The Biotic Associations of CockroachesRoth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Science
The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches
Roth, Louis M. (Louis Marcus)
Cockroaches; Insects -- Ecology
In addition to the above organisms of medical importance, we have
compiled records of other organisms, nonpathogenic to vertebrates, which
are naturally associated in some way with cockroaches. None of the
following numbers can be considered absolute because some names may be
synonyms. However, we believe that these figures are very close to the
actual numbers of species that have been isolated because we have
attempted to refer all obvious synonyms to the currently accepted name
for each organism. On this basis there are about 45 species of bacteria,
40 fungi, 6 yeasts, 90 Protozoa, and 45 helminths that have been found
associated naturally with cockroaches. Of the arthropods there are about
2 species of scorpions, 4 spiders, 15 mites, 4 centipedes, and 90
insects. Of vertebrates there are 4 species of fish, 16 amphibians, 12
reptiles, 20 birds, and 27 mammals. Besides these there are many records
of experimental associations that have been contrived in the laboratory.
Some idea of the increase in our knowledge of the biotic associations of
cockroaches, during the last 70 years, may be gathered from a comparison
of the above figures with those of Miall and Denny (1886) who presented
"...a long list of parasites which infest the Cockroach." This list
included 2 bacteria, 6 Protozoa (some of the names are synonyms), 7
nematodes (some of these names are also synonyms), 1 mite, 1 wasp, and
1 beetle. In addition, they mentioned as other foes of the cockroach:
monkeys, hedgehogs, polecats, cats, rats, birds, chameleons, and frogs.
METHODS
We have listed the organisms known to be associated with cockroaches
systematically by phylum, class, order, and family. Within each family
the organisms are listed alphabetically by genus and species. Under each
organism the associated cockroaches are listed as natural or
experimental hosts, vectors, or prey. Identified cockroaches are listed
by the currently accepted name. Unidentified cockroaches are indicated
by the word "Cockroaches." The name of each cockroach is followed by the
country in which the observation was made, the authority for the record,
and with a few exceptions[3] pertinent biological information, where
this is known. Question marks following the names of organisms or
countries indicate tentative or questionable identifications.
Records of predators capturing and feeding on cockroaches in zoos and on
shipboard we consider natural, even though it is very likely that these
particular predators would not normally have access to this prey in
nature.
Experimental prey are cockroaches that were fed to predators in the
laboratory. Although these predators may have little, if any, access to
these cockroaches in nature, we have included such records to indicate
the relative acceptability of cockroaches as food by a wide variety of
animals.
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