The Biotic Associations of CockroachesRoth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Science
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches
Roth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Cockroaches; Insects -- Ecology
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)
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