3l8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I4I 



McClure (1936) obtained a large nest of Vespula maculata (Lin- 

 naeus) [ = Vespa maculata] in March in Illinois. In it were living 65 

 nymphs of Parcohlatta pensylvanica, 3 spiders {Philodromus pernix 

 Blackwall), 2 immature spiders (Drassus sp.), and 6 mites. Balduf 

 (1936) observed four individuals of Parcohlatta pensylvanica in a 

 nest of Vespula inacidafa; he suggested that they probably fed on 

 dead bodies and organic wastes of the wasps. However, Rau (1940) 

 has observed this cockroach devour a Polistes larva in its cell. Al- 

 though we do not imply that a commensal relationship exists between 

 Parcohlatta and the wasp, it is well to recall a statement by Roth- 

 schild and Clay (1957): "A commensal relationship is potentially 

 even more dangerous than a merely social tie, for by nature it is more 

 intimate. The closer the association, the more easily is the balance up- 

 set. One partner can then suddenly take a mean advantage of the 

 other." 



Cockroach nymphs may enter bees' nests where, according to Ima- 

 mura (in Sonan, 1924), they do not feed on honey or pollen but pre- 

 sumably feed on excreta of bees or anything scattered by bees in their 

 nest ; the bees are not disturbed by the cockroaches. 



Cockroaches that have been found in the burrows of vertebrates are 

 listed on pages 23-25. 



Paulian (1950) found immature cockroaches in the nests of birds 

 (Ploceinae) in Madagascar and Ivory Coast. All nests of Fondia sp. 

 examined in Madagascar contained many cockroaches, and Paulian be- 

 lieved that the blattid was a species peculiar to the nests of birds. 

 Three nests of Ploceus sp. in Ivory Coast yielded one or two cock- 

 roaches each in association with more numerous mites, Psocoptera, 

 Heteroptera, beetles, and lepidopterous larvae (Delamare Deboutte- 

 ville and Paulian, 1952). These last cited workers also found four 

 cockroaches in a nest of Estrildine sp., and two in a nest of an un- 

 determined bird, all in association with other arthropods. Moulton 

 (1912) observed large numbers of Symploce cavernicola and Peri- 

 planeta australasiae swarming in soft bird guano on the floor of caves 

 in Borneo. Abdulali (1942) found in India many Periplaneta ameri- 

 cana in caves containing the edible-nest swift ; there was no indication 

 of association of the cockroaches with the birds. Danforth (in Wol- 

 cott, 1950) reported finding large numbers of Aglaopteryx fades 

 "in the nests of the grey kingbird, in the region of the Cartagena 

 Lagoon [Puerto Rico] , 'living among the twigs.' " In Trinidad, Kevan 

 found a male of Blaherus discoidalis in a bird's nest (Princis and 

 Kevan, 1955). 



