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