370 
Psyche 
[Vol. 92 
The above references give a very incomplete picture of roach 
grooming. Gangwere (1958) and Lipps (1973) discuss roaches from 
a generalized view, but the species are not named nor are their 
individual repertories described. No work investigates the order and 
tries to characterize grooming patterns within it, and no work des- 
cribes the complete repertory of even one species. 
Methods 
Grooming behavior was recorded during 154 hours of observa- 
tions on 23 species representing 20 genera and four families of Blat- 
taria (see Table 1). The grooming movements performed by each 
species are listed in Tables 2 and 3. Terminology follows Valentine 
and Stouffer (in preparation). Since there are over 3,500 species of 
cockroaches, a few exceptions to the family patterns we present are 
to be expected. 
Small and large species were maintained in 9 and 12 cm white 
cardboard medical specimen cups with clear plastic lids. Lightly 
crumpled paper provided cover, and bits of dog biscuits and small 
water-soaked cotton balls provided food and water. Cryptocercus 
punctulatus was maintained in a 9 cm cup containing pieces of the 
log in which it was discovered. This debris provided food and was 
lightly misted every other day. 
Each common species was observed for at least four hours. The 
longer observation periods listed in Table 1 provided no additional 
behaviors. Monospecific groups of 5 to 7 individuals were observed 
for 10 minutes in the maintenance cup with the paper removed. 
Then, single roaches were observed for not less than 20 minutes. A 
new cup was used for each species. Species 20 mm long and larger 
were observed directly; those less than 15 mm were observed with a 
dissecting microscope. Observations were made at most hours of the 
day or night, either in artificial or existing natural light. In the cases 
of Blaberus craniifer and Cryptocercus punctulatus , the light was 
fitted with a red cellophane filter. After grooming behavior of 
groups and individuals had been recorded for at least four hours for 
a particular species, further grooming was elicited by dusting 3 to 5 
roaches of each species with household flour and observing these 
individuals for an average of an additional 20 minutes. 
