1971 ] 
Roth — Blattaria 
303 
tractive to the female (Roth, 1969). When the female is in the 
proper position above the male he extends the genital hook (R2) 
and seems to use this structure to pull down the female’s subgenital 
plate so that he can insert his genitalia and grasp her genitalia. Ac- 
cording to Khalifa (1958) in Blattella germanica (L.), when the 
female is palpating the male’s tergal glands, the male fully extends 
the hooked phallomere, which is on the left side in this genus (not 
the right as in all Blaberidae) directs it upwards, and inserts it into 
the female’s genital chamber ; there it clasps a sclerite situated in front 
of the ovipositor. Once a secure hold is obtained, the pair assumes 
an end-to-end position, with their heads facing in opposite directions, 
and the hook “. . . acquires a hold on the ovipositor.” In Periplaneta 
americctna (L.) the male . . prior to getting an actual hold on 
the female pulls down the gynovalvular portion of the seventh ster- 
nite of the female by the tip of its protruded titillator.” and then 
inserts its genitalia into the female’s genital pouch. (Gupta, 1947). 
Zabinski (1933) showed that the titillator, in Blatta orientalis , is 
used to seize the female in the initial phase of copulation. The male 
apparently cannot mate if the titillator (genital hook or R2 in 
Blaberidae) is surgically removed (Zabinski, 1933, Roth and Willis, 
1952 ). 
The mating behavior of Panchlora differs markedly from the above 
species. In Panchlora nivea (Roth and Willis, 1958) and P. irro- 
rata Hebard (Willis, 1966) the female does not assume a position 
above the male prior to mating, but the males simply back into the 
female. Possibly stridulation plays a role in mating behavior of these 
species (Roth and Hartman, 1967). The difference in precopulatory 
positions may have had some role in the marked reduction of male 
genitalic structures, especially the loss of the genital hook. Nothing 
is known of the precopulatory positions of the genera of Achroblatta, 
Anchoblatta, and Biolleya , and it would be of interest to see if the 
mating behavior of these genera is similar to that of Panchlora. It 
should be pointed out that in Groinphadorkma portentosa (Schaum) 
(Oxyhaloinae) the male also backs into the female to assume the 
copulatory position (Barth, 1968) but the males of this genus have 
a well-developed, but relatively short, genital hook (Roth, 1971). 
Summary 
Five genera, Panchlora , Anchoblatta , Biolleya , Pelloblatta, and 
A chroblatta are included in the blaberid subfamily Panchlorinae. Cer- 
tain male genitalic phallomeres are usually reduced or absent and 
structures that are present are very lightly sclerotized. One African 
