BIOTIC ASSOCIATIONS OF COCKROACHES — ROTH & WILLIS 327 



unpublished data, 1958) ; Periplaneta fuliginosa (Gould and Deay, 

 1940) ; Periplaneta ignota (Pope, 1953) ; Supella supellectilimn 

 (Flock, 1941). Undoubtedly other oviparous species that drop their 

 oothecae long before the eggs hatch also make some attempt to con- 

 ceal the oothecae by placing them in crevices or covering them with 

 debris. 



Sometimes the oothecae are deposited but not concealed. Hafez 

 and Afifi (1956) reported that in Egypt Supella supellectilium at- 

 taches its ootheca to a suitable substrate with a gummy oral secretion 

 but leaves the tgg capsule otherwise exposed. We (1954) have 

 noticed similar behavior in laboratory colonies of this species and of 

 Blatta orientalis, as have Gould and Deay (1940). Cornelius (1853) 

 stated that the female of B. orientalis takes care of the safety of her 

 offspring to the extent of usually dropping her oothecae in places 

 which are dry and raised above the ground, although rarely one also 

 may find some oothecae scattered on the ground. For lack of suitable 

 material females of Periplaneta americana sometimes did not con- 

 ceal their oothecae (Nigam, 1933). Frequently in laboratory colonies 

 P. americana merely drops the oothecae loosely in sand or food "in 

 contrast to P. australasiae, which almost always went to considerable 

 trouble to fasten their eggs securely and to conceal them with debris" 

 (Pope, 1953). If conditions under which Nauclidas nigra is kept are 

 not suitable, the female will drop her ootheca anywhere (Bunting, 

 1956). Rau (1940) stated that the female of Parcohlatta pensylvanica 

 does not conceal her ootheca. However, Gould and Deay (1940) 

 stated that this species deposits its oothecae loosely behind bark. 

 Ellipsidion affine and Ellipsidion australe attach their oothecae to bark 

 or the underside of leaves but apparently make no attempt to conceal 

 them (Pope, 1953a). 



The females of most of the above species have no further familial 

 association with their offspring. The eggs hatch with no attention 

 from the mother who is probably not even in the vicinity at that time. 

 The young apparently do not react to the presence of the parent, as 

 such, after hatching. This is not unexpected, as several additional 

 oothecae may have been deposited by these oviparous females before 

 the eggs of the first oothecae hatch. However, a different behavior is 

 encountered among species that do not form a second ootheca until 

 after the eggs of the first have hatched (see below) and in the so- 

 called colonial species. 



Shaw (1925) reported that in Australia both Panesthia australis 

 and Panesthia laevicollis appear to live in families, and that one 

 usually finds a pair of adults associated with from 12 to 20 nymphs in 



