The Biotic Associations of CockroachesRoth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Science
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches
Roth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Cockroaches; Insects -- Ecology
Bordas (1901, 1908) believed that the "conglobate" gland (Miall and
Denny, 1886), found in males of _Periplaneta americana_ and _Blatta
orientalis_, was an odoriferous gland used for defense, but Gupta (1947)
has shown that in all probability this gland (the phallic gland)
secretes the outermost covering of the spermatophore.
What appears to be mimicry occurs in some species of Blattaria. The
nymphs of many Panchlorini and Blaberinae vaguely resemble sow bugs
(Chopard, 1938). Certain members of the Perisphaerini (e.g.,
_Perisphaerus glomeriformis_) from the Malayan region which resemble sow
bugs (Annandale, 1900; Hanitsch, 1915) can roll themselves up into a
ball thus hiding their antennae and legs (Lucas, 1862). Although these
cockroaches are found among dead leaves or under stones, in places in
which sow bugs are also found, the benefit to either or both forms is
questionable; Annandale (1900) believed that the crustacean and the
cockroach, living under similar conditions, developed the same general
body shape. Rolling up into a ball is nothing more than an exaggeration
of a reflex common to many young cockroaches, that is, an arched
position which these insects assume when they immobilize themselves in
response to certain stimuli (Chopard, 1938).
There are cockroaches that resemble various Coleoptera and Hemiptera
(Belt, 1874; Shelford, 1912; Hanitsch, 1915). Some look like
cerambycids, lampyrids, coccinellids, pentatomids, etc. Perhaps the most
striking examples are the resemblances of cockroaches in the genus
_Prosoplecta_ of the Epilamprinae to beetles of the family
Coccinellidae; Shelford (1912) has figured a number of species of
_Prosoplecta_ together with the species of beetles which they seem to
have taken for models. Williams (1928) mentioned diurnal cockroaches
which by a combination of markings, shape, posture, and active flight
about vegetation suggest certain wasps.
Unfortunately, practically nothing is known about the behavior of these
so-called mimics and models or their relationships with predators in the
field. For the most part, the examples are based on a comparison of
pinned insects from museum collections (Burr, 1899); for this reason
Chopard (1938) believed that not much value should be placed on
superficial resemblances of this kind. However, we believe that a lack
of knowledge of cockroach mimicry is not a valid reason for rejecting
the idea that mimicry, if it occurs, may be of some benefit in the
survival of mimetic species. Certainly Cott's (1940) voluminous
compilation of the literature on adaptive coloration should make the
most skeptic hesitate to conclude dogmatically that these instances of
mimicry are merely accidental and meaningless.
XIX. THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF COCKROACHES
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