BIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS OF COCKROACHES — ROTH & WILLIS 247 



turbed, it can hop from several inches to several feet. The female licks 

 up the drop of fluid that oozes from the oviposition puncture. Fe- 

 males die in a few days, but if fed honey and water may live two 

 weeks. Oviposition. — The female selects an ootheca by feeling with 

 her antennae. Flock stated, without citing experimental evidence, that 

 the age of the egg case was apparently the chief factor determining 

 choice. The wasp took 15-45 minutes to oviposit. Three females ovi- 

 posited simultaneously into a single ootheca ; a single female re- 

 peatedly oviposited into one ootheca at intervals. Development. — 

 Completed in an average of 32.6 days at a constant temperature of 

 82° F. 



Number of parasites per ootheca. — Average about 10.7 (range 4- 

 16) (Flock, 1941) ; 15 (Ferriere, 1935). 



Sex ratio. — 4 $5:i J* (Ferriere, 1935); average of 6 ?? : i J* 

 (Flock, 1941). Parthenogenesis occurs; the unfertilized eggs pro- 

 duced only males (Flock, 1941). 



Distribution. — U.S.A. : Maryland, south to Florida, west to Illinois, 

 Kansas, and Arizona. Guatemala ; Hawaii ; India ; Egypt ; Sudan. 

 (Burks, personal communication, 1956). 



Eupelmus atriflagellum Girault 



Natural host. — Blattella germanica, Australia, Queensland (Girault, 

 1924). 



Eupelmus sp. 



Natural host. — "Tree cockroach," U.S.A., Florida (Howard, 

 1892). 



Solindenia picticomis Cameron 



Natural hosts. — Allacta similis, Hawaii (Perkins, 1906, 1913 ; 

 Timberlake, 1924; Swezey, 1929; Zimmerman, 1948). 

 Other species of cockroaches, Hawaii (Perkins, 1913). 



Family PTEROMALIDAE 



Pteromalus sp. ? 



Natural host. — Leucophaea maderaef, Jamaica (Westwood, 1839; 

 Sells, 1842). [This host is undoubtedly an error. Sells stated that the 

 ootheca which contained 96 unidentified chalcids had 16 dentations at 

 the edge ; the description fits the ootheca of an oviparous cockroach 

 and not that of L. maderae (see Roth and Willis, 1954). Westwood 

 (1839, footnote p. 423) stated that at the meeting of the Entomo- 

 logical Society in 1838 Mr. Sells exhibited 94 specimens of a small 



