Ants and Cockroaches Trapped Outside Suburban Houses 

 in the Area of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina 1 



C. G. Wright 



Department of Entomology 



North Carolina State University 



Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7613 



T. P. Nuhn 



Apt. No. 204, 2057 N. Glebe Road 



Arlington, Virginia 22207 



AND 



H. E. Dupree, Jr. 



Department of Entomology 



North Carolina State University 



Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7613 



ABSTRACT.— Ants and cockroaches were collected from pitfall 

 traps placed close to houses. The traps were unbaited or were baited 

 with either boiled raisins or bread. Baited traps collected more ants 

 and cockroaches than unbaited ones. More ants were taken with 

 raisins and more cockroaches were taken with bread. Significant 

 differences were not recorded in relation to ground cover or direction 

 of trap position. Of the 26 ant species trapped, Pheidole dentata and 

 Camponotus americanus were the most frequently caught. Parcoblatta 

 uhleriana was the cockroach species most commonly trapped. 



Insects present near suburban houses have received little research 

 attention. More attention has been given to those species found inside 

 houses and other buildings because of their visibility and pest potential 

 to inhabitants. Ebeling (1978) and Mallis (1982) discussed some of the 

 ant and cockroach species found near buildings. One of the most 

 comprehensive literature surveys on the ecology of these and other 

 insects in the urban outdoor environment was by Frankie and Ehler 

 (1978). A public-opinion survey of the principal outdoor pest problems 

 for upper and lower middle-income families was made by Frankie and 

 Levensen (1978). Also, studies have been made of the occurrence and/ or 

 the ecology of specific groups or species of crawling insects present at 

 ground level in the urban or suburban outdoor environment. Examples 



'Paper No. 12379 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina Agriculture Research 

 Service, Raleigh, NC 27695-7643. Partial support furnished by Chevron Chemical 

 Company, Richmond, CA 94804. 



Brimleyana 17:9-16, December 1991 



