PSYCHE 
Vol. 76 
September, 1969 
No. 3 
THE MALE GENITALIA OF BLATTARIA. 
1. BLABERUS SPP. 
(BLABERIDAE: BLABERINAE) 
By Louis M. Roth 
Pioneering Research Laboratory 
U. S. Army Natick Laboratories 
Natick, Massachusetts 01760 
“Like many other genera the forms of which are variable and the 
specific features hard to ascertain and express, the genus Blaberus 
has been a despair to the systematist.” (Rehn and Hebard, 1927). 
The use of male genitalia, specifically the aedeagus and preputial 
spines, has helped to alleviate some of the taxonomic difficulties of 
several species of Blaberus. Burmeister (1838; in Princis, 1946) 
first mentioned the preputial spines in Blaberus trapezoideus Bur- 
meister and Hebard (1917) described them in Blaberus craniifer 
Burmeister and B. atropos (Stoll). Princis (1946) illustrated the 
aedeagus and prepuce of the following species of Blaberus: giganteus 
(Linn.), trapezoideus , craniifer , atropos , discoidalis Serville, para- 
bolicus Walker^ anisitsi Brancsik, and boliviensis Princis. Lefeuvre 
(i960) illustrated the genitalia of craniifer , Quiaoit (1961) de- 
scribed them for craniifer and giganteus , and McKittrick (1964) 
illustrated discoidalis. 
With the exception of Princis (1946) and Lefeuvre (i960), in- 
traspecific variations were not mentioned by the above workers. I 
have found considerable more variation in Blaberus genitalia than 
was indicated by Princis and Lefeuvre. In this paper I shall illus- 
trate the male genitalia of 12 species of Blaberus , describe group 
and specific differences, including intraspecific variations, and discuss 
the probable evolution of the aedeagus and prepuce in this genus. 
Materials and Methods 
The following 5 species of Blaberus were available in cultures: 
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