The Biotic Associations of CockroachesRoth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Science
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches
Roth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Cockroaches; Insects -- Ecology
In drug stores Frings (1948) found cockroaches behind the mirror and
between the sink and the cooler. Thousands were found in hollow
ornamental shelf edging. The hollow bases of malted-milk dispensers and
drink mixers were cockroach havens.
In a hospital Frings (1948) found cockroaches in decorative trim around
doorways, by the thousands in wicker laundry baskets, and in incubators
for premature babies. In military hospitals we have seen cockroaches
(_Blattella germanica_) in kitchens and dining halls in the usual hiding
places mentioned above and on the undersides of stainless-steel serving
tables.
In department stores cockroaches have been found in food departments,
beauty salons, rest rooms, dressing rooms, linen departments, and
stationery departments (Anonymous, 1952). The infestation in the linen
department was traced to clean towels which, when returned from the
laundry, contained at least 500 cockroaches per bundle. The insects were
carried into the rest rooms and beauty salon when the towels were
distributed.
The microhabitats of cockroaches in privies and sewers have not been
studied. These habitats are particularly important in view of the
demonstrated migrations of cockroaches from sewers into dwellings and
the possible dissemination of pathogenic microorganisms from feces to
food. The reader is referred to our 1957(a) paper for a summary of the
known information on cockroach dispersal from sewers.
COCKROACHES ASSOCIATED WITH LAND-BASED STRUCTURES
Most of the cockroaches listed below are either known domiciliary
species or they have been found one or more times in houses or other
man-made structures. The known structural pests breed within the
building. Certain other species, which have been observed only
infrequently in structures and are not known to breed there, may
possibly be incipient pests; these latter species may attain future
economic importance if they establish breeding colonies within a
structure. A few species have undoubtedly wandered indoors by accident.
It is difficult to decide whether a particular species was an accidental
invader or whether it was attracted indoors in response to some
stimulus. Only additional information will provide the desired answers.
=Aglaopteryx ypsilon=
_Trinidad._--Male found indoors (Princis and Kevan, 1955).
=Allacta similis=
_Hawaii._--Found only indoors at Nauhi. Otherwise this is apparently an
outdoor species (Swezey and Williams, 1932).
=Blaberus craniifer=
_Cuba._--Household pest (Deschapelles, 1939). Particularly abundant in
houses in Santiago and Havana (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
_Florida._--Under boards in woodshed (Rehn and Hebard, 1912, 1914).
=Blaberus discoidalis=
_Ecuador._--In eating places (Campos R., 1926).
_Hispaniola._--In houses (Rehn and Hebard, 1927).
_New Jersey._--In greenhouse (Weiss, 1917).
_Puerto Rico._--In homes (Seín, 1923). In fruit stores (Wolcott, 1950).
=Blatta lateralis=
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