DeFraula (1780) believed that his silent "gryllon" [obviously _Blatta orientalis_ from his drawings; see Willemet (1784)] was the enemy of the chirping species of cricket, because after the cockroach became established in his home he no longer heard crickets chirping. Gilbert White (1905 ed.), writing in England in the late 18th century, stated that "Poda says that these [_Blatta orientalis_] and house crickets will not associate together; but he is mistaken in that assertion"; however, in August 1792 White noted that "Since the _blattae_ have been so much kept under, the crickets have greatly increased in number." For several years Jolivet (1950) had observed changes in a mixed population of _Blatta orientalis_ and _Acheta domesticus_ in an old kitchen in France. He suggested that the cyclical fluctuations in the relative abundance of the cockroaches and crickets might be caused by reciprocal predatism with one species more susceptible than the other at certain stages. Mallis (1954) has stated that crickets prey on other insects as well as on one another. Lhéritier (1951) had also observed crickets becoming rare in bakeries in France, having been superseded everywhere by _B. orientalis_; however, he doubted that Jolivet's hypothesis was the correct explanation and suggested that the higher optimum temperature requirements of crickets might be the regulating factor. Lederer (1952) stated that the number of crickets decreased in the aquarium buildings at Frankfurt am Main as the population of American cockroaches increased. _Platyzosteria novae seelandiae_ was found under the bark of trees in New Zealand devouring bugs (Walker _in_ Shelford, 1909b). For years it has been believed that cockroaches feed on bedbugs (_Cimex lectularius_ L.) and this statement has been repeated in many reference works and articles. Ealand (1915) stated that cockroaches devour bedbugs with avidity. Even today similar statements are to be found in the literature. "In the old sailing ship days, they [cockroaches] were often welcomed by crews because of the belief that they would eradicate a population of bedbugs. This belief was based on scientific fact, as cockroaches are known as predators of bedbugs" (Monro, 1951). Cockroaches will often "help rid a house of bedbugs by devouring all the little parasites they can capture" (Gaul, 1953). The basis for this belief may have originated with a statement by Webster (1834) who wrote that bedbugs disappeared aboard "H.M. Sloop Chanticleer" when cockroaches made their appearance. Newman (1855) reported the observations of a friend who claimed to have seen a cockroach seize a bedbug in an infested boardinghouse in London. In 1920 Purdy reintroduced cockroaches into a house from which they had been exterminated, in order to control the bedbugs which had become established. According to a popular account by Lillingston (1934) African natives are said to ask sailors for a cockroach or two to be used to hunt bedbugs.