BIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS OF COCKROACHES — ROTH & WILLIS I37 



Herpomyces periplanetae Thaxter 



Natural hosts. — Blaherus sp. ?, Argentina (Spegazzini, 1917). 



Blatta orientalis, U.S.A., Massachusetts (Thaxter, 1902, 1908) ; 

 Locality? (Spegazzini, 191 5) ; France? (Picard, 1913). 



Periplaneta americana, Bermuda and U.S.A., Massachusetts 

 (Thaxter, 1902, 1908) ; Plains of Biajar, Italian Somaliland, and 

 Argentina (Spegazzini, 1915, 1917). 



Periplaneta australasiae, Bermuda (Thaxter, 1902, 1908). 



Periplaneta hrunnea, Brazil (Thaxter, 1931). 



Periplaneta sp., Mexico, West Indies, Panama, Brazil, Africa, 

 South Seas, and China (Thaxter, 1902, 1908). 



Cockroaches, Belgium (Collart, 1947). 



Additional locality records : Grenada, Trinidad, B.W.I., and Tan- 

 gier (Thaxter, 1931). 



The fungus was found growing on spines, tegmina, integument, 

 and antennae, at times abundantly. 



Experimental hosts. — All the following data are from Richards and 

 Smith (1954): 



Blatta orientalis: A few plants matured. 



Neostylopyga rhomhifolia: Some development but no mature 

 plants. 



Periplaneta americana: Fungus developed prolifically with a den- 

 sity equal to that on original host. 



Periplaneta australasiae : Some development but no mature plants. 



Periplaneta hrunnea: Fungus developed prolifically with a density 

 equal to that on original host. 



Herpomyces phyllodromiae Thaxter 

 Natural host. — "Phyllodromia" sp., Abyssinia (Thaxter, 1905, 

 1908) : On antennae. 



Herpomyces platyzosteriae Thaxter 



Natural host. — "Eurycotis floridana," Mexico (Thaxter, 1905, 

 1908) : On antennal setae. 



Since this cockroach is not found in Mexico (J. A. G. Rehn, per- 

 sonal communication, 1957), E. floridana is undoubtedly not the host 

 for this fungus. W. B. Brown (personal communication, 1957) 

 searched the cockroach collection at the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology but was unable to find Thaxter's insect for reidentification. 



Herpomyces stylopygae Spegazzini 

 Natural hosts. — Blatta orientalis, Argentina (Spegazzini, 1917) ; 

 U.S.A. (Richards and Smith, 1955a). 



