The Biotic Associations of CockroachesRoth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Science
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches
Roth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Cockroaches; Insects -- Ecology
As stated in my published note, the roaches were at first
classified to genus only. The 83 _Periplaneta_ subsequently
identified to species represented 28 different collections, 11 from
houses and 17 from privies, all in Pharr, Texas. Tabulation of the
data shows first that _P. americana_ was taken only once in a house
and that _P. brunnea_ was taken only 4 times in privies. Of course
this distribution greatly reduces the probability that they would
be caught together, and it is not surprising that _P. americana_
was trapped alone in the single house collection. _P. brunnea_,
however, was trapped with _P. americana_ 2 of the 4 times it
occurred in privy collections.
To investigate the occurrence of _Periplaneta_ with and without
_Blattella_, an analysis has been made of 560 trap collections
taken in 40 houses and 40 associated privies in Pharr, Texas, in
weekly intervals (from May 14 to June 23 [1948]). In the houses,
_Periplaneta_ and _Blattella_ were caught in the same jar 26
times, _Periplaneta_ alone 12 times, _Blattella_ alone 83 times,
and neither genus 159 times. In a fourfold table, the value of
chi-square (14.7) is significant and indicates that the
frequencies are not proportional. The number of times
_Periplaneta_ and _Blattella_ actually occurred together (26) is,
however, much larger than the expected number calculated from the
row and column frequencies (14.8). In the privies, _Periplaneta_
and _Blattella_ were caught in the same jar 9 times, _Periplaneta_
alone 50 times, _Blattella_ alone 18 times, and neither genus 203
times. In a fourfold table, the value of chi-square (1.95) is not
significant but the same type of disproportion is evident and the
expected frequency of both genera in one trap is 5.7, lower than
the actual frequency of 9. Both immature and adult roaches are
included in this analysis.
The above evidence would be more satisfactory if based on more
extensive data. There is also a possible objection in that the
traps were operated for at least overnight, during which time one
species could theoretically supplant another. Of course, it is
doubtful that there is anything involved here like territory (in
the ornithologists' sense). On the other hand, it is well to
consider that _Periplaneta_ and _Blattella_ are both likely to be
more abundant in the same type of favorable location and that this
factor might offset in part some direct antagonism between the
species.
The only known specimen of _Ischnoptera podoces_ was captured in company
with the type series of _Cariblatta nebulicola_, in dead leaf litter in
Jamaica (Rehn and Hebard, 1927). In Florida _Periplaneta australasiae_
was often taken in company with _Pycnoscelus surinamensis_ and
_Eurycotis floridana_ (Blatchley, 1920).
INTERSPECIES ANTAGONISM
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