BIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS OF COCKROACHES — ROTH & WILLIS 83 



the breeding populations of a few common domiciliary pests. Except 

 in the most rigorously disinsectized ships, this commerce in cock- 

 roaches has continued to the present day. 



Cockroaches undoubtedly infested the first ships that sailed the 

 Mediterranean; of these we have no records. The earliest recog- 

 nizable record of cockroaches on shipboard is Moffett's (1634) state- 

 ment that when Drake captured the ship Philip, he found it overrun 

 with cockroaches [Blattarum alatarum]. Bligh (1792) described dis- 

 infesting H.M.S. Bounty with boiling water to kill cockroaches. 

 Qiamisso (1829) reported that he had seen ships casks, in which rice 

 or grain had been stored, that were found to be filled with Blattella 

 germanica when opened. During a voyage from England to Van 

 Diemen's Land, Lewis (1836) was greatly annoyed by hundreds of 

 cockroaches flying about his cabin at night ; the most numerous re- 

 sembled Periplaneta americana and another was similar to Ectohhis 

 lapponicus. This latter was undoubtedly B. germanica, which is the 

 only ship-infesting species that resembles the feral E. lapponicus. 

 Lewis continued, P. americana "were in immense profusion, and had 

 communication with every part of the ship, between the timbers or 

 skin. The ravages they committed on everything edible were very 

 extensive; not a biscuit but was more or less polluted by them, and 

 amongst the cargo 300 cases of cheeses, which had holes in them to 

 prevent their sweating, were considerably damaged, some of them 

 being half devoured and not one without some marks of their resi- 

 dence," 



Kingsley (1870), Kellogg (1908), Gates (1912), Heiser (1936), 

 and Bronson (1943) have all reported that cockroaches were so 

 numerous on ships that they gnawed the skin and nails of the men on 

 board. These are all independent observations of what may well have 

 been a common occurrence on ships. We have discussed in detail the 

 subject of cockroaches biting man in our 1957(a) paper. 



Mosely (1892) reported, "At the time that England was left the 

 ship [H.M.S. Challenger] seemed nearly free of animals, other than 

 men, dogs, and livestock required for food. The first cockroaches 

 apparently came on board at St. Vincent, Cape Verdes. . . . Cock- 

 roaches soon became plentiful on board, and showed themselves when- 

 ever the ship was in a warm climate. 



"At one period of the voyage, a number of these insects established 

 themselves in my cabin, and devoured parts of my boots, nibbling ofif 

 all the margins of leather projecting beyond the seams on the upper 

 leathers." 



