108 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 134 
Development in intermediate host—Eggs eaten by cockroaches 
reached the infective larval stage in 4 to 6 weeks. 
Definitive hosts —Skunk, badger, mink, raccoon (Schell, 1952). 
Physaloptera praeputialis v. Linstow, 1889 
Disease.—Parasite in alimentary tract of definitive host. 
Experimental intermediate hosts.—Blattella germanica, U.S.A. 
(Petri and Ameel, 1950). 
Definitive hosts ——Various species of Felis, Canis, Lynx, Urocyon, 
Vulpes, and Genetta (Mildred A. Doss, p.c.). 
Physaloptera rara Hall and Wigdor, 1918 
Disease.—Parasite in alimentary tract of definitive hosts. 
Experimental intermediate hosts—Blattella germanica, U.S.A., 
Kansas (Petri and Ameel, 1950; Petri, 1950): Petri suggests that 
wood roaches might be intermediate hosts in nature. 
Development in intermediate host—Eggs ingested by the cock- 
roach developed to encysted third-stage larvae, attached to the hind 
gut, primarily the rectum. The larvae migrated to the outside layers 
of the gut but did not pass into the hemocoele. 
Definitive hosts —Cat, dog, coyote. 
Physaloptera turgida Rudolphi, 1819 
Disease.—Parasite in alimentary tract of definitive host. 
Experimental intermediate hosts——Blattella germanica, U.S.A. 
(Alicata, 1937 ; Schell, 1952). 
Development in intermediate host.—First- and second-stage larvae 
are encysted in the tissue surrounding the body cavity (Alicata, 1937). 
Schell (1952), however, stated that the larva did not penetrate the 
digestive tract of the cockroach and never entered the hemocoele. 
Definitive host—Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) (Alicata, 1937). 
PART III. DOUBTFUL RECORDS OF THE TRANS- 
MISSION OF HELMINTHS BY COCKROACHES 
Hymenolepis diminuta (Rudolphi, 1819) Blanchard, 1891 
Stiles and Hassall (1926) and Tubangui (1931) cite Blatta orien- 
talis and Blattella germanica as intermediate hosts for this rat tape- 
worm which is not uncommon in man. Faust (1939), Blakiston’s new 
Gould medical dictionary (Jones et al., 1949), and Giordano (1950) 
list Periplaneta americana as well as the above two species of cock- 
roaches as intermediate hosts of this tapeworm. Faust (1955) states 
