8 
Psyche 
[March 
the vestibule (Ve) and cements (stippled area) the sperm- 
atophore into the genital pouch. According to Qadri the 
spermatophore of Blatta contains a number of sperm cap- 
sules, while Khalifa and Van Wyk described two sperm 
sacs in those of Blattella and Leucophaea. In Blaberus the 
spermatophore is irregularly divided into a small and a 
large compartment, while two sperm ducts lead from the 
larger one to oppose the spermathecal orifices. Whereas 
most of the roaches previously noted have not retained 
their spermatophores longer than 24 hours before dropping 
them, one Blaberus female was noted to retain her sperma- 
tophore intact for five days, when on the sixth day a mass 
of chalky fragments and greyish jelly was observed in her 
genital pouch. 
As in the other roaches which retain their eggs for a 
considerable time, the ootheca resembles a thin, transparent 
plastic bag drawn tightly about the eggs. It is quite smooth 
and, as it varies in thickness, a dull ochreaceous to a bright 
chestnut in color. A point which has previously been over- 
looked in Blaberus is that the ootheca is not complete, so 
that the micropylar end of each egg is plainly visible 
through a slit usually wider than one egg. The extremely 
delicate ootheca of Diploptera as described by Hagan, never 
covers more than half of each oocyte, and may not even 
cover the older eggs. Although Blaberus does not approach 
this extreme, the pro- and mesothorax of each embryo are 
virtually free of the ootheca shortly before birth. This open 
type of ootheca may be of some importance to embryonic 
respiration within the brood pouch as suggested by Hagan. 
The elaborate arrangement of air tubes through the keel 
of the conventional armored roach ootheca (Lawson, 1951) 
Explanation of Plate 1 
Fig. 1. Blaberus craniifera Burm. Ventral dissection of female repro- 
ductive system showing spermatophore (Sph) cemented (stippled area) 
into the genital pouch over the gonopore. The posterior ventral wall 
of the genital chamber has been removed. Pig. 2. Sagittal section 
through region shown in Fig. 1. AG, accessory gland; An, anus; BrS, 
brood sac; C, colon; Od, oviduct; Ov, ovary; Ovp, ovipositor; R, rectum; 
S, sternite; Sph, spermatophore; T, tergite; Ve, vestibule; Vul, vulva. 
