92 THE COCKROACH [CH. Ill 



Foes and Parasites. In spite of their evil odour a 

 fair number of animals are known either on occasion or 

 habitually to feed upon cockroaches ; hedgehogs of course 

 are proverbially successful in clearing infested premises of 

 these pests, but rats, cats, polecats, some birds, frogs and 

 wasps have been known to devour them, and some few 

 Fossorial Hymenoptera lay up stores of them for the 

 benefit of their larvae. 



A considerable number of parasites have been found 

 in various parts of the body. In the rectum and intestine 

 six species of Protozoa, viz. Endammba blattce, Grega- 

 rina (Clepsidrina) blattarum, Nyctotherus intestinalis, and 

 three Infusorians, Plagistoma blattarum, Lophomonas 

 blattarum, and L. striata. From the intestine of Bl. 

 americana Schuster 1 has described yet another Infusorian 

 which he names Lophomonas sulcata. In addition to 

 bacteria and Hygrocrocis intestinalis, an alga, several Ne- 

 matode worms of the genus Oxyuris occur, Gordius also is 

 found, while encysted in the fat-body is found Filaria 

 rhytipleuritis, which becomes sexually mature in the rat. 

 The other most notable parasites are a beetle (Symbius 

 blattarum), a hymenopteran (Evania), and an acarid that 

 frequents the male reproductive organs. 



The forms allied to the Cockroach British Orthoptera' 2 . 



The Cockroach belongs to the order of insects known 

 as ORTHOPTERA : the two sections of the order are dis- 

 tinguished as Cursorial and Saltatorial, according as they 



walk or leap. 



1 Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1898. 



2 M. Burr, British Orthoptera, Huddersfield, 1897. 



