personal communication, 1958].
Associates.--Cariblatta antiguensis, Ischnoptera rufa rufa, Supella supellectilium, Symploce ruficollis and Symploce hospes, St. Croix, Virgin Islands (Beatty, 1944): On fruits of C. dentata except S. supellectilium which was found at night on the flowers.
Family VERBENACEAE
=Citharexylum villosum= Jacq.
Associate.--Chorisoneura texensis, Florida (Rehn and Hebard, 1912).
Family SOLANACEAE
=Nicotiana= sp.
Associate.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Sumatra (Roeser, 1940).
=Solanum tuberosum= Linnaeus
Associate.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Haiti (Hoffman, 1927): Feeding on tubers in field.
Family GESNERIACEAE
=Cyrtandra= sp.
Associate.--Aneurina viridis, Marquesas Islands, Nukuhiva (Hebard, 1933a).
Family RUBIACEAE
=Canthium barbatum= (Forst.) Seem.
Associate.--Graptoblatta notulata, Marquesas Islands, Uahuka (Hebard, 1933a).
=Cinchona pubescens= Vahl.
Associate.--Periplaneta americana, Puerto Rico (Plank and Winters, 1949): In greenhouse.
=Coffea= sp.
Associate.--Plectoptera porcellana, Puerto Rico (Seín, 1923).
Family COMPOSITAE
=Goldenrod=
Associate.--Eurycotis floridana, Florida (Hebard, 1917): "Climbing about on top of goldenrod at night."
=Helianthus= sp.
Associate.--Pseudomops septentrionalis, Texas (Hebard, 1917).
=Scorzonera acanthoclada= Franch.
Associate.--Phyllodromica tartara nigrescens, Southern Uzbekistan (Bei-Bienko, 1950): On the flowers.
DAMAGE TO PLANTS BY COCKROACHES
Cockroaches characteristically feed on dead plant and animal material. Damage to living plants occurs principally in the Tropics or under subtropical conditions in greenhouses in temperate regions. Among the depredations attributed to cockroaches in text books, damage to plants is seldom emphasized. This is surprising in view of the many records cited below.
Capt. William Bligh (1792), while collecting breadfruit trees in Tahiti to take to the West Indies, wrote in his log during January 1789: "This morning, I ordered all the chests to be taken on shore, and the inside of the ship to be washed with boiling water, to kill the cockroaches. We were constantly obliged to be at great pains to keep the ship clear of vermin, on account of the plants."
Westwood (1869) stated that Pycnoscelus surinamensis was very destructive in orchid houses feeding on buds and young shoots. Later Westwood (1876) exhibited the bulb of an orchid from Ecuador which contained six species of cockroaches: Blatta orientalis, [Periplaneta?] americana, [Nauphoeta?] cinerea, [Leucophaea?] maderae, and two others unknown to him. Fullaway (1938) stated that cockroaches damage root tips, buds, and flowers of orchids. Periplaneta americana has been said to eat the root tips and blossoms of orchids (Taschenberg, 1884) and to devour the open flower petals of Cattleya orchids as well as the aerial roots and flower spikes of Vanda orchids (Rau, 1940a). Wainwright (1898) stated that Periplaneta australasiae had been observed in an orchid house in Perthshire where over a period of three years it had caused a good deal of damage. Skinner (1905) reported that P. australasiae in greenhouses in Pennsylvania showed no preference for any one plant but ate both plants and flowers of orchids, roses, and carnations. Lucas (1918) received specimens of P. australasiae which had played havoc with orchids especially Cattleya and Vanda. Morse (1920) reported that both P. australasiae and Pycnoscelus surinamensis were obnoxious in a conservatory in Massachusetts where they gnawed the tips of the aerial roots of orchids. Swezey (1945) in Hawaii stated that the following cockroaches have been reported as occasional minor pests on orchids: Blatta orientalis, Blaberus discoidalis, P. americana, and P. surinamensis; he further stated that Graptoblatta notulata had been intercepted at Honolulu on orchids from India.
Watson (1907) stated that Blatta orientalis, Periplaneta americana, and Periplaneta australasiae were injurious in the tropical plant houses at Kew: "at night they come out and run or fly about among the plants, devouring flowers and leaves like rabbits. Such plants as Eucharis, Crinum and Alpinia, when in flower, have little chance in the palm house, where the cockroaches are most abundant; they also find out the ripening bananas and soon devour them." Raffill (1910) stated that in plant houses in England B. orientalis, P. americana, and P. australasiae commonly, and Nauphoeta cinerea, Nauphoeta flexivitta, and Pycnoscelus surinamensis more rarely, are extremely destructive to plants. Flowers having a strong perfume, such as orchids, Eucharis, Crinum, and Hedychium, were often attacked while other flowers nearby were left uninjured.
Plank and Winters (1949) reported that in Puerto Rico the species of Orthoptera most injurious under greenhouse conditions was Periplaneta americana. Large nymphs destroyed 25 to 30 percent of freshly planted seed of Cinchona pubescens. In Hawaii the host plants of P. americana are blossoms of Canna and Tribulus, and the host plants of Periplaneta australasiae are Pritchardia and Sida (Zimmerman, 1948). On St. Kitts, B.W.I., young cotton plants were severely attacked by P. australasiae; this caused loss of the stand on a considerable area and necessitated replanting (Ballou, 1916). P. australasiae was reported damaging the Polystichum aristatum Presl [=Lastrea aristata variegata] in a greenhouse (Thilow and Riley, 1891). Laing (1946; British Museum [Natural History], 1951) stated that P. australasiae abounds in greenhouses and forcing pits where it may do considerable damage to the plants. Periplaneta fuliginosa is also troublesome in greenhouses because of its tendency to feed on seedlings and succulent plants (Dodge and Rickett, 1943).
Ectobius lapponicus has been observed feeding in galleries in the thick skin of young aspen in 25 percent of the trees examined (Stark in Bei-Bienko, 1950). The aquatic cockroach Epilampra abdomen nigrum fed on the leaves of Jussiaea natans in an aquarium (Crowell, 1946). Ischnoptera deropeltiformis has been taken while it was feeding on a fleshy fungus (Agaricus sp.) in dense woods in Indiana (Blatchley, 1920).
Diploptera punctata, the cypress roach or beetle roach, has been found in Hawaii feeding on ripening mangoes and papayas, oranges on the tree, and the outer covering of the pods of Acacia farnesiana (Bridwell and Swezey, 1915). Pemberton (1934) stated that D. punctata "disfigures our cypress trees by eating the bark from the young branches, often giving them a dead appearance over much of their leaf area." Fullaway and Krauss (1945) added, "This injury [to cypress] is so severe that sometimes areas of leaves die and turn brown. The Japanese cedar, ironwood, citrus and algaroba (kiawe) trees are attacked in a similar manner." Similar injury to cypress was described by Hebard (1922). In addition to girdling Cupressus, D. punctata injures Cryptomeria in the same fashion and also attacks algaroba, lime, and other plants (Pemberton and Williams, 1938). Zimmerman (1948) cited the following host plants for D. punctata in Hawaii: "Cupressus macrocarpa, Casuarina, Cryptomeria, Citrus, geraniums, Acacia farnesiana pods, mango fruits, orange fruits, papaya fruits."
In the reports of damage to plants by cockroaches, Pycnoscelus surinamensis has been implicated most often. This species is undoubtedly one of the economically most important cockroaches, being the vector of the chicken eyeworm as well as feeding on plants. In addition to the few reports of damage caused by this species that have already been mentioned, P. surinamensis has been reported to be very destructive in New Orleans to palms and ferns, attacking large alsophilas avidly, eating out the hearts (Anonymous, 1893). Zappe (1918) in Connecticut reported damage in a greenhouse to roses valued, at that time, at several hundred dollars; P. surinamensis had girdled the rose bushes, done much damage to Easter lilies, and in another greenhouse had eaten the bark from the stems of poinsettias. In Germany this species bit off the tips of the aerial roots and ate the petals of orchids (Zacher, 1920). Lucas (1923) reported damage to cucumber plants in a greenhouse in Surrey. Damage by P. surinamensis to the stems of rose bushes has been reported in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania; the canes were attacked both under and above ground (Caudell, 1925). Doucette and Smith (1926) reported a heavy infestation of P. surinamensis in a range of greenhouses in Philadelphia: "The roaches were present literally by the millions.... Although the roaches had been observed in cabinets and trash barrels for several months, it was not until the manager had occasion to go through the house one evening that he discovered that roaches were the cause of the troubles previously attributed to soil condition, watering, fungus, and other agencies.... About 30,000 to 35,000 rose plants from a total of 200,000 in the three more heavily infested houses were so badly injured by the gnawing off of the bark, young buds, and shoots of the main stems, that they were not in condition to be kept in the beds for another season."
In Haiti Pycnoscelus surinamensis damaged the tubers of growing potatoes (Hoffman, 1927). Illingworth (1927, 1929) reported that in Hawaii P. surinamensis was a minor pest of pineapples, feeding on the roots. This species was very plentiful in a propagating pit in England where it did much damage to various seeds and seedlings (Lucas, 1930). Roeser (1940) summarized some of the above-mentioned damage caused by P. surinamensis and added damage to chrysanthemums in Hawaii and tobacco in Sumatra where this cockroach destroyed 300,000 plants in a few days. Roeser was of the opinion that living plants were eaten only as a substitute when the earth became poor in food material. Zimmerman (1948) listed as host plants of P. surinamensis in Hawaii: "blossoms of Tribulus; reported feeding at roots of pineapples, and unconfirmed reports of damage to underground parts of some other plants." Goodliffe (1958) reported damage by this species to banana plants in a conservatory in northern England. Cohic (1956) implied that in New Caledonia "Racines de légumes" were attacked by P. surinamensis and that Zea mays Linnaeus was attacked by Supella supellectilium. Wolcott (1924a) reported that P. surinamensis damaged transplanted tobacco plants in Puerto Rico by eating the interior of the stalks. Tobacco planters in Cuba consider P. surinamensis injurious to the roots of tobacco plants (Bruner and Scaramuzza, 1936); this belief was confirmed in the laboratory, where adults and nymphs destroyed the roots and stems of tobacco plants two inches high and ate into the edges of the leaves. Dammerman (1929) reported that in Malaya this species often appeared in large numbers in gardens where it gnawed at the underground parts of vegetables and ornamental plants. Lever (1947) listed it as a pest on the leaves of pineapple.
Blattella vaga may occasionally damage seedlings in the laboratory (Flock, 1941a), but no damage has been reported in the field (Ball et al., 1942). Heer (1864) reported receiving a shipment of cycads from Cuba with all stages of Periplaneta americana living in holes in the branches, apparently subsisting on the starchy tissues. Goldenberg (1877) stated that sago trees provide cockroaches with their favorite nourishment. Scudder (1879) found Eurycotis floridana living in the tops of the cabbage palmetto, on which he presumed it fed. Parcoblatta americana has been observed feeding on an apple 6 feet above ground (Fulton, 1930).
X. PROTOZOA ASSOCIATED WITH COCKROACHES
The classification of the Protozoa follows that of Kudo (1954). The use of the asterisk (*) is explained in footnote 3, page 4.
=Phylum PROTOZOA=
Class MASTIGOPHORA
Order EUGLENOIDINA
Family EUGLENIDAE
=Euglena= sp.
Experimental host.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Hegner, 1929): When fed to the insects in concentrated culture, Euglena could withstand conditions in the crop up to 5 hours and were passed into the stomach in a viable state up to 6 hours. However, the majority were killed in the crop within 2 hours and very few reached the stomach alive.
Order PROTOMONADINA
Family OIKOMONADIDAE
=Oikomonas blattarum Tejera=
Natural host.--Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
=Oikomonas= sp.
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922): Oikomonas sp. and Monas sp. were found in the intestines of 83 percent of 124 cockroaches.
Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Family TRYPANOSOMATIDAE
=Leptomonas blaberae= Tejera
Natural host.--Blaberus sp., Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
=Leptomonas= sp.
Natural hosts.--Parcoblatta lata, Parcoblatta pensylvanica, Parcoblatta virginica, U.S.A., Ohio (Semans, 1939, 1941): Hind intestine. Of 70 specimens examined, 86 percent harbored Leptomonas sp.
* =Herpetomonas periplanetae= Laveran and Franchini
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, Italy, France (Laveran and Franchini, 1920, 1920a).
Family MONADIDAE
=Monas= sp.
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922): Monas sp. and Oikomonas sp. were found in the intestines of 83 percent of 124 cockroaches examined.
Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Family BODONIDAE
=Bodo blattae=
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, England (Lankester, 1865).
=Bodo= sp.
Natural host.--Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1930).
=Retortamonas blattae= (Bishop)
Synonymy.--Embadomonas blattae Bishop [Wenrich, 1932].
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, England (Bishop, 1931): Hind intestine. The organism occurred in about 40 percent of the cockroaches examined. L. G. Feo (in Wenrich, 1932) successfully cultured this protozoan (fig. 2, F).
=Retortamonas= sp.?
Natural host.--Leucophaea maderae, Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930).
Order POLYMASTIGINA
Family CHILOMASTIGIDAE
=Chilomastix mesnili= (Wenyon)
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis and Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1918): The cockroaches were fed human excrement that contained cysts of C. mesnili. The cysts passed unharmed through the insects' digestive tract. Rats became infected with this protozoan on eating food that had been contaminated with feces from these cockroaches.
Family POLYMASTIGIDAE
=Eutrichomastix= sp.
Synonymy.--Trichomastix [Kudo, 1954].
Natural host.--Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1930).
=Monocercomonoides globus= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934): Organism occurs in practically all hosts.
=Monocercomonoides melolonthae= (Grassi)
(Fig. 2, A)
Natural host.--Platyzosteria novae seelandiae, New Zealand (Laird, 1956): Found in the intestinal tracts of the adult cockroaches, and of other species of insects.
=Monocercomonoides orthopterorum= (Parisi)
Synonymy.--Trichomonas (Trichomastix) orthopterorum Parisi; Monocercomonas orthopterorum [Bělǎr, 1916]; Trichomastic orthopterum? [Zasukhin, 1930]; Monocercomonoides orthopterorum [Travis, 1932; Cleveland et al., 1934]; Retortamonas orthopterorum [Semans, 1943].
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Italy (Parisi, 1910); U.S.S.R. (Zasukhin, 1930).
Ectobius lapponicus, Italy (Parisi, 1910).
Periplaneta americana, Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930).
"Küchenschaben," Austria (Bělǎr, 1916).
The protozoan is found in the hind gut. Zasukhin (1930) found the organism in 85 percent of over 3,000 B. orientalis. Parisi (1910) found the flagellate present in very large numbers.
=Monocercomonoides panesthiae= Kidder
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Kidder, 1937): In hind gut.
=Tetratrichomastix blattidarum= Young
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Young, 1935): The organism when present occurs in large numbers in the posterior part of the intestine near the anus. The protozoan was successfully cultivated in a hemoglobin-saline medium.
Family OXYMONADIDAE
=Oxymonas doroaxostylus= (Cleveland et al.)
Synonymy.--Saccinobaculus doroaxostylus Cleveland et al. [Cleveland, 1950].
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Oxymonas nana= Cleveland
Synonymy.--Saccinobaculus minor Cleveland et al. [Cleveland, 1950].
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934).
Family DINENYMPHIDAE
=Saccinobaculus ambloaxostylus= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Saccinobaculus lata= Cleveland
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A. (Cleveland, 1950b): There are at least two other species of Saccinobaculus in C. punctulatus that have not been described.
=Notila proteus= Cleveland
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland, 1950b).
Family TRICHOMONADIDAE
* =Trichomonas hominis= (Davaine)
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, South Africa (Porter, 1918); Italy (Mariani and Besta, 1936).
Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1918); U.S.A. (Hegner, 1928).
=Trichomonas= sp.
Natural vector.--Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926): Organism found in digestive tract of the cockroach.
Family HEXAMITIDAE
=Hexamita cryptocerci= Cleveland et al.
Natural hosts.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A. (Cleveland et al., 1934).
Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Kidder, 1937).
=Hexamita periplanetae= (Bĕlăr)
Synonymy.--Octomitus periplanetae Bĕlăr [Kudo, 1954].
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Zasukhin, 1930): Organism is found in the hind gut. Eighty-five percent of over 3,000 B. orientalis contained this organism.
Periplaneta americana, Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930).
"Küchenschaben," Austria (Bĕlăr, 1916).
=Hexamita= sp.?
Natural host.--Leucophaea maderae, Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930): The flagellates were present in large numbers.
* =Giardia intestinalis= (Lambl)
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, South Africa (Porter, 1918).
Blattella germanica, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1927).
Eurycotis floridana, U.S.A. (Young, 1937).
Leucophaea maderae, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1927).
Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1918); Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922); Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1927); U.S.A. (Young, 1937).
Periplaneta brunnea, U.S.A. (Young, 1937).
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926); Argentina (Bacigalupo, in Tejera, 1926).
* =Giardia= sp.
Natural vectors.--Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Order HYPERMASTIGINA
Family HOLOMASTIGOTIDAE
=Leptospironympha eupora= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian area (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Leptospironympha rudis= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian area (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Leptospironympha wachula= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian area (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Macrospironympha xylopletha= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian area (Cleveland et al., 1934).
Family LOPHOMONADIDAE
=Lophomonas blattarum= Stein
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Czechoslovakia (Stein, 1860); Germany (Bütschli, 1878; Schubotz, 1905; Chen, 1933); U.S.A. (Leidy, 1879a; Kudo, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1926b; McAdow, 1931); Europe (Janicki, 1908); U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922; Zasukhin, 1930); Poland (Lorenc, 1939).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A., Ohio (McAdow, 1931).
Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, Egypt (DeCoursey and Otto, 1956, 1957).
Periplaneta americana, England (Schuster, 1898); Europe (Janicki, 1910); U.S.A. (Kudo, 1926b; McAdow, 1931; Hatcher, 1939; Armer, 1944); Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930).
Periplaneta sp., Goa (Mello and Lima Ribeiro, 1924, 1925).
"Küchenschaben," Austria (Bělǎr, 1916).
The protozoan (fig. 2, E) is found in the host's colon, particularly anterior portion; encysted stages of organism are found throughout hind gut. Of 1,400 B. orientalis studied, 32 percent harbored this organism (Kudo, 1925, 1926). Yakimov and Miller (1922) found 7 percent of 124 B. orientalis infested. Zasukhin (1930) found 10 percent of over 3,000 B. orientalis infested. The flagellate does not harm the host and is never present in the host tissue; it should be considered a commensal (Kudo, 1926).
=Lophomonas striata= Bütschli
Synonymy.--Lophomonas sulcata Schuster is most probably identical with L. striata (Kudo, 1926b).
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Bütschli, 1878; Schubotz, 1905); Europe (Janicki, 1908, 1910); U.S.A. (Kudo, 1922, 1926, 1926b; McAdow, 1931); U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922; Zasukhin, 1930); Poland (Lorenc, 1939).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A., Ohio (McAdow, 1931).
Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1930).
Periplaneta americana, Indochina (Weill, 1929); Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930); U.S.A. (Kudo, 1926b; McAdow, 1931; Armer, 1944).
Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926); England or U.S.A.? (Lucas, 1928).
"Küchenschaben," Austria (Bělǎr, 1916).
Found in the host's colon, particularly the anterior portion. L. striata (fig. 2, D) was found in 29 percent of 1,400 B. orientalis and in 2 of 30 P. americana (Kudo, 1926, 1926b). Yakimov and Miller (1922) found the organism in 9.6 percent of 124 specimens of B. orientalis. Zasukhin (1930) found 8.6 percent of over 3,000 B. orientalis infested.
Grassé (1926, 1926a) identified corrugations on the surface of L. striata as a bacterial parasite which he named Fusiformis lophomonadis.
=Prolophomonas tocopola= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, California, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia (Cleveland et al., 1934): Not abundant.
Family HOPLONYMPHIDAE
=Barbulanympha estaboga= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934).
Barbulanympha coahoma (Cleveland et al., 1934) represents the diploid form of B. estaboga (Cleveland, 1953).
=Barbulanympha laurabuda= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934): This species, B. ufalula, and Rhynchonympha tarda occur in all parts of the colon, especially in the enlarged, flexed part near the ileum.
=Barbulanympha ufalula= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Barbulanympha wenyoni= Cleveland
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Pacific coast area (Cleveland, 1953).
=Rhynchonympha tarda= Cleveland et al.
(Fig. 3, D)
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Pacific coast area (Cleveland et al., 1934): Fairly abundant in every specimen examined from Pacific coast.
=Urinympha talea= Cleveland et al.
(Fig. 3, C)
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934): Present in fairly great numbers in every cockroach examined.
Family STAUROJOENINIDAE
=Idionympha perissa= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian area (Cleveland et al., 1934): Present in only a few specimens.
Family TRICHONYMPHIDAE
=Trichonympha acuta= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Trichonympha algoa= Cleveland et al.
(Fig. 3, E)
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934): Fairly abundant and present in most specimens.
=Trichonympha chula= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Trichonympha grandis= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934): Fairly abundant in all specimens from Pacific area.
=Trichonympha lata= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934).
=Trichonympha okolona= Cleveland et al.
(Fig. 3, E)
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934): Found in only a few specimens, never abundant.
=Trichonympha parva= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934): This organism is smaller than any known species of Trichonympha; it is more resistant to warm weather than the other hypermastigotes.
Family EUCOMONYMPHIDAE
=Eucomonympha imla= Cleveland et al.
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A., Appalachian and Pacific coast areas (Cleveland et al., 1934): Organism (fig. 3, A) sometimes becomes attached to the intestinal wall; attached individuals were seen in 2 to 3 percent of the cockroaches examined.
=Unidentified flagellate=
Natural host.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Schwabe, 1950): A small flagellate was found in the digestive tract and malpighian tubules.
Class SARCODINA
Order MYCETOZOA
INCERTAE SEDIS
=Peltomyces periplanetae= (Léger)
Synonymy.--Peltomyces blattellae. Sprague (1940a) synonymizes Peltomyces periplanetae, with Coelosporidium periplanetae.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, France (Debaisieux, 1927).
Blattella germanica, France (Léger, 1909; Debaisieux, 1927).
The organism inhabits the malpighian tubules of cockroaches. Léger and Debaisieux concluded that their organism was a mycetozoan, but they may have erred in synonymizing Plistophora periplanetae with the organism they studied. Debaisieux found intracellular stages of Peltomyces periplanetae that have not been found in Plistophora periplanetae or Coelosporidium periplanetae.
Order AMOEBINA
Family AMOEBIDAE
=Hartmannella blattae= Ivanić
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, Yugoslavia (Ivanić, 1937): Found in the hind gut.
Family ENDAMOEBIDAE
In the following classification we have accepted the conclusions of Kirby (1945), Kudo (1954), and others that species of Endamoeba are generically different from species of Entamoeba and that the latter genus is not a homonym of Endamoeba.
=Dobellina= sp.
Natural vectors.--Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, Egypt (DeCoursey and Otto, 1956, 1957): Thirty out of 261 cockroaches examined contained this protozoan.
=Endamoeba blattae= (Bütschli)
Synonymy.--Amoeba blattae, Entamoeba blattae, Entamoeba blattarum.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Bütschli, 1878; Schubotz, 1905; Chen, 1933); U.S.A. (Leidy, 1879a, 1880; Kudo, 1922, 1925a, 1926a; Kirby, 1927; McAdow, 1931; Meglitsch, 1938, 1940); France (Mercier, 1907a, 1908, 1909, 1910); Europe? (Janicki, 1908, 1909); U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922; Zasukhin, 1929, 1930); England (Thomson and Lucas, 1926; Lucas, 1927, 1927a, 1928); Yugoslavia (Ivanić, 1926a).
Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1930); Egypt (DeCoursey and Otto, 1956, 1957): Seven out of 217 cockroaches examined harbored the protozoan.
Periplaneta americana, Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930); U.S.A. (Morris, 1936; Armer, 1944); Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
Periplaneta australasiae, U.S.A. (Morris, 1936).
Cockroaches, Paraguay? (Elmassian, 1909); Austria (Bělǎr, 1916); U.S.A. (Morris, 1935, 1936; Balch, 1932); Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
The habitat of E. blattae (fig. 2, C) is the hind intestine and rectum of the cockroach. The incidence of infection varies: Kudo (1925a) found in 1,255 oriental cockroaches infections in 5 percent in March and 50 percent in the summer; Schubotz (1905) found 5 to 20 percent of the examined cockroaches to be infested; Yakimov and Miller (1922) found 4 percent of 124 oriental cockroaches infested; Zasukhin (1930) found up to 50 percent of over 3,000 B. orientalis infested; Meglitsch (1938, 1940) found almost 100 percent infection in B. orientalis kept in a crowded culture for several weeks. Chen (1933) developed two synthetic media in which E. blattae could be grown for 45 to 50 days.
Mercier (1907a) observed a fungus, Nucleophaga sp., hyperparasitic in the nucleus of Endamoeba blattae.
=Endamoeba javanica= Kidder
Natural hosts.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands, and Panesthia spadica, Japan (Kidder, 1937): Occurred in 50 percent of P. angustipennis examined and in one of four P. spadica. The endoplasm of this amoeba contains large amounts of wood and cellulose fibers.
=Endamoeba philippinensis= Kidder
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Kidder, 1937): Occurred in about 10 percent of the Panesthia examined. The food vacuoles contained bacteria, no wood.
=Entamoeba coli= (Grassi)
Synonymy.--Endamoeba coli, Amoeba coli [Kirby, 1945].
Natural vectors.--Blaberus atropos, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926): In a lot of 60 cockroaches captured in latrines, two were found that carried apparently live cysts similar to cysts of E. coli.
Blattella germanica or Periplaneta americana, Egypt (DeCoursey and Otto, 1956, 1957): One out of 44 cockroaches collected in a village harbored E. coli.
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922): In nine experiments cysts of E. coli were fed to the cockroaches. In seven of the experiments cysts of E. coli were found in the feces. Cysts were observed in the feces for only one to three days, and eventually disappeared completely. The cysts appeared to be unharmed. No amoebae were found.
* =Entamoeba histolytica= Schaudinn
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, Periplaneta australasiae, and/or Supella supellectilium, Peru (Schneider and Shields, 1947).
Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, Egypt (DeCoursey and Otto, 1956, 1957).
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Experimental vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italian Somaliland (Mariani and Besta, 1936).
Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922); U.S.A. (Frye and Meleney, 1936).
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
=Entamoeba pitheci= Prowazek?
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926): Eleven of 15 cockroaches fed feces of a monkey [Macaca cyclopis (Swinhoe)] containing cysts of the amoeba voided live cysts in their own feces.
=Entamoeba thomsoni= Lucas
Synonymy.--Endamoeba thomsoni [Kudo, personal communication, 1957].
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, England (Lucas, 1927a, 1928); U.S.A. (Taliaferro, 1928; McAdow, 1931); U.S.S.R. (Zasukhin, 1930); Germany (Chen, 1933).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (McAdow, 1931).
Periplaneta americana, England (Lucas, 1927a); U.S.A. (Smith and Barret, 1928; McAdow, 1931); Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930).
The organism is found in the hind intestine and rectum of the cockroach. Smith and Barret (1928) developed a synthetic medium in which cultures of E. thomsoni were carried through successive transfers for 24 months.
=Entamoeba= sp.
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922): Under the heading "Entamoeba histolytica and E. coli" Macfie (p. 445) stated, "The cockroaches used in these experiments had previously been carefully examined for amoebic infections a precaution which was doubly necessary, because some of these insects at Accra had been found naturally infected."
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922): Entamoeba, resembling E. coli, from feces of the monkey [Erythrocebus patas patas (Schreber)] were fed to cockroaches, and on the second to fourth days thereafter apparently healthy cysts were recovered in the cockroach feces.
=Endolimax blattae= Lucas
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, England (Lucas, 1927, 1927a); U.S.S.R. (Zasukhin, 1930); Germany (Chen, 1933).
Periplaneta americana, England (Lucas, 1927, 1927a); Indochina (Weill, 1929); U.S.A. (Armer, 1944).
Periplaneta australasiae, U.S.A. (Steinhaus, 1946).
Organism is found in the hind gut of the cockroach. Zasukhin (1930) found 3-percent infestation in over 3,000 B. orientalis examined.
=Endolimax nana= (Wenyon and O'Connor)?
Synonymy.--Entamoeba nana.
Natural host.--Blaberus atropos, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926): A small amoeba greatly resembling E. nana was found in the intestinal contents of the cockroach. In inoculations this amoeba was not pathogenic.
=Endolimax= sp.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Zasukhin, 1930): This organism was found in the hind gut of 0.3 percent of over 3,000 cockroaches examined.
Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, Egypt (DeCoursey and Otto, 1956, 1957): Seventy-four out of 261 cockroaches examined harbored this protozoan.
=Iodamoeba= sp.
Natural vectors.--Blattella garmanica and/or Periplaneta americana, Egypt (DeCoursey and Otto, 1956, 1957): Fifty-nine of 261 cockroaches examined contained this protozoan. Iodamoeba sp. was common in human feces in villages in which the cockroaches were collected.
=Undetermined species of Amoeba=
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands. (Kidder, 1937): Found in only one specimen.
Class SPOROZOA
Order GREGARINIDA
Family DIPLOCYSTIDAE
=Diplocystis schneideri= Kunstler
(Fig. 2, I)
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, England (Woodcock, 1904; Jameson, 1920).
=Periplaneta americana=, France (Kunstler, 1884, 1887); England (Jameson, 1920); Germany (Foerster, 1939).
In body cavity of host. Cysts containing spores are ingested during cannibalistic feeding on infected cockroaches. Sporozoites penetrate the gut wall which later ruptures, freeing the gregarines into the coelom. There is no apparent pathogenic effect. Jameson (1920) found 81 percent of P. americana infested with D. schneideri.
=Diplocystis= sp.
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Hertig, 1921): Heavy infections in body cavity.
Cockroach, India (Ray and Dasgupta, 1955): A large number of cockroaches, both adults and nymphs, collected in Calcutta were all infected.
=Diplocystis= sp.?
Natural host.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Nutting, 1953): From 1 to 12 or more paired trophozoites or cysts may be found in the hemocoele and occasionally in the thorax.
Family STENOPHORIDAE
=Stenophora= sp.
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, India (Bal and Rai, 1955): Organism found in the midgut of the cockroach.
Family GREGARINIDAE
=Gregarina blattarum= von Siebold
Synonymy.--Gregarina blattae orientalis; Clepsidrina blattarum.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Siebold, 1837, 1839; Stein, 1848; Bütschli, 1881; Wolters, 1891; Marshall, 1892; Wellmer, 1910, 1911; Foerster, 1938; Schubotz, 1905); U.S.A. (Leidy, 1853a; Crawley, 1903; Watson, 1917; Kudo, 1922; McAdow, 1931; Sprague, 1940, 1941); England (Lankester, 1863); France (Schneider, 1875; Cuénot, 1901; Laveran and Franchini, 1920a); Brazil (Magalhães, 1900; Pinto, 1919); U.S.S.R. (Zasukhin, 1929, 1930).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Crawley, 1903); South Africa (Fantham, 1929; Porter, 1930: these appear to be the same record).
Blattella germanica and/or Periplaneta americana, Egypt (DeCoursey and Otto, 1956, 1957).
Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Magalhães, 1900); U.S.A. (Crawley, 1903; 1907; McAdow, 1931); South Africa (Fantham, 1929; Porter, 1930: these appear to be the same record); Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A., Michigan (Ellis, 1913a).
Cockroaches, Germany (Schiffmann, 1919: probably used the oriental cockroach); Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Organism usually found in the intestinal tract of cockroaches where it is attached to the gut cells. Cysts are passed in the feces. Occasionally, G. blattarum (fig. 2, J) is found in the body cavity (Leidy, 1853a; Hall, 1907). Though this is considered to be one of the commonest of the Sporozoa encountered in cockroaches, DeCoursey and Otto (1956) found only 10 of 217 P. americana and B. germanica, collected in restaurants in Egypt, infested with this species. Watson (1917) found a dozen or more in one specimen of Blatta orientalis. Zasukhin (1929, 1930) found 2.6 percent of 3,000 oriental cockroaches infected with this parasite.
=Gregarina fastidiosa= Harrison
Natural host.--Aptera fusca, South Africa (Harrison, 1955): All mature females were heavily infected; in all specimens there were over 100 parasites in the gut. All nymphs were infected, the earlier instars more lightly than the later instars. Gregarines were found in all parts of the gut except the crop and gizzard.
=Gregarina gibbsi= Harrison
Natural host.--Temnopteryx phalerata, South Africa (Harrison, 1955): Although the cockroaches were found in groups, only 32 percent were infected and only 10 percent heavily. The gregarines were found in the anterior mesenteron but none in the hepatic caeca. All cysts were found in the hind gut or rectum.
=Gregarina illinensis= M. E. Watson
Natural host.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A., Illinois (Watson, 1915, 1916): The intestine of one cockroach was found to contain 25 of these gregarines.
=Gregarina impetuosa= Harrison
Natural host.--Melanosilpha capensis, South Africa (Harrison, 1955): All specimens of this gregarine were found in the anterior mesenteron of the host.
=Gregarina légeri= Pinto
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Pinto, 1918, 1918a, 1919): Intestinal canal.
=Gregarina neo-brasiliensis= Al. Cunha
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil (R. de Almeida Cunha in Pinto, 1919; Cunha, 1919).
=Gregarina ohioensis= Semans
Natural host.--Parcoblatta virginica, U.S.A., Ohio (Semans, 1939): The protozoan was present in large numbers in the insect's midgut.
=Gregarina panchlorae= Frenzel
Natural host.--Panchlora exoleta, Argentina (Frenzel, 1892): Midgut.
=Gregarina parcoblattae= Semans
Natural hosts.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica and Parcoblatta uhleriana, U.S.A., Ohio (Semans, 1939): Midgut.
=Gregarina rhyparobiae= J. M. Watson
Natural host.--Leucophaea maderae, Uganda (Watson, 1945): Midgut. Trophozoites could be seen in sections attached to cells of the intestinal wall (fig. 2, H).
=Gregarina sandoni= Harrison
Natural host.--Melanosilpha capensis, South Africa (Harrison, 1955): This gregarine was found in the anterior and middle parts of the mesenteron and in the hepatic caeca.
=Gregarina thomasi= Semans
Natural host.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A., Ohio (Semans, 1939): Enteric caeca and midgut.
=Protomagalhaesia serpentula= (de Magalhães)
Synonymy.--Gregarina serpentula [Pinto, 1918a, 1919; Semans, 1943].
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Magalhães, 1900): In the coelom and alimentary canal. The host of this parasite (fig. 2, K) was incorrectly cited as Blatta orientalis by Watson (1916).
=Gamocystis tenax= Schneider
(Fig. 2, L)
Natural hosts.--Ectobius lapponicus, France (Schneider, 1875); Germany (Wellmer, 1910, 1911; Foerster, 1938).
Ectobius pallidus, Germany (Foerster, 1938): In intestine.
Family ACTINOCEPHALIDAE
=Pileocephalus blaberae= (Frenzel)
Synonymy.--Gregarina blaberae [Watson, 1916].
Natural hosts.--Blaptica dubia and related forms, Argentina (Frenzel, 1892): In midgut.
=Unidentified Gregarinida=
Natural hosts.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953): Possibly Diplocystis sp. (pl. 28, A, B).
Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A. (Cleveland et al., 1934).
Leucophaea maderae, Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930): In intestines of host. U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1958): Cysts in feces (pl. 28, C).
Gromphadorhina portentosa, U.S.A., in laboratory colony (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1958): In intestine of adult female.
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Schwabe, 1950): A cephaline gregarine was found in the cockroach's digestive tract; it was also claimed to be present in new-born nymphs.
Order COCCIDIA
Family ADELEIDAE
=Adelina cryptocerci= Yarwood
Natural host.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A. (Yarwood, 1937): This intracellular parasite was found in the fat body in light infestations. In heavy infections the coccidia were found in the head, antennae, mouthparts, muscles, legs, salivary glands, nerve cord, as well as fat body. Infection in freshly collected specimens was about 3 percent; when large numbers of cockroaches were kept together in culture, the rate of infection increased because the insects ate their dead companions.
Cleveland et al. (1934) mentioned a coccidium which was sometimes generally distributed through the body (head, legs, antennae, etc.) of C. punctulatus; this parasite was probably the species described by Yarwood.
Order HAPLOSPORIDIA
=Haplosporidium periplanetae= Georgévitch
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, Yugoslavia (Georgévitch, 1953): This organism was described from the malpighian tubules of the cockroach where it apparently occurred in a mixed infection with the microsporidian Plistophora periplanetae. See synonymy under Plistophora periplanetae.
=Coelosporidium periplanetae= (Lutz and Splendore)
Synonymy.--Nosema periplanetae, Coelosporidium blattellae, Bertramia blatellae [after Semans, 1943]. Some of the observations cited under Plistophora periplanetae may pertain to C. periplanetae (see Sprague, 1940). See also Haplosporidium periplanetae.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.S.R. (Epshtein, 1911); U.S.A. (Kudo, 1922; Sprague, 1940); Yugoslavia (Ivanić, 1926).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Crawley, 1905); Germany (Wellmer, 1910, 1911).
Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Lutz and Splendore, 1903).
This organism (fig. 2, B) passes its life cycle living free in the lumina of the malpighian tubules of cockroaches. The elongate trophozoite is firmly attached to the wall of the tubule as are clusters of immature spores. Mature spores are freed into the lumina of the tubules from whence they pass to the exterior. Sprague (1940) examined about 200 wild-caught B. orientalis and found them to be practically 100 percent infected.
Order MICROSPORIDIA
Family NOSEMATIDAE
=Plistophora kudoi= Sprague and Ramsey
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A., Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky (Sprague and Ramsey, 1941, 1942): Found in the epithelial cells of caeca and midgut. Considerable damage is done to these cells. Seventy-five percent of 52 B. orientalis harbored the parasite.
=Plistophora periplanetae= (Lutz and Splendore)
Synonymy.--Nosema periplanetae, Pleistophora periplanetae [after Semans, 1943]. Georgévitch (1953) has pointed out that one may find in the malpighian tubules of cockroaches a mixed infection of Microsporidia, Haplosporidia, and Mycetozoa, and that some of the discrepancies in the earlier literature may be attributed to attempts to combine in one organism disparate stages belonging to different orders. See also comments under Coelosporidium periplanetae, Haplosporidium periplanetae, and Peltomyces periplanetae.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, France (Mercier, 1906a; Debaisieux, 1927); England (Perrin, 1906, 1906b); U.S.S.R. (Zhivago, 1909); Yugoslavia (Georgévitch, 1925, 1926, 1926a, 1927); Germany (Wellmer, 1910, 1911).
Blattella germanica, France (Léger, 1909; Debaisieux, 1927); U.S.S.R. (Zhivago, 1909).
Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Lutz and Splendore, 1903).
This organism lives in the lumen of the malpighian tubules of cockroaches. The cited authors appear to have been convinced that this organism was a microsporidian. Georgévitch (1927, 1953) described the polar capsule and filament characteristic of this order.
=Plistophora= sp.
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, France (Mercier, 1908a): The organism parasitized the fat body of the cockroach. Mitoses, often abnormal, were induced in the fat cells. Infected cockroaches were easily recognizable by their distended abdomens. The fat body became chalky white and showed through the intersegmental membranes.
Porter (1930) reported finding an unidentified microsporidian in the fat bodies of Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana collected in South Africa. It may or may not have been a species of Plistophora.
Class CILIATA
Order HOLOTRICHA
Family PARAMECIIDAE
=Paramecium= sp.
Natural associate.--Cockroaches, U.S.A., Maryland (Cleveland, 1927): Three of 30 cockroaches collected in the basement of a department store had paramecia in their stomachs but none in the rectum.
Experimental associate.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Hegner, 1929): Paramecia fed to the cockroaches were recovered from the crop at intervals from one-half to six and one-half hours. In no case were the protozoa recovered from the stomach alive.
Cockroaches, U.S.A., Maryland (Cleveland, 1927). About 200 starved cockroaches were fed a culture of Paramecium. Few, if any, of the protozoa were killed in the stomach during the first two hours, but all were killed within 5 to 6 hours after ingestion.
Family ISOTRICHIDAE
=Isotricha caulleryi= Weill
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, Indochina (Weill, 1929): Alimentary canal.
Order SPIROTRICHA
Family BURSARIIDAE
=Balantidium blattarum= Ghosh
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, India (Ghosh, 1922; Bhatia and Gulati, 1927); Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922): Intestinal tract.
* =Balantidium coli= (Malmsten)
Experimental vector.--Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
=Balantidium ovatum= Ghosh
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, India (Ghosh, 1922a; Bhatia and Gulati, 1927); Indochina, Saigon (Weill, 1929): Intestinal tract.
=Balantidium praenucleatum= Kudo and Meglitsch
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A., Illinois (Kudo and Meglitsch, 1938; Meglitsch, 1940): This protozoan is found in the lumen of the anterior region of the colon in association with several other species of protozoa. Only 7.6 percent of 500 cockroaches examined contained B. praenucleatum. The largest number encountered in a single host was 59, but as a rule each host harbored a smaller number.
=Balantidium= sp.?
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Magalhães, 1900): These organisms were numerous in the intestine.
Family SPIROSTOMIDAE
=Nyctotherus buissoni= Pinto
Natural host.--"Barata sylvestre," Brazil (Pinto, 1926): Organism found in the cockroach's intestine.
=Nyctotherus ovalis= Leidy
Synonymy.--Bursaria blattarum; Plagiotoma blattarum.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Leidy, 1850, 1853, 1853b, 1879a; Kudo, 1922, 1926, 1936; McAdow, 1931; Kudo and Meglitsch, 1938; Meglitsch, 1940); Germany (Stein, 1860; Schubotz, 1905; Chen, 1933); England (Lankester, 1865; Schuster, 1898; Lucas, 1927a, 1928); Spain (Zulueta, 1916); U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922; Zasukhin, 1928, 1930; Ostroumov, 1929); Portugal (Lima Ribiero, 1924); Brazil (Pinto, 1926); Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Blattella germanica, South Africa (Porter, 1930); U.S.A. (Balch, 1932; McAdow, 1931).
Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A. (Semans, 1939, 1941).
Periplaneta americana, India (Bhatia and Gulati, 1927); Indochina (Weill, 1929); Philippine Islands (Hegner and Chu, 1930); South Africa (Porter, 1930); U.S.A. (McAdow, 1931; Hatcher, 1939; Meglitsch, 1940; Armer, 1944); Goa (Mello et al., 1934); China (Pai and Wang, 1947); Czechoslovakia (Low, 1956).
"Barata sylvestre," Brazil (Pinto, 1926).
"Küchenschaben," Austria (Bělǎr, 1916).
Nyctotherus ovalis (fig. 2, G) inhabits the hind gut of cockroaches, where it occurs almost always in the anterior half of the colon in association with other species of Protozoa (Kudo, 1936). Ninety percent of 500 B. orientalis contained N. ovalis (Kudo and Meglitsch, 1938). Yakimov and Miller (1922) found N. ovalis in 68 percent of 124 B. orientalis. Zasukhin (1930) found this organism in 63 percent of over 3,000 B. orientalis. Zasukhin (1928, 1934) found a fungus and possibly a bacterium hyperparasitic in the cytoplasm of N. ovalis. N. ovalis has been cultured outside the cockroach in several media (Lucas, 1928; Balch, 1932; Chen, 1933; Low, 1956).
=Nyctotherus uichancoi= Kidder
Natural hosts.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands, and Panesthia spadica, Japan (Kidder, 1937): About 90 percent of all P. angustipennis harbored this ciliate in their hindguts.
=Nyctotherus viannai= Pinto
Natural host.--"Barata sylvestre," Brazil (Pinto, 1926): In the intestine of the cockroach.
Family CLEVELANDELLIDAE
Most of the Clevelandellidae are parasitized by rod-shaped or spherical bacteria-like organisms usually in clusters (Kidder, 1937).
Synonymy.--Clevelandiidae (Kidder, 1938).
Genus CLEVELANDELLA
Synonymy.--The generic name Clevelandia Kidder (1937) is preoccupied; it was therefore changed to Clevelandella by Kidder in 1938. All of the following species of Clevelandella were originally described as Clevelandia.
=Clevelandella constricta= (Kidder)
Natural hosts.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands, and Panesthia spadica, Japan (Kidder, 1937): In the posterior end of hindgut.
=Clevelandella contorta= (Kidder)
Natural hosts.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands, and Panesthia spadica, Japan (Kidder, 1937).
=Clevelandella elongata= (Kidder)
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Kidder, 1937).
=Clevelandella hastula= (Kidder)
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Kidder, 1937): Common in hindgut.
=Clevelandella nipponensis= (Kidder)
Natural host.--Panesthia spadica, Japan (Kidder, 1937).
=Clevelandella panesthiae= (Kidder)
Natural hosts.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands, and Panesthia spadica, Japan (Kidder, 1937): In the hindgut. This protozoan is commonly parasitized by the microorganism Sphaerita.
=Clevelandella parapanesthiae= (Kidder)
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Kidder, 1937).
=Paraclevelandia brevis= Kidder
Natural hosts.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands, and Panesthia spadica, Japan (Kidder, 1937): Present in 100 percent of P. angustipennis and in nearly all P. spadica.
=Paraclevelandia simplex= Kidder
Natural hosts.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Kidder, 1937, 1938): Incidence of infection about 50 percent.
Panesthia spadica, Japan (Kidder, 1937).
=Unidentified ciliate=
Natural host.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Schwabe, 1950): A large ciliate was found in the digestive tract and malpighian tubules.
NEGATIVE FINDINGS
In a recent experimental study Schmidtke (1955) failed to demonstrate a host-parasite relationship between Periplaneta americana and the haemosporidian Toxoplasma gondii Nicolle and Manceaux. This protozoan is a blood parasite in a rodent in North Africa (Kudo, 1954).
XI. HELMINTHS
Intestinal nematodes of the family Thelastomatidae have no apparent pathological effect on their cockroach hosts. Galeb (1878) has shown experimentally that oxyurids eat the same food as the host insect and that if one starves them, by withholding food from the host, the oxyurids die and disappear. In other words, these worms are not parasites, in the sense that we use the term in this paper, but commensals. Dobrovolny and Ackert (1934) stated that "all observations seemed to indicate that the health, fertility and activity of the heavily infested cockroaches were comparable with those of the non-parasitised specimens."
Very few papers have dealt with the ecology of the oxyurid parasites of cockroaches. According to Galeb (1878), usually one species of nematode is found in a single cockroach, but sometimes two species live together in the same host (e.g., in Blatta orientalis and Polyphaga aegyptiaca) where they compete for food. Galeb claimed that Hammerschmidtiella diesingi would replace Leidynema appendiculata; he observed that H. diesingi surpassed L. appendiculata in numbers and the latter became uncommon in the intestines of the cockroaches. On the other hand, Sobolev (1937) found that 48 percent of his oriental cockroaches were infected with both of the above species of nematodes. The average number of both species was 7.5, and the maximum number was 97; the mean number of H. diesingi was 5.1 and the maximum 64; the mean number of L. appendiculata was 2.4 and the maximum 33. More than 40 nematodes were found in each cockroach of 1.3 percent of those examined. These results apparently contradict Galeb's conclusions inasmuch as the number of each species in mixed infections was essentially the same as the number found in cockroaches infected by only one species (see pp. 195 and 197). Dobrovolny and Ackert (1934) found that 29 percent of 222 Periplaneta americana contained both of the above species of nematodes; whereas 40 percent contained L. appendiculata only, and 21 percent contained H. diesingi only. The infestation ranged from 1 to 36 worms per cockroach with averages of 3.8 per male, 5.1 per female, and 2.7 per nymph.
The eggs of some helminths pass unharmed through the guts of cockroaches that serve as vectors of these ova and have no effect on the insect. However, helminths that are secondary parasites in cockroaches damage the insect to varying degrees depending upon the extent of the infection. Thus the larvae of Moniliformis moniliformis pass through the gut wall and some may become embedded in the fat tissue (Moore, 1946). First stage larvae of Oxyspirura mansoni also burrow through the midgut wall into the fat body; Sanders (1929) believed that Pycnoscelus surinamensis could be killed if at one time a sufficient number of migrating larvae of O. mansoni penetrated the cockroach's intestinal wall. Gongylonema neoplasticum migrates through the digestive tract and encysts in the muscles of the thorax and legs of the host (Fibiger and Ditlevsen, 1914). Infective larvae of Protospirura muricola, after hatching from ingested eggs, pass through the cockroach's gut wall and encyst mainly in the thorax, around the crop, and at the bases of the large muscles of the prothoracic legs (Foster and Johnson, 1939). It is probably generally true that nematodes which are secondary parasites in cockroaches do some damage to the host's intestinal tract at least, and they probably also damage other organs in which they may encyst.
Cockroach tissues may react defensively to infections by parasitic nematodes. For example, encysted third-stage larvae of Physaloptera turgida have been found enclosed in a thin, brown, chitinous substance that was undoubtedly deposited by the tissue of the cockroach (Alicata, 1937). Cysts of similar appearance have been found in cockroaches infected with Physaloptera rara, P. maxillaris, P. hispida (Petri, 1950; Hobmaier, 1941; Schell, 1952), and Gongylonema pulchrum (Schell, 1952a); in the latter species the deposit eventually completely surrounded the nematode larva which was killed and "chitinized." Apparently these pigmented cysts surround unhealthy or dead larvae and are secreted as a defensive mechanism by the host (Schell, 1952a). Oswald (1958) has reported finding similar pigmented cysts in Blatta orientalis and Periplaneta americana that were experimentally infected with Rictularia coloradensis.
Our classification of the helminths follows Hyman (1951, 1951a).
HELMINTHS FOR WHICH COCKROACHES SERVE AS PRIMARY HOSTS
Phylum ASCHELMINTHES
Class NEMATODA
Order MERMITHOIDEA
Family MERMITHIDAE
=Undetermined mermithids=
Natural Hosts.--Ectobius pallidus, U.S.A., Plymouth, Massachusetts (Roth and Willis, 1957): This mermithid lies coiled in the body cavity of the host and one end may extend into the thorax. Apparently, the host is eventually killed and the worms may leave the cockroach ventrally between the thorax and abdomen (pl. 29, A) or thorax and head.
Periplaneta americana, Germany (Bode, 1936): Attacked by "Mermis" or "Gordius." It has been suggested that the name Mermis is often applied without critical identification to immature Nematoda found in insects (Buxton, 1955).
Order RHABDITOIDEA
Family DIPLOGASTERIDAE
=Diplogaster= sp.
Synonymy.--Lycolaimus [Goodey, 1951].
Experimental Host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Christie and Crossman, 1933).
Family STEINERNEMATIDAE
=Neoaplectana= sp.
Experimental hosts.--Blattella germanica, Nauphoeta cinerea, and Periplaneta americana. U.S.A. (Dutky and Hough, 1955): This nematode, found in codling moth larvae, is close to Neoaplectana chresima Steiner but apparently is a new species. Nauphoeta cinerea was very susceptible to infection; B. germanica and P. americana were less susceptible.
Order OXYUROIDEA
Family THELASTOMATIDAE
These nematodes are found in the intestinal tract of cockroaches.
=Aorurus philippinensis= Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934).
=Binema mirzaia= (Basir, 1940) Basir, 1956
Synonymy.--Periplaneticola mirzaia Basir, 1940.
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, India, Aligarh (Basir, 1940).
=Blattelicola blattelicola= Basir, 1940
Natural host.--Blattella germanica, India, Aligarh (Basir, 1940).
=Blatticola blattae= (Graeffe, 1860) Chitwood, 1932
Synonymy.--Oxyuris blattae Graeffe, 1860; Oxyuris blatticola Galeb, 1878; Blatticola blatticola (Galeb, 1877) Schwenck, 1926 [Chitwood, 1930, 1932].
Natural hosts.--Blattella germanica, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926; Schwenck, 1926); U.S.A. (Chitwood, 1930; Bozeman, 1942); Egypt? (Galeb, 1877, 1878); U.S.S.R. (Sobolev, 1937; Sondak, 1935); Czechoslovakia (Groschaft, 1956).
Ectobius lapponicus, Ectobius pallidus, Egypt? (Galeb, 1877, 1878).
Polyphaga aegyptiaca, France (Graeffe, 1860).
The life cycle has been studied by Bozeman (1942): He found never more than four worms in the large intestine of each cockroach. Embryos developed to "resting" stage in vitro. The resting stage was infective while the active stage was not. The worms seemed to have no effect on the vital activities of the host. Alicata (1934b) found that the embryo undergoes a molt before hatching.
Chitwood (1930) found 75 percent of the German cockroaches examined from houses in Washington infected. As a rule, one adult female, one or two males, and possibly two larval females are found in a single individual, apparently only in the rectum.
Sobolev (1937) found 72 percent of Blattella germanica collected in Gorkov (U.S.S.R.) infected with Blatticola blattae. The mean number of worms per host was 1.8, the maximum 5. Sondak (1935) found about 30 percent of 788 B. germanica collected in Leningrad to be infected with B. blattae. Groschaft (1956) regularly found only single worms in B. germanica, collected in a laboratory in Prague, except for two females that contained 2 and 3 worms each.
=Blattophila sphaerolaima= Cobb, 1920
Synonymy.--Aorurus sphaerolaima (Cobb, 1920) Travassos, 1929. Although Chitwood (1932) indicated that the taxonomic position of this nematode is questionable, Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934, apparently accepted it as a valid species in describing the variety javanica.
Natural host.--Panesthia laevicollis [Cobb recorded the host as Panesthia brevicollis, but no such cockroach exists. Van Zwaluwenburg (1928) and Caudell (in Chitwood, 1932) believed that Cobb meant Panesthia laevicollis. According to Gurney (personal communication, 1957) Caudell's notes show that in 1933 he wrote to Dr. Chitwood and explained that he had compared Cobb's figure of the cockroach with laevicollis Saussure (figures and description) and had found them the same.] Australia, New South Wales (Cobb, 1920).
=Blattophila sphaerolaima var. javanica= Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934).
=Blattophila supellaima= Basir, 1941
Natural host.--Supella supellectilium, India, Aligarh (Basir, 1941).
=Cephalobellus brevicaudatum= (Leidy, 1851) Christie, 1933
Synonymy.--Thelastoma brevicaudatum Leidy, 1851 [Christie, 1933]. Thelastoma indiana Basir, 1940 [Basir, 1949].
Natural host.--Leucophaea sp., India, Aligarh (Basir, 1940, 1949).
=Cephalobellus magalhāesi= (Schwenck, 1926) Basir, 1956
Synonymy.--Bulhỡesi magalhāesi Schwenck, 1926; Thelastoma magalhāesi (Schwenck, 1926) Travassos, 1929 [Basir, 1956].
Natural host.--"Barata selvagem," Brazil, São Paulo (Schwenck, 1926).
=Euryconema paradisa= Chitwood, 1932
Natural host.--Eurycotis floridana, U.S.A., Florida (Chitwood, 1932).
=Galebia aegyptiaca= (Galeb, 1878) Chitwood, 1932
Synonymy.--Oxyuris aegyptiaca Galeb, 1878; Blatticola aegyptiaca (Galeb, 1878) Schwenck, 1926 [Chitwood, 1932].
Natural hosts.--Blattella germanica, Brazil (Schwenck, 1926).
Polyphaga aegyptiaca, Egypt? (Galeb, 1878).
=Hammerschmidtiella diesingi= (Hammerschmidt, 1838) Chitwood, 1932
Synonymy.--Anguillula macrura Diesing, 1851; Aorurus diesingi (Hammerschmidt, 1838) Travassos, 1929; Streptostomum gracile Leidy, 1850; Oxyuris diesingi Hammerschmidt, 1838; Oxyuris blattae orientalis Hammerschmidt, 1838 [Chitwood, 1932]. Oxyuris macrura of Lankester (1865).
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Europe (Hammerschmidt 1838, 1847; Bütschli, 1871); Egypt? (Galeb, 1878); England (Lankester, 1865; Lee, 1958); U.S.A. (Leidy, 1850a); U.S.S.R. (Yakimov and Miller, 1922; Sobolev, 1937; Sondak, 1935); Brazil (Travassos, 1929); China (Chitwood, 1932); Czechoslovakia (Groschaft, 1956).
Leucophaea maderae, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926).
Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Magalhães, 1900; Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926). U.S.A.: Texas (Todd, 1943); Kansas (Dobrovolny, 1933; Dobrovolny and Ackert, 1934); North Carolina (Hatcher, 1939); Iowa, North Dakota, Michigan (Hoffman, 1953). China (Chitwood, 1932). India (Basir, 1940). Czechoslovakia (Groschaft, 1956). England (Lee, 1958).
Periplaneta australasiae, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926).
Polyphaga aegyptiaca (Linstow, 1878).
Cockroaches (Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and/or Periplaneta americana), U.S.A. (McAdow, 1931).
Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
According to Hammerschmidt (1847) this worm may be found throughout the intestinal canal but especially in the small intestine. It is frequently found in adults and seldom in the nymphs. There were seldom more than 5 to 10 worms in one cockroach and female worms were found more frequently than males; the male worms were found only in winter and spring while the females were present at all times of the year. Bütschli (1871) stated that all stages from those just hatching to mature males and females are found.
Yakimov and Miller (1922) found H. diesingi in 50.8 percent of 124 B. orientalis collected in Petrograd. Sobolev (1937) found 96 percent of B. orientalis infected with H. diesingi with a mean number of 5.6 and maximum number of 22 in one cockroach. Groschaft (1956) found 18 in one specimen of B. orientalis. Dobrovolny and Ackert (1934) found about 50 percent of 222 P. americana infected with H. diesingi. Sondak (1935) found about 36 percent of 412 B. orientalis infected with either or both H. diesingi and Leidynema appendiculata.
Two molts occur during development of the eggs; the first takes place outside the host resulting in a resting or infective stage. After the egg in the infective stage is eaten by the host, the second molt occurs before the egg hatches. Completion of the second molt and hatching perhaps are connected with ammonia present in the digestive tract; the ammonia seems to arise from the bacteria present in the gut. There appears to be a relationship between the intestinal bacteria of the cockroach and development and hatching of nematode eggs (Todd, 1944).
At the time of oviposition the nematode eggs are in the very earliest stages of cleavage. In 36 hours a motile, tadpole-like stage is reached and in a few days the embryo becomes quiescent and nonmotile. This nonmotile stage is infective whereas the motile embryonic stage is not. Feeding experiments proved that transmission of the nematode is direct. The worm reaches sexual maturity in 20 or 30 days after being ingested by the cockroach (Dobrovolny, 1933).
The bacterium Streptomyces leidynematis Hoffman grows on the cuticle of H. diesingi (Hoffman, 1953). The bacterium apparently is only anchored to the nematode and probably obtains its food from the intestinal contents of the cockroach. See notes under Leidynema appendiculata.
=Hammerschmidtiella neyrai= Serrano Sánchez, 1945
Synonymy.--Hammerschmidtiella neyrae Serrano Sánchez, 1947. [According to M. B. Chitwood, personal communication, 1957, Serrano Sánchez's emendation is apparently an error.]
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, Spain, Grenada (Serrano Sánchez, 1947): Of 2,943 specimens examined, 1,143 were parasitized by oxyurids and of these 45 percent contained H. neyrai.
=Leidynema appendiculata= (Leidy, 1850) Chitwood, 1932
Synonymy.--Oxyuris blattae orientalis Hammerschmidt, 1847, of Bütschli, 1871, and Oxyuris blattae-orientalis of Magalhães, 1900; Oxyuris blattae Hammerschmidt, 1847, of Galeb, 1878; Aorurus (Thelastoma) appendiculatus Leidy, 1850. [Chitwood, 1932.] Serrano Sánchez (1947) has divided this species into three geographical varieties as follows: L. appendiculata (Leidy, 1852) (Dobrovolny and Ackert, 1934) var. indiana; L. appendiculata (Leidy, 1852) (Chitwood, 1932) var. americana; L. appendiculata (Serrano Sánchez, 1947) var. hispana. However, Basir (1956) does not recognize these varieties. The Russians recognize hispana (M. B. Chitwood, personal communication, 1957).
Natural hosts.--Blaberus atropos, South America (Chitwood, 1932).
Blatta orientalis, Egypt? (Galeb, 1878); Europe (Bütschli, 1871); U.S.S.R. (Sobolev, 1937; Sondak, 1935); U.S.A., Nebraska (Todd, 1944); Spain (Serrano Sánchez, 1947): Recorded as var. hispana. Czechoslovakia (Groschaft, 1956). England (Lee, 1958a).
Blatta orientalis or Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Magalhães, 1900).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A.: Texas (Todd, 1943); Nebraska (Todd, 1944); Kansas (Dobrovolny, 1933; Dobrovolny and Ackert, 1934); North Carolina (Hatcher, 1939); Iowa, North Dakota, Michigan (Hoffman, 1953). Czechoslovakia (Groschaft, 1956). England (Lee, 1958a).
Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Cockroaches (Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and/or Periplaneta americana), U.S.A. (McAdow, 1931).
Chitwood (1932) also listed China for distribution of the worm, but we could not tell which host was involved.
The worms are found in the colon and rectum of the host. Galeb (1878) found as many as 20 individuals in a single B. orientalis. Sobolev (1937) found 52 percent of B. orientalis infected with L. appendiculata; the mean number of worms per roach was 1.5 and the maximum 2. Dobrovolny and Ackert (1934) found 69 percent of 222 P. americana infected with this species.
Two molts occur within the egg during development of the larva. The first molt occurs outside the host resulting in the formation of an infective resting stage. The second molt occurs inside the cockroach (Todd, 1941, 1944).
Transmission of the nematode is direct, eggs in the resting embryonated stage being infective (Dobrovolny and Ackert, 1934).
Hoffman (1953) described a filamentous bacterium, Streptomyces leidynematis Hoffman, which grows on the cuticle of L. appendiculata in P. americana. Leidy (1853) noted the presence of simple, inarticulate, amorphous filaments, growing from nematodes infecting B. orientalis. Bütschli (1871) and Magalhães (1900) described similar filaments adhering to the surface of oxyurids from cockroaches.
=Leidynema appendiculata= (Leidy, 1850) Chitwood, 1932?
Natural host.--Eurycotis floridana, U.S.A., Massachusetts (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1955): Determined by Dr. G. Steiner who wrote us, "In Eurycotis floridana there were ten specimens of the nematode Leidynema appendiculata (Leidy, 1850). This cockroach is obviously a new host for this nematode. I am not sure that the nematode exactly agrees with the description as given in the literature."
=Leidynema cranifera= Chitwood, 1932
Natural hosts.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A., Florida (Chitwood, 1932); Massachusetts (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1955). Determined by Dr. G. Steiner.
Blaberus atropos?, U.S.A., Florida (Chitwood, 1932): B. craniifer has generally been recorded as B. atropos of Stoll which is a closely related but distinct South American species (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
=Leidynema delatorrei= Chitwood, 1932
Natural host.--Leucophaea maderae, Cuba, Havana (Chitwood, 1932).
=Leidynema nocalum= Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934).
=Leidynemella fusiformis= Cobb, 1934
Natural hosts.--Panesthia laevicollis?, Philippine Islands (Cobb in Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934).
Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934).
=Leidynemella panesthiae= (Galeb, 1878) Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934
Synonymy.--Oxyuris panesthiae Galeb, 1878, in part; Thelastoma panesthiae (Galeb, 1878) Travassos, 1929. [Chitwood, 1932; Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934.]
Natural host.--Panesthia sp., New Guinea (Galeb, 1878): About 40 nematodes may be found in one insect.
=Leidynemella paracranifera= Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934).
=Oxyuris= (?) =heterogamiae= Galeb, 1878
Synonymy.--Thelastoma heterogamiae (Galeb, 1878) Travassos, 1929. The taxonomic position of this species is questionable; it might possibly belong in Blatticola or Protrellina (Chitwood, 1932). Basir (1956) placed it in an appendix to the family Thelastomatidae.
Natural host.--Polyphaga aegyptiaca, Egypt? (Galeb, 1878).
=Protrelleta floridana= Chitwood, 1932
Natural host.--Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A., Florida (Chitwood, 1932).
=Protrellus aureus= Cobb, 1920
Synonymy.--The taxonomic position of this nematode is questionable (Chitwood, 1932).
Natural host.--Polyzosteria melanaria?, Australia, New South Wales (Cobb, 1920). [Caudell (in Chitwood, 1932) stated that this host was probably Platyzosteria analis.]
=Protrellus aurifluus= (Chitwood, 1932) Chitwood, 1933
Synonymy.--Protrellina aurifluus Chitwood, 1932.
Natural hosts.--Parcoblatta lata, U.S.A., North Carolina, Maryland (Chitwood, 1932).
Parcoblatta uhleriana, North Carolina (Hatcher, 1939).
=Protrellus australasiae= (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926) Travassos, 1929
Synonymy.--Oxyuris australasiae Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926; Protrellina australasiae (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926) Chitwood, 1932 [Chitwood, 1933].
Natural host.--Periplaneta australasiae, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926, 1927).
=Protrellus galebi= Schwenck, 1926
Synonymy.--Protrellina galebi (Schwenck, 1926) Chitwood, 1932 [Chitwood, 1933].
Natural host.--"Barata selvagem," Brazil (Schwenck, 1926).
=Protrellus künckeli= (Galeb, 1878) Travassos, 1929
Synonymy.--Oxyuris künckeli Galeb, 1878; Protrellina künckeli (Galeb, 1878) Chitwood, 1932 [Chitwood, 1933].
Natural hosts.--Periplaneta americana, Egypt? (Galeb, 1877, 1878). [Chitwood (1932) questioned the determination of this host because he failed to find this nematode in a large number of specimens from U.S.A. and China.] Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926).
Periplaneta australasiae, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1926).
=Protrellus manni= (Chitwood, 1932) Chitwood, 1933
Synonymy.--Protrellina manni Chitwood, 1932.
Natural host.--Aglaopteryx diaphana, Cuba (Chitwood, 1932).
=Protrellus phyllodromi= (Basir, 1942) Basir, 1956
Synonymy.--Protrellina phyllodromi Basir, 1942.
Natural host.--Blattella humbertiana, India, Aligarh (Basir, 1942): Found in the rectum.
=Protrelloides paradoxa= Chitwood, 1932
Natural host.--Eurycotis floridana, U.S.A., Florida (Chitwood, 1932).
=Schwenkiella icemi= (Schwenck, 1926) Basir, 1956
Synonymy.--Bulhõesia icemi Schwenck, 1926; Thelastoma icemi (Schwenck, 1926) Travassos, 1929; Thelastoma aligarhica Basir, 1940. [Basir, 1956.]
Natural hosts.--"Barata selvagem," Brazil, São Paulo (Schwenck, 1926).
Periplaneta americana, India, Aligarh (Basir, 1940); U.S.A., Nebraska (Todd, 1943).
Periplaneta brunnea, U.S.A., Louisiana (Todd, 1943).
=Severianoia magna= Pereira, 1935
Natural host.--"Blattidae sylvestres," Brazil (Pereira, 1935).
=Severianoia severianoi= (Schwenck, 1926) Travassos, 1929
Synonymy.--Bulhõesia severianoi Schwenck, 1926 [Travassos, 1929].
Natural hosts.--"Baratas de pau podre," Brazil (Schwenck, 1926).
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A., Florida (Chitwood, 1932).
=Suifunema caudelli= Chitwood 1932
Natural host.--Steleopyga? sinensis, Asia: Suifu, Szchuen, China (Chitwood, 1932).
=Thelastoma pachyjuli= (Parona, 1896) Travassos, 1929
Synonymy.--Oxyuris bulhõesi de Magalhães, 1900; Bulhõesia bulhõesi (Magalhães, 1900) Schwenck, 1926 [Travassos, 1929; Chitwood, 1932]; Thelastoma bulhõesi (Magalhães, 1900) Travassos, 1929; although this last combination (from Chitwood, 1932) is not given by Basir (1956), it is implied by the synonymy that he does cite under T. pachyjuli.
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Czechoslovakia (Groschaft, 1956).
Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Magalhães, 1900); North America (Chitwood, 1932); U.S.A., North Carolina (Hatcher, 1939).
=Thelastoma palmettum= Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934
Natural host.--Panesthia angustipennis, Philippine Islands (Chitwood and Chitwood, 1934).
=Thelastoma riveroi= Chitwood, 1932
Natural host.--Periplaneta sp., Cuba (Chitwood, 1932).
=Undetermined nematodes=
Natural host.--Cutilia sp. near sedilloti, U.S.A. (hosts imported from New Zealand) (Roth, unpublished data, 1957).
Class NEMATOMORPHA
Order GORDIOIDEA
The immature stages of the following gordian worms have been found in the body cavity of cockroaches.
Family CHORDODIDAE
=Chordodes morgani= Montgomery, 1898
Synonymy.--Chordotes [sic] puerilis Montgomery, 1898 [Ward, 1918].
Natural host.--Cockroach, U.S.A. (Montgomery, 1898); Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska (Ward, 1918).
Family GORDIIDAE
=Gordius aquaticus= Linnaeus, 1758
Natural host.--Blatta sp., U.S.A. (Stiles and Hassall, 1894).
Leidy (1879) identified a 9-inch-long nematode which came from a cockroach (Blatta orientalis?) as probably being Gordius aquaticus. Ransom (in Pierce, 1921) states that G. aquaticus may be an accidental parasite of man. Faust (1955) summarizes the few reported cases of human parasitism. Dorier (1930) reported that the regurgitated liquid of Blatta orientalis had no effect on cysts of G. aquaticus after one hour.
=Gordius blattae orientalis= Diesing, 1851
Synonymy.--Gordius orientalis of Lankester (1865).
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, Germany (Siebold, 1842; Linstow, 1878): Found in abdomen. Von Siebold called this "Filarien" but did not otherwise name or describe the worm.
=Gordius pilosus= (Möbius, 1855) Diesing, 1861
Synonymy.--Chordodes pilosus Möbius, 1855 [Diesing, 1861.]
Natural host.--Blaberus giganteus, Venezuela (Möbius, 1855): From the insect's abdomen.
=Gordius= sp.
Natural hosts.--Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1930); Germany (Bode, 1936): Bode's record may have referred to a Mermis or other nematode.
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Miall and Denny, 1886; Burr, 1899a; Tejera, 1926).
=Parachordodes raphaelis= (Camerano, 1893) Camerano, 1897
Synonymy.--Gordius raphaelis Camerano, 1893 [Camerano, 1897].
Natural hosts.--Symploce parenthesis and Kuchinga hemerobina, French Equatorial Africa (Camerano, 1893, 1897).
=Undetermined gordian worms=
Natural hosts.--Eurycotis floridana, Florida (T. Eisner, personal communication, 1958): See plate 29, B.
Parahormetica bilobata, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1929): Worm referred to as "gordiaceo."
Cockroaches, Australia (E. F. Riek, personal communication, 1953): Three undescribed gordian worms were found in undetermined cockroaches of the subfamily Blattinae.
HELMINTHS[4] FOR WHICH COCKROACHES SERVE AS INTERMEDIATE HOSTS
The use of the asterisk (*) is explained in footnote 3, page 4.
Phylum ACANTHOCEPHALA
Order ARCHIACANTHOCEPHALA
Family OLIGACANTHORHYNCHIDAE
* =Prosthenorchis elegans= (Diesing, 1851) Travassos, 1915
Natural host.--Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938, 1938a; Brumpt et al., 1939).
Experimental hosts.--Blaberus atropos and Leucophaea maderae, France (Brumpt and Desportes, 1938).
* =Prosthenorchis spirula= (Olfers in Rudolphi, 1819) Travassos, 1917
Natural host.--Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938, 1938a; Brumpt et al., 1939); Netherlands (Thiel and Wiegand Bruss, 1946).
Experimental hosts.--Blattella germanica, Netherlands (Thiel and Wiegand Bruss, 1946).
Blaberus atropos and Leucophaea maderae, France (Brumpt and Desportes, 1938).
Family MONILIFORMIDAE
* =Moniliformis dubius= Meyer, 1932
Natural hosts.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Magalhães, 1898; Travassos, 1917); Gold Coast (Southwell, 1922); India (Pujatti, 1950); U.S.A. (Burlingame and Chandler, 1941; Moore, 1946).
Periplaneta australasiae, India (Pujatti, 1950).
Experimental hosts.--Blattella germanica, Japan (Yamaguti and Miyata, 1942).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Chandler, 1941; Moore, 1946); Japan (Yamaguti and Miyata, 1942).
* =Moniliformis kalahariensis= Meyer, 1931
Natural host.--Blattella germanica, India (Meyer, 1931, 1932).
* =Moniliformis moniliformis= (Bremser in Rudolphi, 1819) Travassos, 1915
Natural hosts.--Periplaneta americana, Argentina (Bacigalupo, 1927, 1927a, 1928); Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1929); Algeria (Seurat, 1912); Burma (Subramanian, 1927); South Africa (Porter, 1930); Madras (Sita, 1949).
Periplaneta spp., New Caledonia (Rageau, 1956).
Cockroaches, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Experimental hosts.--Blaberus atropos, Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, Leucophaea maderae, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938a).
Periplaneta americana, Japan (Yamaguti and Miyata, 1942); France (Brumpt, 1949); Madras (Sita, 1949).
Phylum ASCHELMINTHES
Class NEMATODA
Order OXYUROIDEA
Family SUBULURIDAE
* =Subulura jacchi= (Diesing, 1861) Railliet and Henry, 1914
Synonymy.--Subulura jacchi (Marcel, 1857) [Dr. J. T. Lucker, personal communication, 1957].
Experimental host.--Blaberus atropos, France (Chabaud and Larivière, 1955).
Order SPIRUROIDEA
Family THELAZIIDAE
* =Oxyspirura mansoni= (Cobbold, 1879) Ransom, 1904
Natural hosts.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Australia (Fielding, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1928a); U.S.A. (Sanders, 1927, 1928, 1929; Shealy, 1927); Formosa (Kobayashi, 1927); Antigua (Hutson, 1938, 1943); Hawaii (Illingworth, 1931; Schwabe, 1950, 1950a, 1950b, 1951); New Caledonia (Rageau, 1956).
We have recently found (Roth and Willis, 1960) that two strains of Pycnoscelus surinamensis exist; a parthenogenetic strain (from Florida), and a bisexual strain (from Hawaii) which does not reproduce parthenogenetically. The parthenogenetic strain is undoubtedly the form that has been shown to be the host of O. mansoni in the United States and Antigua, because only this form is found in the New World. Probably the parthenogenetic strain was the form involved in most Pacific areas. However, from internal evidence in his papers, we concluded that Schwabe, in Hawaii, may well have been working with the bisexual strain and possibly also with the parthenogenetic strain; if this is true, then both parthenogenetic and bisexual strains of Pycnoscelus surinamensis may serve as intermediate hosts of the eyeworm.
Experimental hosts.--Periplaneta americana, Antigua (Hutson, 1943).
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A. (Sanders, 1929); Australia (Fielding, 1927, 1928a); Hawaii (Schwabe, 1951).
=Rictularia coloradensis= Hall, 1916
Natural hosts.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica and Parcoblatta virginica, U.S.A., Ohio (Oswald, 1958): Of 49 wood roaches collected, one of each species contained a single larva each.
Experimental hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, Parcoblatta pensylvanica, Parcoblatta virginica, Periplaneta americana, and Supella supellectilium, U.S.A. (Oswald, 1958): The larvae underwent normal development in all species of cockroaches except B. orientalis and P. americana in which cysts developed that contained a reddish-brown pigment; larvae in such cysts were dead or dying. Eggs of R. coloradensis hatched in the midgut of B. germanica and first-stage larvae entered the hindgut epithelium within 24 hours. The larvae underwent two molts within a cyst formed by tissues of the host's gut, the second molt occurring during the twelfth or thirteenth day. In Parcoblatta, cysts were found free in the body cavity as well as attached to the hindgut. In B. germanica and S. supellectilium the cysts remained attached to the hindgut. Usually over 20 cysts developed in each infected Parcoblatta; fewer than 10 per insect developed in the other species. Larvae became infective to the definitive host, the white-footed mouse [Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis (Fischer)], as early as the tenth day.
Family SPIRURIDAE
* =Agamospirura parahormeticae= Pessôa and Corrêa, 1929
Natural host.--Parahormetica bilobata, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1929).
* =Gongylonema ingluvicola= Ransom, 1904
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Cram, 1935).
* =Gongylonema neoplasticum= (Fibiger and Ditlevsen, 1914) Ransom and Hall, 1916
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Netherlands (Baylis, 1925).
Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Hitchcock and Bell, 1952).
Periplaneta americana, Denmark and St. Croix (Fibiger, 1913, 1913a; Fibiger and Ditlevsen, 1914); Netherlands (Baylis, 1925); Argentina (Bacigalupo, 1930); England (Leiper, 1926); South Africa (Porter, 1930); U.S.A. (Hitchcock and Bell, 1952); Formosa (Yokagawa, 1924, 1925, 1925a).
Periplaneta australasiae, Formosa (Yokagawa, 1924, 1925, 1925a).
Experimental hosts.--Blattella germanica, Denmark (Fibiger and Ditlevsen, 1914); U.S.A. (Hitchcock and Bell, 1952); France (Brumpt, 1949).
Blatta orientalis, Denmark (Fibiger and Ditlevsen, 1914).
Periplaneta americana, Denmark and St. Croix (Fibiger, 1913; Fibiger and Ditlevsen, 1914); U.S.A. (Hitchcock and Bell, 1952).
* =Gongylonema pulchrum= Molin, 1857
Experimental hosts.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Ransom and Hall, 1915, 1916, 1917; Stiles and Baker, 1927; Schwartz and Lucker, 1931; Lucker, 1932; Alicata, 1934a, 1935); Europe (Baylis et al., 1925, 1926, 1926a; Sambon, 1926).
Parcoblatta sp., Alicata (1934, 1935).
* =Gongylonema= sp.
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Magalhães, 1900); Algeria (Seurat, 1916); England? (Leiper, 1926).
* =Microtetrameres helix= Cram, 1927
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Cram, 1934).
* =Protospirura bonnei= Ortlepp, 1924
Natural host.--Leucophaea maderae, Venezuela (Brumpt, 1931).
Experimental hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, Leucophaea maderae, France (Brumpt, 1931).
* =Protospirura columbiana= Cram, 1926
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Cram, 1926).
* =Protospirura muricola= Geodoelst, 1916
Natural host.--Leucophaea maderae, Panama (Foster and Johnson, 1938, 1939).
* =Seurocyrnea colini= (Cram, 1927) Cram, 1931
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Cram, 1931, 1931a, 1933a).
* =Spirura gastrophila= (Müller, 1894) Seurat, 1913
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Europe? (Deslongchamps, 1824, in Seurat, 1911); Italy (Grassi, 1888); Algeria (Seurat, 1916).
Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Pessôa and Corrêa, 1929).
Cockroach, Venezuela (Tejera, 1926).
Experimental hosts.--Blatta orientalis, France (Galeb, 1878a); "Cafards," Algeria (Roger, 1906, 1907).
* =Tetrameres americana= Cram, 1927
Natural host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Cram, 1931b, personal communication, 1956); Hawaii (Alicata, 1938, 1947).
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Cram, 1931b).
* =Tetrameres pattersoni= Cram, 1933
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Cram, 1933).
Family PHYSALOPTERIDAE
* =Physaloptera hispida= Schell, 1950
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Schell, 1952, 1952a).
* =Physaloptera maxillaris= Molin, 1860
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Hobmaier, 1941).
* =Physaloptera praeputialis= von Linstow, 1889
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Petri and Ameel, 1950).
* =Physaloptera rara= Hall and Wigdor, 1918
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Petri and Ameel, 1950; Petri, 1950).
* =Physaloptera turgida= Rudolphi, 1819
Experimental host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Alicata, 1937; Schell, 1952).
HELMINTHS WHOSE EGGS HAVE BEEN CARRIED BY COCKROACHES
The use of the asterisk (*) is explained in footnote 3, page 4.
Phylum PLATYHELMINTHES
Class TREMATODA
Order DIGENEA
Family SCHISTOSOMATIDAE
* =Schistosoma haematobium= (Bilharz, 1852) Weinland, 1858
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
Class CESTODA
Order TAENIOIDEA
Family HYMENOLEPIDIDAE
* =Hymenolepis= sp.
Natural vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
Polyphaga saussurei, Tadzhikistan (Zmeev, 1936).
Family TAENIIDAE
* =Taenia saginata= Goeze, 1782
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
=Echinococcus granulosis= (Batsch, 1786) Rudolphi, 1805
Synonymy.--Taenia echinococcus (Zeder, 1803) [Faust, 1939].
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Uruguay (Pérez Fontana, 1955): Eggs were recovered from the feces of artificially infested cockroaches under "natural" conditions.
Family Unknown
* =Undetermined tapeworm ova=
Natural vector.--Polyphaga saussurei, Tadzhikistan (Zmeev, 1936).
Phylum ASCHELMINTHES
Class NEMATODA
Order OXYUROIDEA
Family OXYURIDAE
* =Enterobius vermicularis= (Linnaeus, 1758) Leach in Baird, 1853
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis and Blattella germanica, U.S.S.R. (Sondak, 1935).
Order ASCAROIDEA
Family ASCARIDAE
* =Ascaris lumbricoides= Linnaeus, 1758
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1930): The eggs may have been those of A. suum Goeze, 1782.
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922); India (Chandler, 1926).
Periplaneta americana, Periplaneta australasiae, Neostylopyga rhombifolia, Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
* =Ascaris= sp.
Natural vector.--Blatta orientalis, Italian Somaliland (Mariani and Besta, 1936).
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Uruguay (Pérez Fontana, 1955): Eggs recovered from the insects' feces.
Order STRONGYLOIDEA
Family ANCYLOSTOMIDAE
* =Ancylostoma caninum= (Ercolani, 1859) Hall, 1913
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Netherlands (Akkerman, 1933).
* =Ancylostoma ceylanicum= (Looss, 1911) Leiper, 1915
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922); Netherlands (Akkerman, 1933).
* =Ancylostoma duodenale= (Dubini, 1843) Creplin, 1845
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, South Africa (Porter, 1929, 1930).
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
* =Necator americanus= (Stiles, 1902) Stiles, 1906
Natural vector.--Periplaneta americana, India (Chandler, 1926).
Experimental vector.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922).
* =Hookworm ova=
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Periplaneta australasiae, Neostylopyga rhombifolia, Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
Family TRICHOSTRONGYLIDAE
* =Trichostrongylus= sp.
Natural vector.--Blatta orientalis, Italian Somaliland (Mariani and Besta, 1936).
Order TRICHUROIDEA
Family TRICHURIDAE
* =Capillaria hepatica= (Bancroft, 1893) Travassos, 1915
Experimental vector.--Blatta orientalis, Italy? (Giordano, 1950).
* =Trichuris trichiura= (Linnaeus, 1771) Stiles, 1901
Natural vectors.--Blatta orientalis, Italian Somaliland (Mariani and Besta, 1936); U.S.S.R. (Sondak, 1935).
Blattella germanica, U.S.S.R. (Sondak, 1935).
Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922); Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
Experimental vectors.--Periplaneta americana, Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922); India (Chandler, 1926); Uruguay (Pérez Fontana, 1955).
Periplaneta americana, Periplaneta australasiae, and Neostylopyga rhombifolia, Formosa (Morischita and Tsuchimochi, 1926).
XII. ARTHROPODA
The classification follows Brues et al. (1954) with the following exceptions. The Acarina are arranged according to Dr. J. H. Camin (personal communication, 1955). Family Eupelmidae of the Hymenoptera follows the classification of Peck (1951).
Class ARACHNIDA
In this class, representatives of at least four orders have utilized cockroaches as food: the whip scorpions, scorpions, spiders, and mites. Apparently none of these feed exclusively on cockroaches, but the Philippine forest scorpion Heterometrus (=Palamnaeus) longemanus seems to prefer blattids to other insects (Schultze, 1927).
Order PEDIPALPIDA
Family THELYPHONIDAE
=Mastigoproctus giganteus= (Lucas)
Synonymy.--Thelyphonus giganteus Lucas [Dr. R. E. Crabill, personal communication, 1958].
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Marx, 1892, 1894): Immature whip scorpion captured and fed on one or two cockroaches a week. It lived on this diet for about two years.
=Mastigoproctus= sp.
Common name.--Whip scorpion.
Experimental prey.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A., Florida [Dr. B. J. Kaston, personal communication, 1953].
Order SCORPIONIDA
Pocock (1893) noticed that a scorpion whose pectines had come in contact with a cockroach immediately turned back and ate the insect. He concluded that the scorpion detected the cockroach by means of the pectines. However, Cloudsley-Thompson (1955) has demonstrated that the main function of the pectines is probably the detection of ground vibrations. He accounted for Pocock's observation by the presence of sensory spines (presumably tactile) which project from beneath the pectines. In a house in Arizona, Lyon (1951) observed over 60 scorpions living in a kitchen cabinet that enclosed a sink. They were apparently thriving on a heavy infestation of cockroaches. Stahnke (1953) stated that he used Periplaneta americana as the principal food for scorpions at the Poisonous Animals Research Laboratory of Arizona State College. Cloudsley-Thompson (1955a) cited cockroaches as one of the arthropods that scorpions feed upon.
Family BUTHIDAE
=Buthus australis= (Linnaeus)
Synonymy.--Androctonus australis [Crabill, personal communication, 1957].
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, England (Cloudsley-Thompson, 1955a): This African species ate at least one cockroach per week during the summer months. It can, however, survive four months' starvation and is particularly adapted to a dry climate (Cloudsley-Thompson, personal communication, 1956).
=Centruroides gracilis= (Latreille)
Experimental prey.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Roth, unpublished data, 1953): Scorpion collected in Florida by Roth and identified by Dr. M. H. Muma.
=Centruroides hentzi= (Banks)
Experimental prey.--Periplaneta australasiae and Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A. (Muma, personal communication, 1953): This scorpion occurs in large numbers in the Florida citrus groves, together with P. australasiae which is probably an important natural prey.
=Centruroides vitattus= (Say)
Natural prey.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica (?), U.S.A., Florida (Muma, personal communication, 1953). This may have been another species of this genus, possibly P. divisa, as P. pensylvanica is not known from Florida (Rehn, personal communication, 1958).
Experimental prey.--Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, and Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A., Florida (Muma, personal communication, 1953).
=Parabuthus capensis= (Hemprich and Ehrenberg)
Experimental prey.--"Common house-cockroach" (Pocock, 1893): The scorpions were collected in Cape Town, South Africa.
Family CHACTIDAE
=Euscorpius germanus= (Koch)
Synonymy.--Euscorpius carpathicus [Cloudsley-Thompson, 1955a].
Experimental prey.--Blattella germanica, England? (Pocock, 1893).
Periplaneta americana, nymphs, England? (Cloudsley-Thompson, personal communication, 1956): This scorpion is found naturally in southern Europe and North Africa.
=Euscorpius italicus italicus= (Herbst)
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches including nymphs of Periplaneta, England? (Cloudsley-Thompson, 1951): The cockroaches had to be disabled before the scorpion would feed on them. Prey is apparently detected by tactile and auditory senses, sight being poorly developed and not used. The scorpion is found in southern Europe and North Africa.
Family VEJOVIDAE
=Hadrurus arizonensis= Ewing
Experimental prey.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Stahnke, 1949): This record is a photograph showing the scorpion eating the cockroach.
Family ISCHNURIDAE
=Hormurus caudicula= (Koch)
Experimental prey.--Cockroach, Australia (McKeown, 1952): This record is a photograph showing the scorpion feeding on a cockroach.
Family SCORPIONIDAE
=Heterometrus longimanus= (Herbst)
Synonymy.--Palamnaeus longimanus [Cloudsley-Thompson, personal communication, 1956].
Natural prey.--"Large wood cockroach," Philippine Islands (Schultze, 1927): On several occasions Schultze found fragments of wings and legs of the large wood cockroach in a scorpion cavity, under a rotten log.
Experimental prey.--Leucophaea maderae, Periplaneta americana, and other species of Blattidae, Philippine Islands (Schultze, 1927): Blattids seemed to be the favored food. This scorpion is usually found in humid, damp places in forest and jungle. Schultze describes in detail feeding behavior of the scorpion and method of capturing its prey.
=Urodacus novaehollandiae= Peters
Experimental prey.--Periplaneta americana, Australia (Glauert, 1946): An injured cockroach was accepted at once by the scorpion, which held the insect in its claws and tore it with the alternately moving chelicerae. The scorpion ate all the soft parts and most of the sclerotized exoskeleton.
Order ARANEIDA
Many observations of spiders feeding on cockroaches are quite general, and many observers have failed to identify either the spider or its prey. Belt (1874) stated that "the cockroaches that infest houses in the tropics ... have numerous enemies--birds, rats, scorpions, and spiders." When Belt tried to drive a cockroach toward a large cockroach-eating spider, the insect rushed away from him until it came within a foot of the spider when it would double back, never advancing nearer.
Beebe (1925) watched a giant "wood roach," which was in the grasp of a 2-inch ctenid spider, fly through the window of his British Guiana laboratory. While the spider ate the cockroach, the insect gave birth to 51 nymphs. Sonan (1924) reported that large gray spiders devour nymphs and adults of Periplaneta americana and P. australasiae in Formosa; this spider also occurs on Hiyakejima Island and Okinawa. Passmore (1936), who has produced some excellent photographs of tarantulas, stated that they destroy cockroaches. Rau (1940) stated that American and oriental cockroaches were the principal item of diet of a friend's pet tarantula for several years. Kaston (personal communication, 1953) successfully fed a tarantula with Periplaneta americana.
Bristowe (1941) found that the British species of Ectobius are readily accepted by Xysticus, Clubiona, Drassodes, Zelotes, Tarantula, and the web-builders Ciniflo and Aranea. The British domestic cockroaches were accepted by Tegenaria and Ciniflo, spiders large enough to overpower them, and were useful as food for tropical avicularids, ctenids, and sparassids in captivity.
Family THERAPHOSIDAE
=Avicularia avicularia= (Linnaeus) and =Avicularia= sp.?
Common name.--Bird-eating spider.
Natural prey.--Periplaneta americana, Trinidad (Main, 1924, 1930): The remains of the host were compressed into globular form by the spider after it had extracted the nutritive parts.
=Phormictopus cancerides= (Latreille)
Experimental prey.--Cockroach, West Indies (Wolcott, 1953).
Family SPARASSIDAE
=Heteropoda venatoria= (Linnaeus)
Synonymy.--Heteropoda regia Fabricius.
Common names.--Banana spider (Comstock, 1912); huntsman spider (Gertsch, 1949); big brown house spider (Bryan, 1915).
Natural and experimental prey.--Cockroaches, Bermuda (Verrill, 1902); Puerto Rico (Sein, 1923; Wolcott, 1924a; Petrunkevitch, 1930a); Hawaii (Bryan, 1915, Williams et al., 1931); British Guiana (Moore in Williams et al., 1931); Panama (Gertsch, 1949); New Zealand (adventive) (Parrott, 1952); England (Cloudsley-Thompson, 1953); Comstock (1912); Hawaii (Pemberton, 1917).
This (pl. 30, A) is a tropical species frequently imported into northern localities with bunches of bananas (Comstock, 1912; Cloudsley-Thompson, 1953). Adults measure 3 to 4 inches across with bodies over an inch long. They seldom leave their resting places during the day, but are active at night and search for food. The female does not spin a web (Bryan, 1915; Gertsch, 1949). The spider turns the cockroach over onto its back at the instant of seizure and holds it firmly against the substrate. The cockroach dies in 10 minutes and is gradually rolled up by the spider as it sucks out the nutriment (Moore in Williams et al., 1931). The spider does not attempt to bite when captured, but if it does, its bite is said to be painful but not dangerous (Cloudsley-Thompson, 1953). Zimmerman (1948) found scores of Periplaneta australasiae breeding in rock piles in Hawaii; also present were large numbers of these spiders and centipedes which presumably preyed upon the cockroaches.
Family THERIDIIDAE
=Latrodectus indistinctus= Pickard-Cambridge
Common name.--Button spider.
Natural prey.--Karnyia discoidalis, South Africa, Western Cape Province (Hesse, 1942): The nest is constructed on the ground among grass stems or other vegetation. Preferred sites are slight hollows, hoof imprints, etc. Nests are roughly tubular. The remains of insects are entangled in the walls of the nest where they form dense accumulations. Predatory activities of the spider are limited to an area close to the tubular entrance to the nest and do not extend beyond the trapping strands near the entrance. Capture is dependent upon accidental contact of the insect with sticky threads surrounding the entrance. This spider apparently attacks any insect or arachnid that becomes entangled in the nest. In an examination of 40 nests, remains of 6 K. discoidalis were found.
=Latrodectus mactans= (Fabricius)
Common names.--Black widow, hourglass, or shoe-button spider.
Natural prey.--Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Petrunkevitch, 1930). U.S.A., Florida, on shipboard (Anonymous, 1939): This is a presumptive host record, as the spiders were not reported as having been seen eating cockroaches; however, heavy infestations of both were found together.
Family LYCOSIDAE
=Lycosa helluo= Walckenaer
Experimental prey.--Young nymphs of Diploptera punctata, U.S.A. (Eisner, 1958): Larger nymphs and adults repelled the spider by ejecting a repellent secretion, which has been identified as a mixture of p-benzoquinone and its derivatives by Roth and Stay (1958).
=Lycosa= sp.
Experimental prey.--Supella supellectilium, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953): The lycosid (pl. 30, B-E) was probably L. avida Walckenaer (tentatively identified by Dr. B. J. Kaston from a photograph).
Order ACARINA
Family PHYTOSEIIDAE
=Blattisocius tineivorus= (Oudemans)
Synonymy.--Blattisocius triodons Keegan [Baker and Wharton, 1952].
Natural host.--Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Keegan, 1944): Three mites found on 238 cockroaches examined; others taken in debris from floor of cockroach cage (Keegan, 1944). Members of this family are predaceous (Baker and Wharton, 1952).
Family LAELAPTIDAE
=Blattilaelaps nauphoetae= Womersley
Natural host.--Nauphoeta cinerea, Australia, Brisbane (Womersley, 1956).
=Coleolaelaps= (?) sp.
Natural host.--Gromphadorhina portentosa, the hosts were imported into U.S.A. from Madagascar via Europe (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1958): The mites (pl. 12, C) were tentatively determined by Dr. E. W. Baker.
=Hypoaspis= sp.
Natural host.--Panesthia australis, imported into U.S.A. from Australia (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1955): Cockroach determined by J. A. G. Rehn. Generic determination of mite made by Dr. R. W. Strandtmann (Camin, personal communication, 1955).
Family UROPODIDAE
=Uropoda= sp.
Natural host.--Blattella humbertiana, Formosa (Takahashi, 1940). Nymphs of the cockroach may be destroyed (Takahashi, 1940). Uropodids frequently attach themselves to insects, especially in nymphal stages but probably are harmless (Baker and Wharton, 1952).
Family DIPLOGYNIIDAE
=Undetermined diplogyniid=
Natural host.--Panesthia australis, imported into U.S.A. from Australia (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1955): Cockroach determined by J. A. G. Rehn. According to Dr. J. H. Camin (personal communication, 1955) this is a new genus and new species in the subfamily Diplogyniinae, and is most closely related to the genus Lobogynioides. Mites of this family live as ectoparasites and commensals on beetles and possibly other insects (Baker and Wharton, 1952).
Family ANOETIDAE
=Histiostoma feroniarum= (Dufour)
Natural host.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Germany (Roeser, 1940): Though not parasitic, the mites at times became so numerous that the insects were hindered in their movement, were unable to feed, and died. The mites were introduced with soil and leaves and had originally been attached to millipedes, waterfleas, and sowbugs.
The deutonymphs, hypopial forms, or travelers are found on insects; the other stages are found in decaying organic matter (Baker and Wharton, 1952).
Family ACARIDAE
=Caloglyphus spinitarsus= (Hermann)
Natural host.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Germany (Roeser, 1940): See notes following Histiostoma feroniarum above.
=Caloglyphus= sp.
Natural hosts.--Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Piquett and Fales, 1952): Mite feeds on organic matter but can reduce the vigor of a cockroach colony.
=Tyrophagus lintneri= (Osborne)
Common name.--Mushroom mite.
Associate.--Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953): Mite determined by Dr. E. W. Baker (personal communication, 1953). Although this mite was found on the cockroach, it is a known pest in stored foods (Baker and Wharton, 1952) and probably was brought into the culture with food. Rau (1924) reported that the food of Blatta orientalis often became infested with this species, but it did not affect the health or mortality of the cockroaches in his culture.
=Tyrophagus noxius= A. Z.
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953): Mite determined by Dr. E. W. Baker (personal communication, 1953). Mites were found in the oöthecal cavity of a female cockroach that had been isolated for her entire adult life. The mites were in a closely packed mass behind a plug of what appeared to be feces, disintegrated eggs, and dried blood; none of the mites were visible until this plug was removed. Baker (personal communication, 1953) stated that the mite is probably not parasitic and that species of the genus feed on organic matter.
=Rhizoglyphus tarsalus= Banks
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Rau, 1940a): Not normally parasitic on cockroaches, but the mites became so numerous at times they would attack living as well as dead and dying cockroaches.
Family GLYCIPHAGIDAE
=Chaetodactylus= sp.
Synonymy.--Trichotarsus sp. [Baker and Wharton, 1952].
Natural host.--Leucophaea maderae, Puerto Rico (Seín, 1923): Mites found on cockroach's thorax and particularly among the folds of the wings (Seín, 1923). Mites of this genus are found infesting organic matter (Baker and Wharton, 1952).
Family PODAPOLIPODIDAE
=Locustacarus= sp.
Natural hosts.--Diploptera punctata and Nauphoeta cinerea, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1954): Mite genus determined by Dr. E. W. Baker (personal communication, 1954). The mites cluster thickly on intersegmental membranes, particularly around the coxae and neck. Despite a heavy infestation, the colony of Nauphoeta thrived for several years. This mite was found first on N. cinerea and possibly transferred to D. punctata when the latter was brought into the laboratory from Hawaii.
Family IOLINIDAE
=Iolina nana= Pritchard
Natural hosts.--Blaberus craniifer (originally from a culture at Harvard University) and Diploptera punctata (originally from Hawaii), U.S.A., Pennsylvania (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953; Pritchard, 1956): The mites usually attached near the wing bases of the insects. Morphologically, the species is intermediate between certain predaceous and phytophagous mites (Pritchard, 1956).
Family PTERYGOSOMIDAE
=Pimeliaphilus podapolipophagus= Trägårdh
Common name.--Cockroach mite.
Natural hosts.--Parcoblatta sp., U.S.A. (Edmunds, 1953a).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Piquett and Fales, 1952).
Cockroaches. U.S.A. (Baker and Wharton, 1952).
Experimental hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica, and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Cunliffe, 1952).
Eggs of this mite (fig. 4) are usually laid indiscriminately in the rearing cages, rarely on the host. Eggs are coated with a sticky secretion which enables those laid on the host to adhere. Hatching occurs in 6-11 days at 90-95° F., and in 9-11 days at 80° F. The newly hatched larva starts to feed immediately on the cockroach. Larval stage lasts 4-6 days, rests 2-3 days, and molts. During the single nymphal instar, the mite feeds on the host and moves about for 6-7 days. The mite then rests 3-4 days before molting. Entire life cycle covers a period of 28-32 days. Adult mite lives 2-3 weeks, during which time it can produce 2-3 batches of from 1 to 20 eggs; the usual batch is about 12 eggs. The mites are unable to live on cockroach feces, cast skins, or dead cockroaches. Mites died within 4-5 days unless live cockroaches were supplied. Parasitism was proved by detecting radioactivity in mites that had fed on cockroaches which had been previously fed radioactive NaCl (Cunliffe, 1952).
The mites can destroy laboratory cultures of cockroaches (Piquett and Fales, 1952; Edmunds, 1953a). A cockroach attacked by 25 mites succumbed after about an hour, falling on its back; it died after 5 hours (Cunliffe, 1952).
When found in homes and offices, these mites are an indication of the presence of cockroaches; the mite has been twice accused of biting people (Baker et al., 1956).
RECORDS OF UNIDENTIFIED MITES
Natural hosts.--Aglaopteryx facies, Puerto Rico (Seín, 1923): Four red "tick" nymphs found under wings of female.
Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A., Florida (Hebard, 1917): "A number of lice [mites] are present on many of these specimens [28[F][F]]."
Blaberus discoidalis, adventive from West Indies, taken in Scotland (Stewart, 1925): A considerable number of mites were all over the body and hind wings.
Blatta orientalis, Germany (Cornelius, 1853): Ex sexual organs of male.
Blattella germanica, U.S.A., in laboratory (Parker, 1939): Under conditions of high humidity, the cockroaches became heavily infested with mites. In cages where the infestation was heavy, an abnormally large number of females dropped their oöthecae, and the percentage of eggs hatching was low.
Parcoblatta uhleriana, U.S.A., North Carolina (Hatcher, 1939): Hypopi of mites were found deeply embedded in the fat body of two individuals.
Mites in the hypopial stage attach to insects by which they are dispersed. Hypopi have been found in the gill chambers of a mollusk and in the gonads of a millipede (Baker and Wharton, 1952).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., in laboratory (Fisk, 1951): The insects were sluggish and molted with difficulty. Gold Coast Colony (Macfie, 1922): Larvae of a tarsonemid mite were found in the feces.
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Illingworth, 1915): During the summer the soil was literally swarming with young of various stages. Early in September most of the adults were dead and all were covered with mites. U.S.A., Connecticut, in laboratory (Zappe, 1918a). Hawaii, in laboratory (Schwabe, 1950): Some of the cockroaches apparently died from mite infestations.
Cockroach, England? (Ealand, 1915): Cockroaches may carry the hypopial stage of the cheese mite.
CONTROL OF MITES IN COCKROACH COLONIES
Fisk (1951) eliminated the mites [possibly Pimeliaphilus podapolipophagus (Baker et al., 1956)] in his cockroach colony by using a 5-percent spray and a 5-percent dust of p-chlorophenyl, p-chlorobenzene sulfonate. The exterior of the cockroach containers were sprayed with the solution and the interior, including the insects, were dusted. Within a month the mites had disappeared and the vigor of the cockroach colony improved. Piquett and Fales (1952) used flowers of sulfur and general sanitary procedures for eliminating the mites in laboratory colonies of Blatta orientalis; they cleaned the dishes every few days and applied grease around the edges of the containers to prevent new mite invasions. Qadri (1938) employed similar control measures.
Class CHILOPODA
Large centipedes which entered houses in India probably sought out cockroaches (Maxwell-Lefroy, 1909). In Puerto Rico, centipedes entered homes to which they were attracted by cockroaches (Seín, 1923). In Hawaii, centipedes preyed on insects generally but especially on cockroaches (Bryan, 1915). Sonan (1924) reported that in Formosa and Okinawa Islands a species of centipede 5 to 6 inches long comes into the houses and devours both adults and nymphs of Periplaneta americana or P. australasiae. Zimmerman (1948) found P. australasiae breeding by scores in rock piles in Hawaii accompanied by large numbers of Scolopendra and large spiders that probably preyed upon the cockroaches.
Order SCUTIGEROMORPHA
Family SCUTIGERIDAE
=Scutigera coleoptrata= (Linnaeus)
Synonymy.--Scutigera forceps Rafinesque [Crabill, 1952].
Common name.--House centipede.
Natural prey.--Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Felt, 1909; Back, 1947; Auerbach, 1951; Crabill, 1952; and others): This predator-prey relationship seems to be based on good circumstantial evidence (Crabill, personal communication, 1953).
Experimental prey.--Blattella germanica, newly hatched nymphs and adult female, U.S.A. (Snodgrass, 1930; Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953).
Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953).
Supella supellectilium, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953): See plate 31.
Our specimen caught a small American cockroach nymph that we placed in its jar. Before it had finished its meal, it caught and held two other nymphs with its legs while it continued to feed on the first. The body of this centipede reaches a maximum length of 27 mm. and it is usually found in basements, dark corners, or in spaces in the walls (Auerbach, 1951). Introduced from Europe, this species is now widespread in the United States (Crabill, 1952).
=Allothereua maculata= (Newport)
Synonymy.--Scutigera maculata [Crabill, personal communication, 1957].
Natural prey.--Cockroaches, Malay peninsula, Batu caves (Ridley in Annandale et al., 1913): This is a presumptive host record.
Order SCOLOPENDROMORPHA
Family SCOLOPENDRIDAE
=Scolopendra cingulata= Latreille
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, England (Cloudsley-Thompson, 1955): After capture in France, this specimen was kept for four weeks without food. She was then fed medium-sized nymphal cockroaches of which she ate an average of about one per week throughout the summer. Adult cockroaches were attacked only after they had been disabled.
=Scolopendra morsitans= Linnaeus
Natural prey.--Cockroaches, Guadeloupe (Lherminier, 1837).
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, India, Nagpur (Jangi, 1955): As soon as the centipede became aware of its prey, it rapidly embraced the cockroach within its legs and with its fangs gripped the insect's thorax. The predator continued to hold the prey with its fangs while its mouth parts prodded the victim's body. After feeding on an adult cockroach, the centipede is not inclined to kill another for 2-3 days.
=Scolopendra subspinipes= Leach
Natural prey.--Cockroaches, Hawaii (Williams et al., 1931): This is a common species with a body length of 6 or more inches. It is reported to be a great enemy of cockroaches.
=Scolopendra= sp.
Natural prey.--Ectobius panzeri, England (Lucas, 1911, 1920): When captured, the centipede was holding a live cockroach which it had apparently just caught. The insect was held beneath its captor's body, ventral surface upward, by several of the anterior legs while the centipede fed.
Class INSECTA
We have found representatives of only 10 orders that have preyed on or parasitized cockroaches: Beetles, flies, bugs, ants, wasps, stylops, and cockroaches occurred in nature; the others resulted from feeding cockroaches to captive insects or were laboratory observations.
Order ODONATA
Family AESHNIDAE
=Anax strenuus= Hagen
Common name.--Giant Hawaiian dragonfly.
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, Hawaii (Williams, 1936): The dragonfly nymph was fed with medium large cockroaches and other insects.
Order BLATTARIA
In this chapter the relations of other arthropods to cockroaches are either as parasites or as predators. Certain cockroaches have turned the tables on their adversaries and become predators themselves. This aspect of cockroach behavior is discussed in chapter XVI. Other associations of cockroaches, as commensals with other insects and as associates of other cockroaches, are discussed in chapters XV and XVII.
Order ORTHOPTERA
Family MANTIDAE
=Hierodula tenuidentata= (Saussure) (?) (Serville)
(Pl. 32)
Experimental prey.--Blatta orientalis, Diploptera punctata, Eurycotis floridana, Leucophaea maderae, Nauphoeta cinerea, Neostylopgya rhombifolia, and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Rilling, personal communication, 1957): Mrs. Rilling wrote us that with the exception of N. rhombifolia, all the above cockroaches were readily eaten. All the mantids initially rejected N. rhombifolia after grasping and making a brief attempt to chew the cockroaches. However, if specimens of N. rhombifolia were left in the jars with the mantids, the cockroaches were usually eaten within the next 24 hours. N. rhombifolia ejects an odorous substance when seized and the mantids probably ate these insects after most of this secretion had been depleted. It is highly probable that the secretion of N. rhombifolia may deter the mantid's attack, but it should be pointed out that, with the possible exception of N. cinerea, all the other species fed to these mantids give off odorous substances when seized or disturbed. Apparently, certain naturally repellent compounds will deter this mantid, whereas others that are presumed to be repellent will not; however, the nutritional state of the mantid is undoubtedly a factor which may limit the effectiveness of certain repellent secretions against this predator.
Byrsotria fumigata, teneral males, and Periplaneta australasiae, nymphs, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1958).
Diploptera punctata, U.S.A. (Eisner, 1958).
=Mantis religiosa= Linnaeus
Common name.--European mantis.
Experimental prey.--Nauphoeta cinerea, and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Rilling, personal communication, 1957).
=Metallyticus semiaeneus= Westwood
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, Borneo (Shelford, 1916).
=Sphodromantis viridus= (Forskål)
Synonymy.--Sphodromantis bioculata Burmeister [Gurney, personal communication, 1958].
Experimental prey.--Blatta orientalis, Egypt (Adair, 1923): This species of cockroach was apparently used regularly as food for the mantid in the laboratory.
=Stagmomantis carolina= (Johansson)
Common name.--Carolina mantis.
Experimental prey.--Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Breland, 1941): The mantids were fed 1-2 German cockroaches daily. One female mantid consumed 10 adult German cockroaches plus one oötheca and part of another in 2.5 hours. An adult German cockroach was consumed in an average of 8.5 minutes (range 5.5-15 minutes).
Blatta orientalis, nymphs, and Diploptera punctata, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953).
=Tarachodes maurus= (Stal)
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, South Africa (Faure, 1940).
=Tenodera aridifolia sinensis= Saussure
Common name.--Chinese mantis.
Experimental prey.--Nauphoeta cinerea and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Rilling, personal communication, 1957).
Family GRYLLACRIDIDAE
=Diestrammena apicalis= Br. v. Wattenwyl
and
=Diestrammena japanica= Blatchley
Natural prey.--Cockroach eggs, Japan (Asano, 1937): These are questionable records. Asano found D. apicalis and D. japanica beneath his house near several empty cockroach oöthecae which appeared to have been eaten into. He assumed from the condition of the oöthecae and the proximity of the stone crickets that the insects had devoured the cockroach eggs.
Experimental prey.--Eggs of Blattella germanica and Periplaneta japanica, Japan (Asano, 1937): Seven eggs of B. germanica (obtained from an oötheca being carried by a female) and eggs of P. japanica (presumably in oöthecae) were fed to both species of stone crickets in the evening. The eggs were devoured by the next morning.
Order DERMAPTERA
Family FORFICULIDAE
=Undetermined earwigs=
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, France (Chopard, 1938): According to Chopard, Brisout de Barneville in 1848 indicated that earwigs in captivity can be fed small cockroaches.
Order HEMIPTERA
Family LYGAEIDAE
=Clerada apicicornis= Signoret
Natural prey.--Cockroach, Hawaii (Illingworth, 1917): This predaceous bug is commonly found about buildings. Illingworth says that Kirkaldy suspected that it fed on small blattids and that Dr. Perkins saw it feeding on a dead cockroach.
Family REDUVIIDAE
=Spiniger domesticus= Pinto
Natural prey.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil, Matto Grosso (Pinto, 1927, 1927a): This bug preys principally on cockroaches and was observed infesting the walls of dwellings where it preyed on P. americana.
=Triatoma arthurneivai= Lent and Martins
Natural prey.--Monastria sp., Brazil, Minas Gerais (Martins, 1941): This bug probably feeds on cockroaches of this genus, as well as on rodents.
=Undetermined reduviids=
Natural prey.--Arenivaga roseni and Polyphaga saussurei, Turkmen S.S.R. (Vlasov and Miram, 1937): These desert cockroaches are found in burrows of rodents and desert turtles around Ashkhabad. Reduviids are their main enemies. Vlasov (1933) found nymphs of Reduvius christophi Jak. and R. fedtschenkianus Osch. in similar burrows in this same area, although he did not specifically cite them as enemies of the desert cockroaches.
Family NEPIDAE
=Ranatra= sp.
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Hoffman, 1924).
Order NEUROPTERA
Family ASCALAPHIDAE
=Undetermined larva=
Experimental prey.--Blattella germanica, Kenya Colony (Someren, 1924).
Order DIPTERA
From the few observations that have come to our attention, it seems that flies are comparatively rare parasites in cockroaches.
Family PHORIDAE
=Megaselia= sp.
Host.--Eggs of Parcoblatta sp., Ohio (Edmunds, 1952a).
Family CONOPIDAE
=Stylogaster stylata= (Fabricius)
Hosts.--Cockroaches, Brazil (Souza Lopes, 1937): L. Travassos was quoted as having observed this species pursue cockroaches that were escaping columns of the army ant Eciton sp. Souza Lopes (1937) stated that the female deposits eggs on the cuticle of the host near the end of the body; the egg is barely inserted and two recurrent hooks prevent it from falling off. Souza Lopes (1937) also observed other species of Stylogaster pursue Orthoptera, but he was unable to devote proper attention to the behavior of the flies.
=Stylogaster= spp.
Hosts.--Chorisoneura sp., Brazil (Souza Lopes, 1937): An adult specimen was found in a museum collection with an egg of Stylogaster attached to the posterior end of its abdomen.
Cockroaches, Panama (C.W. Rettenmeyer, personal communication, 1959): "Seven species were collected hovering over army ant swarms and a few flies were seen apparently attacking cockroaches that had been flushed by the ants."
Family LARVAEVORIDAE
=Calodexia= (?) =venteris= Curran
Hosts.--Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Souza Lopes, 1937): Obtained complete evolution of the parasite in this host. This may have been an experimental host.
=Calodexia= spp.
Hosts.--Cockroaches, Panama (Rettenmeyer, personal communication, 1959): Swarms of army ants are accompanied by about 20 species of Calodexia. These flies larviposit on the cockroaches, crickets, and possibly other arthropods that are flushed from cover by the ants. Larvae were found in one(?) cockroach. Larvae from an adult of Calodexia were introduced experimentally into a cockroach and successfully reared.
=Undetermined tachinids=
Hosts.--Eurycotis floridana, from Florida (Roth, unpublished data, 1953): Three larvae (det. by W.W. Wirth) were found in a living adult male.
Panesthia australis, from Australia (Roth, unpublished data, 1957): Reared from a wild-caught cockroach that was maintained in a laboratory colony.
Cockroaches, Australia (E. F. Riek, personal communication, 1955): Reared from some of the larger species.
Family MUSCIDAE
=Coenosia basalis= Stein
Host.--Eggs of Parcoblatta sp., Ohio (Edmunds, 1952a).
Family SARCOPHAGIDAE
=Sarcophaga omani= Hall
Host.--Arenivaga bolliana, Texas (Wirth, personal communication, 1953): Specimens in U.S. National Museum.
=Sarcophaga lambens= Wied.
Synonymy.--Sarcophaga sternodontis (Towns.).
Hoffman (1927) claimed that approximately 40 percent of some specimens of Pycnoscelus surinamensis collected in southern Haiti were parasitized by S. lambens. However, according to entomologists at the University of Puerto Rico Agricultural Experiment Station, Hoffman was incorrect in his observations: S. lambens was never reared from a living insect and had been recovered only from dead cockroaches and other dead insects and was considered saprophytic rather than parasitic (Schwabe, 1950b).
=Sarcophaga= spp.
Sanjean (1957) reared various species of sarcophagid larvae on Periplaneta americana which were freshly killed or chopped up; first instar larvae were also introduced into the body cavity of cockroaches which had their heads and legs removed. Adult sarcophagids were collected and freshly killed American cockroaches used as bait.
Order COLEOPTERA
Family CARABIDAE
=Harpalus pennsylvanicus= De Geer
Experimental prey.--Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A. (Cleveland et al., 1934): This beetle is often found in the galleries of C. punctulatus in nature. In the laboratory it killed and devoured cockroaches as large as itself.
Family DYTISCIDAE
=Rhantus pacificus= Boisduval
Experimental prey.--Cockroaches, disabled, Hawaii (Williams, 1936): This beetle, which is common in mountain streams, located wounded cockroaches in an aquarium by sense of smell or taste rather than sight.
Family LAMPYRIDAE
=Undetermined larva=
Experimental prey.--Parcoblatta virginica, adult female (pl. 33, C), U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953).
Family RIPIPHORIDAE[5]
=Neonephrites partiniger= Riek
Natural host.--Cockroach (undescribed genus belonging to the Pseudomopinae), Australia Capital Territory (Riek, 1955).
=Neorhipidius neoxenus= Riek
Natural host.--Robshelfordia longiuscula or Robshelfordia circumducta, Australia Capital Territory (Riek, 1955).
=Paranephrites xenus= Riek
Natural host.--Oniscosoma granicollis, Australia Capital Territory (Riek, 1955).
=Rhipidioides ableptus= Riek
Natural host.--Balta patula, Australia, Victoria (Riek, 1955): Pupal stage lasted only 3 days.
=Rhipidioides adynatus= Riek
Natural host.--Escala sp. or an undescribed genus of Pseudomopinae, Australia, Victoria (Riek, 1955).
=Rhipidioides fuscatus= Riek
Natural host.--Ellipsidion affine, Australia, New South Wales (Riek, 1955).
=Rhipidioides helenae= Riek
Natural host.--Robshelfordia longiuscula or Robshelfordia circumducta, Australia Capital Territory (Riek, 1955).
=Rhipidioides mollis= Riek
Natural host.--Robshelfordia longiuscula or Robshelfordia circumducta, Australia Capital Territory (Riek, 1955).
=Rhipidioides rubricatus= Riek
Natural host.--Choristima sp. and Choristimodes sp., Australia Capital Territory (Riek, 1955).
=Riekella australis= (Riek)
Synonymy.--Nephrites australis Riek [Selander, 1957].
Natural host.--Cutilia sp., Australia Capital Territory (Riek, 1955): Two females emerged from one host.
=Riekella nitidioides= Selander
Synonymy.--Nephrites nitidus of Riek not Shuckard [Selander, 1957].
Natural host.--Platyzosteria sp., Tasmania (Riek, 1955).
=Riekella= sp.
Synonymy.--Nephrites sp. [Selander, 1957].
Natural host.--Platyzosteria castanea, Australia Capital Territory (Riek, 1955).
Biology of Australian Ripidiini.--The Australian species of Ripidiini are parasites of apparently endemic, ground-dwelling species of cockroaches. There is some correlation between host subfamily and parasite genus: Riekella spp. [= Nephrites] have only been bred from Blattinae. Rhipidioides spp. occur only in the closely related Ectobiinae and Pseudomopinae. Neonephrites and Neorhipidius also occur in the Pseudomopinae. Paranephrites occurs in the Panchlorinae. There is some evidence that the parasitized cockroaches migrate onto trees when the larval parasite is mature, as pupae have only been found on the trunks of eucalyptus trees. In all species the larva leaves the host dorsally through an intersegmental membrane. The host continues to live for a few days after the parasite emerges. The larva attaches itself to bark on the tree trunk by a few strands of silk before pupating. The larviform, wingless female remains near the pupal skin and is sought out by the winged male. The eggs are laid in a mass around the pupal skin (Riek, 1955).
=Ripidius[5] boissyi= Abeille
Balduf (1935) lists Ripidius boissyi as parasitic on nymphs of Ectobius pallidus giving Abeille de Perrin (1909) as a source for this information. However, Abeille de Perrin simply presumed that R. boissyi parasitized E. pallidus because he collected this cockroach in the same habitat as the beetle. Abeille de Perrin suggested that the species of the genus Ripidius lived in the bodies of cockroaches, but there are no rearing records, as far as we know, of R. boissyi from cockroach hosts.
=Ripidius denisi= Chobaut
Chobaut (1919), in France, collected both R. denisi and Ectobius pallidus when beating an oak tree. Because of the known association of other species of Ripidius with cockroaches, he presumed that this beetle was parasitic on E. pallidus, a cockroach common in this beetle's habitat.
=Ripidius pectinicornis= Thunberg
Synonymy.--Symbius blattarum Sundevall [Leng, 1920].
Natural hosts.--Blattella germanica, on shipboard (Sundevall, 1831); Germany (Aclogue and Fowler, in Burr, 1899a); on steamship "Samui" (Stamm, 1936); on cruiser "Duguay-Trouin" (Barbier, 1947); Hawaii (Williams, 1946a): This last record was based on a specimen dissected from an adult German cockroach collected on an airplane from the South Pacific. The parasite was reported as Ripidius sp. by Williams, but Weber (1948) made the specific identification.
Ectobius pallidus? Abeille de Perrin (1909) stated that R. pectinicornis was first described by Sunders [sic] as blattarum because it had been captured in the body of Ectobia livida. We presume that Abeille de Perrin was referring to Sundevall's work in which the host was given as Blattella germanica.
Periplaneta americana, on shipboard (Sundevall, 1831): One nymph only.
With the exception of the single nymph of P. americana, R. pectinicornis apparently attacks only adult females and nymphs of B. germanica. Barbier (1947) found only B. germanica parasitized, although both Blatta orientalis and Supella supellectilium were prevalent on board the ship. Primary larvae of the parasite failed to parasitize Supella.
Adult behavior.--The winged male is relatively active compared to the apterous female; it runs around, flies well, and jumps on the female when in her vicinity. The female remains stationary and lays eggs around her by bending her long ovipositor (Sundevall, 1831). The eggs (50-100) are laid among a network of silk fibers secreted by the female. The female dies after completing oviposition (Barbier, 1947).
Development.--The eggs hatch after 14 days, and the primary (triungulin) larvae ascend the host's legs to its body; the larvae then cut the intersegmental membrane between the metasternum and first abdominal segment of the cockroach, in order to enter the host's abdomen (Barbier, 1947). Chobaut (1892) first suggested this method of attack by the ripiphorid larva. As the parasites develop, the abdomen of the host becomes swollen. Developing larvae apparently eat the host's fat body, leaving the vital organs until the last. Parasitized female hosts were sterile and the eggs, when formed, never hatched. Development of the oötheca was also inhibited. There were usually two larval parasites per host, but three or four were found several times (Barbier, 1947). Sundevall (1831) found only one larva per cockroach except one host which, when crushed, yielded five. Stamm (1936) found three hosts infested with five larvae each. In a little over 100 cockroaches, Stamm found 10 that were parasitized.
The day before the parasite leaves the host, the cockroach shows an abrupt uneasiness and runs about, finally falling over on its back. The parasite larva emerges from the host through an opening it makes in the membrane between penultimate and last tergite. The host dies a few hours after the larva has left. The larva seeks a sheltered area and pupates within 48 hours. Adults emerge in 9 days (females) and 13 days (males) (Barbier, 1947).
Distribution.--Adult males have been collected in light traps in Hawaii (Van Zwaluenburg, 1946), and the first female was reported by Weber (1948); the parasite is now established in the islands around Pearl Harbor (Dr. F. X. Williams, personal communication, 1953). The U. S. National Museum has specimens of R. pectinicornis from England, Guatemala, Hawaii, Panama, and from Florida and Georgia in the U. S. (Dr. E. A. Chapin, personal communication, 1953). Kono (in Asano, 1937) reported two species in Japan. It is noteworthy that all these records are from localities adjacent to oceans and on ships; none are from interiors of continents. The only biological data were obtained from parasites found on board ships. Sundevall (1831) believed that the parasites boarded his ship with their hosts during loading in Calcutta, since before that not any were seen on board. Barbier (1947) suggested that the parasite must be spread very easily in ports between neighboring ships by parasitized cockroaches in baskets or sacks of provisions.
=Ripidius scutellaris= Heller
Natural hosts.--Blattidae, Philippine Islands (Schultze, 1925).
Family DERMESTIDAE
=Dermestes ater= De Geer
Common name.--Black larder beetle.
Natural prey.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, unpublished data, 1953): Dermestes ater is generally a scavenger, but we have seen adult beetles, which had developed in our cockroach colony, clinging to and feeding on living oriental cockroaches, eventually killing them; the beetles probably attack only the weakened or injured cockroaches in a culture. This was a natural infestation of a laboratory culture by a predator.
Experimental prey.--Blattella germanica, oöthecae, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, 1950): The beetle larvae can penetrate unhatched oöthecae of the German but not those of the American or oriental cockroaches.
=Dermestes= sp.
Natural prey.--Blatta orientalis, oöthecae, U.S.A., Missouri: Rau (1924) stated that Dermestes larvae often infest the egg cases of this cockroach; it is probable that Rau was referring to cockroaches in laboratory cultures.
Order STREPSIPTERA
Pierce (1909) predicted that the Blattoidea and the Grylloidea would be the only groups of the Orthoptera which would be parasitized by Strepsiptera. Essig (1926) made the statement that certain cockroaches are among the hosts of Strepsiptera. E. F. Riek (personal communication, 1952) found a strepsipteron in a late nymph of Cutilia sp. from Waroona, Western Australia; he wrote us, "The female parasite is extruded between a pair of sternites towards the base of the abdomen and appears to belong to the family Halictophagidae." This is the only record that we have been able to find of a strepsipteron parasitizing cockroaches.
Order HYMENOPTERA
PREDATORS AND PARASITES OF COCKROACH EGGS
Wasps from at least six families of Hymenoptera have been recorded as developing on cockroach eggs. All the Evaniidae are presumed to be parasitic in the egg capsules of cockroaches (Clausen, 1940; Townes, 1951), although hosts for many of the described species have yet to be discovered. The presence of evaniids in dwellings indicates the presence of cockroaches (Gross, 1950). At times these wasps may become a nuisance; a family in Worthington, Ohio, complained of the evaniid wasps that they found on the windows and in other areas of their home, but they were apparently not annoyed by the oriental cockroaches in the basement (Edmunds, 1953).
The known parasites of cockroach eggs are listed below with summaries of their biology.
Family EVANIIDAE
=Acanthinevania princeps= (Westwood)
Synonymy.--Evania princeps [Dr. H. Townes, personal communication, 1956].
Natural host.--Cockroach eggs, Australia (Froggatt, 1906).
=Brachygaster minutus= (Olivier)
Synonymy.--Evania minuta Olivier [Kieffer, 1920].
Natural hosts.--Blattella germanica, Europe? (Schletterer, 1889; Kiefer, 1912; Crosskey, 1951.)
Ectobius lapponicus, Europe? (Schletterer, 1889; Kieffer, 1912; Crosskey, 1951.)
Ectobius panzeri var. nigripes? Great Britain (Blair, 1952): This is a presumptive record. The wasp was collected at Niton and Headon Hill, Isle of Wight, an area in which this variety of E. panzeri was the only species of cockroach known to occur.
Ectobius sp., England (Cameron, 1955, 1957): Natural History Museum records.
Adult wasps have been collected on Asparagus officinalis Linnaeus (Schmiedeknecht in Schletterer, 1889; Crosskey, 1951). Thompson's (1951) citation of records of B. minutus and Evania appendigaster from Blatta orientalis and Blattella germanica, and Cameron's (1957) citation of these records and one from Ectobius lapponicus, all attributed to Kadocsa (1921), are almost certainly in error. Kadocsa (1921, p. 33) listed these wasps as egg parasites of cockroaches but not necessarily in Hungary and did not name specific cockroach hosts.
The present writers have found no information, other than host reports, on the biology of Brachygaster minutus. The records of this wasp parasitizing B. germanica may trace back to Schletterer, but his listing may not have been an original observation. Since the female of B. germanica carries its oötheca attached to the abdomen until or just before the eggs hatch, it would seem that the female of B. minutus (if the host records are valid) must oviposit into the oötheca of this species while it is still being carried by the female; this would not necessarily be true for the other hosts which drop the egg case long before the eggs hatch.
Distribution.--Europe: Sweden, Russia, England, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy (Kieffer, 1920).
=Evania appendigaster= (Linnaeus)
Synonymy.--Evania desjardinsii Bordage, Evania laevigata Latreille [Dalla Torre, 1901-1902].
Natural hosts.--Blatta, "exotic species" (Westwood, 1854, 1954a).
Blatta orientalis, Europe? (Schletterer, 1886; Howard, 1888, Kieffer, 1912); Egypt? (Alfieri, 1914; Adair, 1923). [Girault (1907, 1914) erroneously attributed another record to Marlatt (1902);[see footnote 6]. See also notes under Brachygaster minutus with respect to Kadocsa.]
Blattella germanica? (Girault 1907, 1914). [This record is obviously an error. Girault attributed the record to Marlatt (1902); see footnote 6.]
Cutilia soror, Hawaii (Swezey, 1929; Zimmerman, 1948).
Leucophaea maderae (Schletterer, 1889; Bordage, 1896; Kieffer, 1912): These records are probably erroneous inasmuch as this cockroach incubates its eggs internally (Roth and Willis, 1954). Later, after finding that L. maderae is ovoviviparous, Bordage (1913) admitted having misidentified a parasitized oötheca from some other species; he concluded that the developing eggs of this species are protected against egg parasites because they are carried within the female. Clausen (1940), in classifying the placement of parasitic wasp eggs in relation to the host, erected the category: Egg placed in the embryo while the latter is still within the parent. He stated that although this behavior was not definitely known to occur, it probably could occur. However, the records cited above do not indicate that the alleged parasitization followed this pattern.
Neostylopyga rhombifolia, Hawaii (Swezey, 1929).
Periplaneta americana, Europe (Schletterer, 1889; Bordage, 1896; Kieffer, 1912); Réunion Island (Bordage, 1913); Puerto Rico (Seín, 1923); Jamaica (Gowdey, 1925); Hawaii (Swezey, 1929); Palestine (Bodenheimer, 1930); U.S.A., Florida (Ashmead, 1900); Maryland (Piquett and Fales, 1952); Saudi Arabia, Jedda (Cameron, 1957); Canton Island and Samoa (Dumbleton, 1957).
Periplaneta americana or P. australasiae, Formosa (Sonan, 1924).
Periplaneta australasiae, U.S.A., Florida (Ashmead, 1900); Hawaii (Swezey, 1929; Zimmerman, 1948). [Girault (1914) erroneously attributed another record to Marlatt (1902); see footnote 6, above.]
Experimental host.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Haber, 1920).
Relatively little detailed information was known about this wasp (fig. 5), one of the earliest parasites of cockroach eggs to be discovered, until Cameron (1957) studied its biology. Arnold (Kirby and Spence, 1826) discovered that the genus Evania parasitized Blatta, but did not know whether the wasp developed on the cockroach eggs or in the nymphs. MacLeay (Westwood, 1843) determined that Evania developed within the oöthecae of cockroaches. Westwood (1854a) found the larvae, pupae, and adults of E. appendigaster in egg cases of an unidentified species of cockroach found on orchids received from Calcutta.
Adult behavior.--Adult wasps visited flowers of parsley, Petroselium crispum, and fennel, Foeniculum vulgare (Margretti in Schletterer, 1886; Crosskey, 1951). In Hawaii the adult wasps have been seen resting on leaves coated with honey dew (Williams et al., 1931); Evania sp. were attracted to the honey dew secreted by a diaspine scale insect (Williams, 1931). Adults lived two to three weeks in captivity with ample food and water (Cameron, 1957).
Oviposition.--Shelford (1912, 1916) erroneously supposed that Evania, by means of her cleaverlike abdomen, opened the oötheca at the crista and then deposited her egg or eggs on the eggs of the cockroach. Haber (1920) observed and described oviposition. The female wasp crawled over the surface of the oötheca, actively vibrating her antennae, and settled with the axis of her body parallel to the axis of the egg case as it lay upon its right side. Lying on her right side, the wasp extended her ovipositor and punctured the oötheca in the fifth cell on the left side; she remained in this position for about 15 minutes. Cameron (1957) described similar oviposition behavior that lasted about half an hour. Kieffer (1912) and Crosskey (1951) stated that the female deposits her eggs before the walls of the oötheca harden.
Development.--Kieffer (1912) stated that the larvae in this family eat the cockroach eggs and pupate in the oötheca without forming a cocoon. Smith (1945) stated that the larva feeds on one cockroach egg after another until all are destroyed; by that time it is full grown and it pupates within the oötheca. Cameron (1957) found that there are five larval instars and that in material from Saudi Arabia there are three or possibly four generations a year.
Distribution.--Tropical and subtropical parts of the world as far north as New York City, and all of Europe except the northern part (Kieffer, 1920; Townes, 1949). The wide distribution of Evania has been attributed to the abundance of host cockroaches on ships between the Tropics (Haldeman, 1847). Kieffer (1903) appears to have shown some correlation between the numbers of species of cockroaches found in various geographical regions and the numbers of species of evaniids found in similar regions. However, the number of blattids he listed is small.
=Evania dimidiata= Fabricius
Synonymy.--Evania abyssinica Westwood [Schletterer, 1889].
Natural host.--Blatta orientalis, Egypt? (Alfieri, 1914).
=Evania subspinosa= Kieffer
Natural host.--Periplaneta sp., Fiji (Lever, 1946): Although Lever (1946) listed this species as a cockroach-egg parasite, he did not state that he actually reared it from Periplaneta oöthecae.
=Hyptia dorsalis= of Ashmead
Synonymy.--Dr. H. Townes, (personal communication, 1956) believes that this wasp was probably either H. reticulata, H. harpyoides, or H. thoracica; it is not possible to tell which without reexamining Ashmead's specimens; these apparently have been lost.
Natural host.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A., Mississippi (Ashmead, 1900).
=Hyptia harpyoides= Bradley
Natural hosts.--Parcoblatta virginica, U.S.A., Ohio (Edmunds, 1952a, 1953a, 1954).
Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A. (Muesebeck, 1958).
Parcoblatta uhleriana, U.S.A., Natick, Mass.: Oötheca collected by L. Roth, May 17, 1956; wasp emerged June 12, 1956 (pl. 33, B); determined by Dr. H. Townes. The keel region of the oötheca of P. uhleriana (pl. 18, B) is different from that of any other species of Parcoblatta (Hebard, 1917; Lawson, 1954) so there can be no doubt as to the species of cockroach parasitized by this wasp.
Development.--The last instar larva overwinters inside the cockroach oötheca (Edmunds, 1954). Five oöthecae yielded one parasite each (Edmunds, 1953a).
Distribution.--Canada, Ontario. U.S.A.: New Hampshire and Minnesota to South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, and Kansas. Upper and Lower Austral Zones (Townes, 1951).
=Hyptia reticulata= Say
Natural host.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A., Missouri (Rau, 1940).
Adult wasps have been taken on parsnip, Pastinaca sativa (Robertson, 1928).
Distribution.--U.S.A.: Pennsylvania to Florida and Louisiana. Mexico. Upper Austral to Tropical Zones (Townes, 1951).
=Hyptia thoracica= (Blanchard)
Natural host.--Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A., Ohio (Edmunds, 1952a, 1953a, 1954).
Adult behavior.--Copulation was rapid, lasting only a few seconds. Blooms of Asmorrhiza longistylis were placed in a cage with adult wasps. The insects were attracted to and fed on the flowers (Edmunds, 1954).
Development.--Entire contents of oötheca are eaten by the single larva. Last instar larva overwinters inside the oötheca. Emergence in Ohio was around the middle of June. The emergence hole made by this genus was about 2 mm. in diameter. The hole was made at the top side of the oötheca near one end. Adult took about 65 minutes to emerge from the time its mandibles first broke through the oöthecal wall. (Edmunds, 1954.)
Distribution.--Canada, Ontario, U.S.A.: Connecticut to Wisconsin, south to Florida and Texas. Upper Austral to Tropical Zones. (Townes, 1951.)
=Hyptia= sp.
Natural host.--Cariblatta delicatula, Cuba (Hebard, 1916a); Parasite identified by Ashmead.
=Hyptia= sp. (undescribed)
Natural host.--Parcoblatta sp., U.S.A., Ohio (Edmunds, 1952a).
=Prosevania punctata= (Brullé)
Synonymy.--Evania punctata Brullé [Townes, 1949].
Natural and experimental hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Istrian Peninsula (Fahringer, 1922); Algeria (Cros, 1942); U.S.A., Ohio (Edmunds, 1954).
Blattella germanica? Europe? (Girault 1907, 1914); Europe (Fahringer, 1922). [The records on this host are extremely doubtful. Girault erroneously cited Marlatt (1902) as the source of this record; see footnote 6, page 236. Fahringer, however, claimed that he obtained seven female parasites from oöthecae of Blattella germanica. He placed female parasites with adults of B. germanica in a glass cage. As soon as oöthecae could be seen between folds of a woolen rag, he removed all the larger cockroaches and held the oöthecae until the parasites emerged. Fahringer may have been dealing with a different species of cockroach, because placing oöthecae in crevices (or between folds of rag) is a habit foreign to B. germanica, the female of which usually carries her oötheca until hatching or until about a day before. Edmunds (1953b) could not induce this wasp to parasitize eggs of B. germanica.]
Periplaneta americana, Istrian Peninsula (Fahringer, 1922); Palestine (Bodenheimer, 1930); U.S.A., Ohio (Edmunds, 1952, 1953b, 1954).
Adult behavior.--The wasps (pl. 33, A) are very active; they walk about a great deal and fly short distances. They are often found in abundance in buildings infested with the larger domiciliary cockroaches where they may reproduce for many generations without leaving the premises. Specimens have also been collected outdoors. (Edmunds, 1953, 1954.) As the adult walks about, the laterally compressed abdomen moves up and down like a waving flag; because of this behavior, these insects are commonly known as ensign-flies. Cros (1942) maintained adults 17 days without food. Edmunds (1954) fed adults on unidentified flowers in the laboratory. He also maintained them for 20 days after capture on a 5-percent honey solution.
Oviposition.--A female P. punctata selected oöthecae of P. americana for oviposition and ignored those of B. orientalis and Parcoblatta pensylvanica in the same cage. Oviposition was accomplished as described for Evania appendigaster. One oötheca was turned over onto its right side by the wasp before she oviposited. (Edmunds, 1952.) Although there seemed to be a "preferred" position for oviposition, it was not obligatory. The usual position was for the female to face the keel of the oötheca, but she also oviposited from the opposite side or, rarely, directly down into the side of the oötheca. The average time spent by females in 10 ovipositions was 29 minutes (range 16-62 minutes). The wasp apparently could not determine whether the eggs had been previously parasitized. The wasp laid her egg between the cockroach eggs rather than in them and she oviposited into oöthecae that had just been dropped and those two weeks old or older. On three occasions nymphal cockroaches emerged within a few hours after the wasp had oviposited. (Edmunds, 1954.) Apparently, for successful parasitization the wasp must oviposit before the cockroaches have reached the final stages of preemergence development. Edmunds (1954) placed females of Periplaneta americana that were carrying oöthecae, into cages with Prosevania; some of the female wasps showed considerable interest in the attached oöthecae, but he observed oviposition only into egg cases that had been dropped by the cockroaches.
Cros (1942) described an interesting reaction that he called "instinctive hostility" of the oriental cockroach toward Prosevania. A wasp was placed in a jar in which a cockroach had just deposited its oötheca. The wasp tried to oviposit into the egg case but was upset and pursued by the cockroach. The cockroach placed herself over the oötheca, standing high on her legs, and remained there motionless. The wasp then approached from the rear, slipped under the cockroach, and, unnoticed by the cockroach, climbed on the oötheca and oviposited successfully.
Development.--In Blatta orientalis: The developmental period was completed in 40-57 days in summer and fall (Cros, 1942). Time from oviposition to emergence of adult varied from 45-177 days; three parthenotes from an oviposition by an unfertilized female wasp developed in 45-53 days (Edmunds, 1954). In Blattella germanica: Almost 4 weeks spent in development (Fahringer, 1922). In Periplaneta americana: Three wasps developed in 127 days (Edmunds, 1952). Only one parasite develops in each oötheca. There were three generations a year in Ohio. (Edmunds, 1954.) In Algeria there were two to three generations per year. The adult emerged from the oötheca through a hole 4 mm. in diameter. (Cros, 1942.) Parthenogenesis exists; the unfertilized eggs produced only males (Edmunds, 1954).
Distribution.--Eastern U.S.A., from New York and Ohio south to Georgia (Townes, 1949). Europe, Syria, Palestine (Kieffer, 1920).
=Szepligetella sericea= (Cameron)
Synonymy.--Evania sericea Cameron [Townes, 1949, personal communication, 1956]. Evania impressa Schletterer [Townes, p. c., 1956].
Natural hosts.--Cutilia soror and Neostylopyga rhombifolia, Hawaii (Swezey, 1929).
Periplaneta americana and Periplaneta australasiae, Hawaii (Swezey, 1929; Zimmerman, 1948).
Periplaneta sp., Fiji (Lever, 1943, 1946).
Adults are sometimes found resting on leaves covered with honey dew (Williams et al., 1931).
=Zeuxevania splendidula= Costa
Natural hosts.--Loboptera decipiens, France (Lavagne, 1914; Genieys, 1924).
Picard (1913) believed that Z. splendidula parasitized L. decipiens and not its eggs; however, Lavagne (1914) explained the true relationship by dissecting two specimens of Z. splendidula from oöthecae of L. decipiens.
The following information is taken from Genieys (1924): Oviposition.--Wasp egg is introduced into the still-soft oötheca before the wall hardens. Some oöthecae had four oviposition scars but never contained more than two parasite eggs. Development.--Larva commences development in July or August. Only one larva completes development, but it eats all the eggs in the oötheca. The wasp passes the winter as a last instar larva and pupates in the spring; the adult emerges during the spring or in June. Hyperparasitism.--About 10 percent of the oöthecae of Loboptera decipiens that were parasitized by Z. splendidula were also hyperparasitized by an eulophid (see Syntomosphyrum ischnopterae, p. 249).
Family CLEONYMIDAE
=Agamerion metallica= Girault
Natural hosts.--Ellipsidion australe, Australia, Queensland (Dodd, 1917): "the parasite when ready to emerge fully occupies the whole space of the destroyed eggs."
Cockroach, Australia, New South Wales (Dr. B. D. Girault, 1915a).
Family ENCYRTIDAE
=Blatticida pulchra= Ashmead
Natural host.--Cockroach eggs on orange leaves, Australia, New South Wales (Gahan and Peck, 1946). According to Dr. A. B. Gurney the oötheca associated with the type specimens of the wasps in the United States National Museum is possibly Balta sp. (Burks, personal communication, 1956).
=Blatticidella ashmeadi= (Girault)
Synonymy.--Blatticida ashmeadi. Blatticida Girault, 1915, is preoccupied by Blatticida Ashmead, 1904. In 1923 Gahan and Fagan renamed Blatticida Girault, Blatticidella. [Burks, p. c., 1956.]
Natural host.--Cockroach, Australia, Queensland (Girault, 1915).
=Cheiloneurus viridiscutum= (Girault)
Synonymy.--Cristatithorax Girault = Cheiloneurus Westwood [Mercet, 1921].
Natural host.--Ellipsidion australe, Australia, Queensland (Dodd, 1917).
=Comperia merceti= (Compere)
Synonymy.--Comperia merceti var. falsicornis Gomes [Peck, 1951].
Natural hosts.--Blattella germanica, Brazil, Distrito Federal (Gomes, 1941): In the English summary of his paper, Gomes states that C. merceti var. falsicornis was reared from B. germanica. However, in the body of the paper, he states that the supposed origin of the parasite was the oötheca of B. germanica. Burks (personal communication, 1956) does not believe that this wasp parasitizes the eggs of B. germanica. We (unpublished data, 1957) exposed six oöthecae of B. germanica to C. merceti. In order to retard water loss the oöthecae were removed from the females by cutting the insects in two so that each oötheca remained attached to the posterior part of the abdomen. No wasps developed in these oöthecae.
Supella supellectilium, U.S.A., Kansas (Lawson, 1954a); Hawaii (Zimmerman, 1944; Compere, 1946; Keck, 1951).
Adult behavior.--Males and nonovipositing females showed a flea-like jumping tendency. Adults were attracted to light and were found near windows. Both sexes pursued an erratic course in walking and continually touched the surface with their antennae. (Lawson, 1954a.)
Oviposition.--The wasp (pl. 34, B) selected a site on an oötheca with the sheath of her ovipositor; it was uncertain whether there was a definite preference for oviposition sites. Wasp tended to choose a nearly horizontal position for oviposition. She preferred to oviposit into eggs about 2 weeks old, although she would place eggs in oöthecae less than a week old and in embryos in the green band stage. There were 1-50 oviposition punctures per oötheca. (Lawson, 1954a.)
Development.--If enough wasp larvae were present, they ate all eggs in an oötheca. Occasionally wasps developed in one end of an oötheca while cockroaches developed in the other; when this occurred, the cockroach nymphs always emerged last. The developmental period was 30-41 days at room temperature. There were 5-25 parasites per oötheca. The single exit hole in the oötheca varied from 0.6 to 0.9 mm. in diameter. (Lawson, 1954a.)
Distribution.--U.S.A.: New Jersey south to Florida, west to Illinois, Kansas, and Arizona. West Indies; Central and South America; Hawaii. (Burks, personal communication, 1956.)
=Dicarnosis alfierii= Mercet
Natural hosts.--"Phyllodromia" sp., Egypt (Mercet, 1930): According to Mercet, Dr. Alfieri claimed that this wasp parasitized one of the species of "Phyllodromia" found in Egypt, namely, Phyllodromia [= Blattella] germanica, Phyllodromia [= Supella] supellectilium and/or Phyllodromia treitliana. We do not know to which modern genus the host of this wasp belonged.
Cockroach, Egypt? (Mercet in Compere, 1938.)
=Eutrichosomella blattophaga= Girault
Natural host.--Cockroach, Australia, Queensland (Girault, 1915).
Family EUPELMIDAE[7]
=Anastatus blattidifurax= Girault
Natural host.--Cockroach, Australia, Queensland (Girault, 1915).
=Anastatus floridanus= Roth and Willis
Natural host.--Eurycotis floridana, U.S.A., Florida (Roth and Willis, 1954a).
Experimental hosts.--Blatta orientalis, Eurycotis floridana, and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Roth and Willis, 1954a).
Adult behavior.--Female wasps are sexually receptive almost immediately on leaving the oötheca. Mating takes 3-4 seconds. Males mate repeatedly and may fertilize several females; females may also mate more than once. At about 80° F. the female wasps lived 2-4 days, males one day.
Oviposition.--The female wasp first probes the oötheca with her sheathed ovipositor until she finds an acceptable spot; she then drills through the wall of the oötheca with her ovipositor. One female oviposited for 5 hours, but briefer periods were more usual. We have seen six or more females ovipositing simultaneously into an oötheca of Eurycotis floridana. One female was seen to feed on material that oozed from the oviposition puncture. The wasp (pl. 34, A) may oviposit into the oötheca of E. floridana while it is still being carried by the female, as well as in oöthecae that have been dropped and which have hard walls. Eggs 36 days old were successfully parasitized.
Development.--In Eurycotis floridana: In the laboratory, development was completed in 34-36 days at about 85° F. This time was regulated to some extent by the number of parasites in the oötheca.
There is evidence that larvae eat unhatched wasp eggs or other larvae. In 34 oöthecae exposed to many female wasps, the maximum number of parasites to emerge was 306; yet an average of 601 wasp larvae were dissected from four oöthecae that had each been exposed to 50 female wasps one week earlier. The larvae usually eat all the host eggs. Cockroach eggs that were not eaten by the wasp larvae sometimes developed but usually failed to hatch. Adult wasps made one to six emergence holes in the oötheca; the average number in 42 oöthecae was two holes.
Number of parasites per oötheca.--In Blatta orientalis: One of 111 oöthecae exposed to female wasps yielded 48 parasites. In Eurycotis floridana: One oötheca parasitized in the field yielded 68 parasites; 8 oöthecae exposed to single wasps for their entire lifespan yielded an average of 50 ± 6 parasites (range 23-81); 34 oöthecae exposed to many wasps for their entire lifespan yielded an average of 198 ± 8 parasites (range 93-306). In Periplaneta americana: Nine oöthecae of 152 exposed to the wasps were found to be parasitized when dissected; 11 adults emerged from one oötheca; no parasites emerged from the other 8 oöthecae.
Sex ratio.--4 [F][F]:1 [M] from ovipositions by isolated females. In the one oötheca collected in the field, the ratio was 21.6 [F][F]:1 [M]. Parthenogenesis exists; the unfertilized eggs produced only males.
=Anastatus tenuipes= Bolívar y Pieltain
Synonymy.--Anastatus blattidarum Ferrière. Dr. C. Ferrière (personal communication, 1957) is of the opinion that his A. blattidarum is a synonym of A. tenuipes. He stated "I have never been able to see the unique type of A. tenuipes B. y P., which is in Madrid, but the description agrees with A. blattidarum. I had not yet knowledge of Bolívar's description, when describing my species. The parasite of cockroaches eggs [Supella supellectilium] should be called A. tenuipes Bol." Mani (1938) synonymized Solindenia blattiphagus Mani with Anastatus blattidarum.
Natural hosts.--Supella supellectilium, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (Ferrière, 1930, 1935); U.S.A., Arizona (Flock, 1941); Egypt (Alfieri, in Hafez and Afifi, 1956). Ohio (Hull and Davidson, 1958).
Periplaneta americana, India (Burks in Roth and Willis, 1954a).
Cockroach, Hawaii (Weber, 1951); India (Mani, 1936).
The following is based on parasites that developed on eggs of Supella supellectilium (Flock, 1941): Adult behavior.--Wasp may be seen running rapidly on walls in buildings infested with the cockroach host. The wasp rarely flies but hops proficiently; when disturbed it can hop from several inches to several feet. The female licks up the drop of fluid that oozes from the oviposition puncture. Females die in a few days, but if fed honey and water may live two weeks. Oviposition.--The female selects an oötheca by feeling with her antennae. Flock stated, without citing experimental evidence, that the age of the egg case was apparently the chief factor determining choice. The wasp took 15-45 minutes to oviposit. Three females oviposited simultaneously into a single oötheca; a single female repeatedly oviposited into one oötheca at intervals. Development.--Completed in an average of 32.6 days at a constant temperature of 82° F.
Number of parasites per oötheca.--Average about 10.7 (range 4-16) (Flock, 1941); 15 (Ferrière, 1935).
Sex ratio.--4 [F][F]:1 [M] (Ferrière, 1935); average of 6 [F][F]:1 [M] (Flock, 1941). Parthenogenesis occurs; the unfertilized eggs produced only males (Flock, 1941).
Distribution.--U.S.A.: Maryland, south to Florida, west to Illinois, Kansas, and Arizona. Guatemala; Hawaii; India; Egypt; Sudan. (Burks, personal communication, 1956).
=Eupelmus atriflagellum= Girault
Natural host.--Blattella germanica, Australia, Queensland (Girault, 1924).
=Eupelmus= sp.
Natural host.--"Tree cockroach," U.S.A., Florida (Howard, 1892).
=Solindenia picticornis= Cameron
Natural hosts.--Allacta similis, Hawaii (Perkins, 1906, 1913; Timberlake, 1924; Swezey, 1929; Zimmerman, 1948).
Other species of cockroaches, Hawaii (Perkins, 1913).
Family PTEROMALIDAE
=Pteromalus= sp.?
Natural host.--Leucophaea maderae?, Jamaica (Westwood, 1839; Sells, 1842). [This host is undoubtedly an error. Sells stated that the oötheca which contained 96 unidentified chalcids had 16 dentations at the edge; the description fits the oötheca of an oviparous cockroach and not that of L. maderae (see Roth and Willis, 1954). Westwood (1839, footnote p. 423) stated that at the meeting of the Entomological Society in 1838 Mr. Sells exhibited 94 specimens of a small Pteromalus (apparently identified by Westwood) obtained from one cockroach oötheca. This same record of Sells was published posthumously in 1842, although in this paper he identified the host oötheca as "Blaberus" maderae. Cameron (1955) lists a European record of Pteromalus sp. from Periplaneta americana citing Girault (1914) as the source of the record. Girault's record was apparently taken from Westwood's footnote mentioned above.]
=Systellogaster ovivora= Gahan
Natural hosts.--Blatta orientalis, U.S.A., Illinois (Gahan, 1917).
Parcoblatta pensylvanica, Canada, Ontario (Judd, 1955).
Parcoblatta sp., U.S.A., Ohio (Edmunds, 1952a, 1953a).
"Blattid," U.S.A., Maryland (Gahan, 1917).
One oötheca of P. pensylvanica yielded 14 parasites with a sex ratio of 2.5 [F][F]: 1[M] (Judd, 1955). The average number of parasites in 11 oöthecae of Parcoblatta sp. collected in 1950-51 was 27 wasps (Edmunds, 1952a, 1953a). The adults made two to three emergence holes in the oötheca (Edmunds, 1953a; Judd, 1955).
Family EULOPHIDAE
=Melittobia chalybii= Ashmead
Natural host.--Periplaneta americana, U.S.A., Missouri (Rau, 1940a): M. chalybii is normally a parasite of Coleoptera and Hymenoptera (Peck, 1951). This is the only record from cockroach eggs. Burks (personal communication, 1956) stated that this species will attack any insect to which it is exposed and can be a serious pest in insect cultures of practically any insect order. In nature it seems to prefer the nests of aculeate Hymenoptera; Rau suggested that the parasites were probably brought into his laboratory with mud nests of Sceliphron caementarium (Drury).
=Mestocharomyia oophaga= Dodd
Natural host.--Ellipsidion australe, Australia, Queensland (Dodd, 1917).
=Syntomosphyrum blattae= Burks
Natural hosts.--Parcoblatta sp., U.S.A., Ohio (Burks, 1952; Edmunds, 1952a, 1953a): Ten oöthecae yielded an average of 92 wasps (Edmunds, 1952a). Five oöthecae, collected a year later, yielded an average of 74 wasps; adults sometimes made two to three exit holes in the oötheca (Edmunds, 1953a).
Cockroach, U.S.A., West Virginia (Burks, 1952).
=Syntomosphyrum ischnopterae= (Girault)
Synonymy.--Epomphaloides ischnopterae Girault [Peck, 1951].
Parker and Thompson (1928) called their hyperparasite Tetrastichus sp. However, Dr. B. D. Burks (personal communication, 1955) has examined the teneral specimens which Parker and Thompson deposited in the U.S. National Museum; he stated that the species is apparently Syntomosphyrum ischnopterae. In view of the experimental work by Parker and Thompson (see below), this wasp may prove to be a hyperparasite on evaniids in cockroach oöthecae rather than a primary parasite on cockroach eggs. (See Zeuxevania splendidula, p. 243.)
Natural hosts.--Ischnoptera sp. [probably Parcoblatta sp. (Rehn, personal communication, 1958)]. U.S.A., Maryland (Girault, 1917).
Zeuxevania splendidula Costa (an evaniid in the oöthecae of Loboptera decipiens), France (Parker, 1924; Parker and Thompson, 1928).
The following information is from Parker and Thompson (1928): Adult behavior.--Courtship and mating were accomplished as soon as adults emerged, and in a manner similar to that in other chalcids. The females oviposited only into oöthecae that were parasitized by Zeuxevania, never into normal, nonparasitized oöthecae. Oviposition.--Oviposition occurred two days after mating. The female wasp stroked the oötheca with her antennae, selected a site, and bored into the oötheca with her ovipositor. She inserted the ovipositor deeply and oviposited for 10-30 minutes. The eggs were deposited randomly on the evaniid larva, some upright and others lying down. Development.--Eggs of the hyperparasite hatched within 3 days and the larvae commenced feeding on the host larva. There were 30 and 50 hyper-parasites in two oöthecae. Sex ratio.--5 [F][F]:1 [M] (from 3 oöthecae).
Distribution.--U.S.A., District of Columbia, Maryland (Burks, 1952).
=Tetrastichus australasiae= Gahan
Natural host.--Periplaneta australasiae, Sumatra (Gahan, 1923).
=Tetrastichus hagenowii= (Ratzeburg)