THE BIOLOGY OF THE ROACH, BLATTA' 
ORIENTALIS LINN. 
Puit Rav. 
In speaking of roaches, Sharp? in 1895 wrote: 
‘‘ Although some species of Blattidae are domesticated in 
our houses and their bodies have been dissected by a 
generation of anatomists, very little is known as to their 
life histories.’’ After almost thirty years, this void has 
scarcely been filled. The following study on the biology 
of the oriental roach was made in 1916 as a preliminary 
to the behavior studies that had been planned. Since it 
now seems probable that this work cannot be continued 
in the near future, it seems best to publish the data, 
although the investigations are not complete, and so 
partly fill a conspicuous gap in the literature of this 
group. 
The common black beetle, or as it is more commonly 
ealled, the oriental cockroach, a native of the far east, 
has established itself thronghout the world by the agency 
of commerce. It delights in darkness, and its flattened 
body is adapted to finding ready concealment in narrow 
crevices. Sharp* further says that ‘‘orientalis is gregari- 
ous, and the individuals are very amicable with one 
another.’’ It seems to me that this condition is thrust 
upon them in the narrow confines of the cracks, rather 
than caused by their predisposition to amicability. 
While this ee is often referred to under the generic name 
Periplaneta, Mr. A. N. Caudell of Smithsonian Institution writes that 
sydd the eoticastbilatas name for orientalis and should be used 
Nasntekda, Nat. Hist. 5:229. 
_ 8Loe. cit. p. 231. (57) 
