1945] 
Notes on Periplaneta 
107 
NOTES ON THE LIFE HISTORY OF 
PERIPLANETA FULIGNOSA SERV. 
By Phil Rau 
Kirkwood, Missouri 
In a lot of Periplaneta americana that came from New Or- 
leans in June 1937, there were three adult females which re- 
sembled P. americana in size and shape, but the color, instead 
of being golden-brown, was a dull brownish-black or “off-black.” 
I became suspicious about the species later when the egg-cases 
began to protrude from their bodies, for they were almost twice 
the size of those deposited by P. americana. 
Specimens of the nymphs, which so little resembled either 
fulignosa or americana , as well as the mother, were sent to Mr. 
Morgan Hebard, who named them Periplaneta fulignosa Serv. 
They have been recorded only from southern United States, 
where they are common in storehouses, docks, etc. He is quite 
sure that this species, like other members of the genus, is an 
adventive in America from the old world. He added the note 
“that the nymphs are so parti-colored that they might have been 
mistaken for Periplaneta brunnea , another adventive pest, were 
it not known that they were the immature insects of the adult 
sent to me.” 
Four egg-cases were obtained from the three females, and 
from them hatched 22, 22, 26, and 26 young respectively. This 
is almost twice the number per egg-case than for its contem- 
porary, P. americana. 
One female that became adult on June 29 protruded her first 
egg-case 12 days later, and another egg-case after 11 days. In 
two cases, notes were made on the period of incubation: one 
protruding egg-case removed from the mother’s body on July 10 
gave forth its nymphs August 13; the other egg-case, removed 
from another mother on June 14, gave forth its young on July 
31, the two having a period of incubation of 35 and 47 days 
respectively. 
The young nymphs ate readily of cinnamon roll, could neatly 
hollow out a grain of corn, and drank much water. They 
