Class PISCES
In British Guiana, Beebe (1925a) found undetermined cockroach remains in the stomachs of four species of fish belonging to three families, as follows:
Family POTAMOTRYGONTIDAE
Potamotrygon humboldti(DumÉril)
(= Potamotrygon hystrix)
Family PIMELODIDAE
Rhamdia sebaeCuvier and Valenciennes
Family CHARACIDAE
Cyrtocharax magdalenae essequibensis(Eigenmann)
(= Cynopotamus essequibensis)
Chalceus macrolepidotusCuvier and Valenciennes
The only other records of cockroaches being eaten by fish pertain to the use of cockroaches as bait.[8] Captain William Owen (in Webster, 1834) stated that the Chinese used cockroaches as bait in their fishing excursions. At Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, Blatta orientalis were kept in large numbers by bait dealers and were sold to fishermen who used them for catching Lepomis pallidus, a sunfish locally known as bream, blue bream, or bluegill (Rau, 1944). In Indiana, oriental cockroaches were collected at a city dump by fishermen (Gould, 1941). Peterson (1956) states that cockroaches are satisfactory bait for bluegills, crappies, channel cat, blue heads, and large mouth black bass.
Class AMPHIBIA[9]
Order CAUDATA
Family PLETHODONTIDAE
Plethodon glutinosus(Green)
Natural prey.—Cryptocercus punctulatus, U.S.A. (Honigberg, 1953): Protozoa which are normally only found in C. punctulatus were present in the intestine of the salamander indicating that this cockroach had been eaten by the amphibian.
Order SALIENTIA
Family BUFONIDAE
Bufo funereusBocage
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Belgian Congo (Noble, 1924): The stomachs of 62 out of 72 specimens contained food; this included 3 cockroaches.
Bufo ictericusSpix
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Brazil (Valente, 1949): Stomach contents revealed the prothorax, legs, and wings of cockroaches, and fragments of wood-cockroaches. This toad frequently feeds at night.
Bufo marinus(Linnaeus)
Common name.—Giant toad, marine toad, Surinam toad.
Natural prey.—Epilampra abdomen-nigrum, Trinidad (Weber, 1938): Found in the stomachs of two toads.
Diploptera punctata, Hawaii (Pemberton and Williams, 1938).
Periplaneta sp., Fiji (Lever, 1939): Many householders in Suva have seen the toad eat considerable numbers of these cockroaches.
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Alicata, 1938; Illingworth, 1941).
Cockroaches, Nicaragua (Noble, 1918): Stomach contents of toads captured at street lamps in Rio Grande consisted chiefly of large cockroaches. Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1937).
Bufo vallicepsWiegmann
Experimental prey.—Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Moore, 1946): Cockroaches containing infective acanthellas of Moniliformis dubius were fed to three toads.
Family HYLIDAE
Hyla cinerea(Schneider)
Common name.—Green tree frog.
Natural prey.—Ischnoptera deropeltiformis, Periplaneta americana, and undetermined cockroaches, U.S.A., Georgia (Haber, 1926): Cockroaches were found in 11 of 100 stomachs.
Family RANIDAE
Arthroleptis variabilisMatschie
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Belgian Congo (Noble, 1924): Of 52 specimens examined, the stomach contents of 17 contained food, including 3 cockroaches.
Hyperolius picturatusPeters
Natural prey.—Cockroach, Belgian Congo (Noble, 1924): The stomachs of 12 of 56 specimens examined contained food, including one cockroach.
Leptodactylus albilabris(GÜnther)
Natural prey.—Cockroach, Puerto Rico (Schmidt, 1920): One of 25 stomachs contained a medium-sized cockroach.
Leptodactylus pentadactylus(Laurenti)
Common name.—"Smoky jungle frog" or "pepper frog."
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Nicaragua (Noble, 1918): Cockroach wings were found in the stomach of a frog caught around human habitation. Brazil (Valente, 1949).
Leptopelis calcaratus(Boulenger)
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Belgian Congo (Noble, 1924): The stomachs of 35 specimens were examined of which 13 contained food, including 2 cockroaches.
Leptopelis rufusReichenow
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Belgian Congo (Noble, 1924): Forty-five of 83 stomachs examined contained food, including 2 cockroaches.
Megalixalus fornasinii(Bianconi)
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Belgian Congo (Noble, 1924): The stomachs of 3 of 40 specimens contained food, including 2 cockroaches.
Rana catesbeianaShaw
Common name.—Bullfrog.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Derez, 1949).
Rana mascareniensisDumÉril and Bibron
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Belgian Congo (Noble, 1924): The stomach contents of 138 specimens were examined, 39 of which contained food, including 2 cockroaches.
Rana pipiensSchreber
Common name.—Leopard frog.
Experimental prey.—Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Moore, 1946): Cockroaches containing infective acanthellas of Moniliformis dubius were fed to two frogs.
Neostylopyga rhombifolia, U.S.A. (Dr. T. Eisner, personal communication, 1958.)
Frogs
Natural prey.—Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Rau, 1924): Frogs which escaped from a tank in the cellar consumed quantities of this cockroach.
Parcoblatta pensylvanica, U.S.A. (Frost, 1924): One adult specimen recovered from alimentary canal of a frog, probably Rana sp.
Unidentified batrachians
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, Germany, Frankfurt am Main, Zoological Garden (Lederer, 1952): These insects were preferred by all the insect eaters in the zoo.
Periplaneta americana, Germany, Frankfurt am Main, Zoological Garden (Lederer, 1952): Newly molted individuals were accepted as food, but others were usually passed by or consumed unwillingly.
Class REPTILIA[10]
Order CHELONIA
Family EMYDIDAE
Chrysemys picta(Schneider)
Common name.—Painted turtle.
Natural prey.—Periplaneta australasiae, England (Lucas, 1916, 1920): The cockroach, apparently injured, fell into water in the tortoise house, Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, and the terrapin ate it.
Order SAURIA
Family GEKKONIDAE
Gekko gecko(Linnaeus)
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Philippine Islands, Laguna (Villadolid, 1934): The geckos frequent holes in trees and underside of bark which are favorable haunts of cockroaches. Stomach contents mostly Blattidae and "Locustidae."
Hemidactylus frenatusDumÉril and Bibron
Common name.—House lizard.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Philippine Islands, Laguna (Villadolid, 1934): Bulk of stomach contents of 22 lizards consisted of Orthoptera, mostly cockroaches.
Sphaerodactylussp.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a): The above lizard is found in houses.
Thecadactylussp.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a): The above lizard is found in houses.
Undetermined geckos
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Australia, Flinders River (Froggatt, 1906): The lizard lived in the walls of the hut and hunted cockroaches upon the roof at night. Arno Atoll (Usinger and La Rivers, 1953).
Family IGUANIDAE
Anolis carolinensisVoigt
Experimental prey.—Diploptera punctata, U.S.A. (Eisner, 1958).
Anolis cristatellusDumÉril and Bibron
Natural prey.—Blattella sp., Cariblatta delicatula, Epilampra wheeleri, Periplaneta americana, Periplaneta australasiae, and Symploce flagellata, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1924): The last-named cockroach may have been S. ruficollis Rehn and Hebard, the females of which are hard to distinguish from flagellata. Rehn and Hebard (1927) stated that in all probability flagellata does not occur on the island of Puerto Rico. Wolcott (1950) stated that Symploce ruficollis [= bilabiata] serves as food for the crested lizard.
Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Schmidt, 1920): Of 100 stomachs examined, 16 contained Orthoptera, including cockroaches. Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1924): One hundred A. cristatellus had eaten 8 cockroaches, 4.14 percent of the total food, or 25 percent of the food for 8 lizards.
Anolis pulchellusDumÉril and Bibron
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1924): Two small cockroaches found in 50 lizards examined.
Anolis equestrisMerrem
Experimental prey.—Neostylopyga rhombifolia, U.S.A. (Eisner, personal communication, 1958.)
Anolis grahamiGarman
Natural prey.—Periplaneta spp. and Blattidae, Bermuda (Simmonds, 1958): Stomachs of 176 lizards yielded 6 cockroaches.
Anolis leachiDumÉril and Bibron
Natural prey.—Periplaneta spp. and Blattidae, Bermuda (Simmonds, 1958): Stomachs of 46 lizards yielded 31 cockroaches.
Anolis sagreiCocteau
Natural and experimental prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Cuba (Darlington, 1938): This species was eaten both in captivity and in nature. The lizard ate most readily soft, immature cockroaches. Pycnoscelus surinamensis is probably a staple food of the lizard in nature, as Darlington observed wild lizards catch the nymphs.
Anolis stratulusCope
Natural prey.—Aglaopteryx facies, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1924): One cockroach was found in 50 lizards examined.
Cockroach, Puerto Rico (Schmidt, 1920): One of 25 stomachs contained a cockroach.
Anolissp.
Natural prey.—"Wood roaches," British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a): The above lizard is arboreal on foliage in low jungle.
Family SCINCIDAE
Leiolopisma lateraleSay
Common name.—Brown skink.
Natural prey.—Woodroaches, U.S.A., Louisiana (Slater, 1949): Analysis of stomach contents of 84 adult skinks showed that nymphal and adult woodroaches comprised the majority of Orthoptera.
Tropidophorus grayiGÜnther
Common name.—Spiny lizard.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Philippine Islands, Laguna (Villadolid, 1934): Food of this species was mostly Blattidae.
Unidentified skinks
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Arno Atoll (Usinger and La Rivers, 1953).
Family AGAMIDAE
Experimental prey?—Cockroaches, Australia (Lee and Mackerras, 1955): A general statement was made that in captivity Agamidae were observed feeding avidly on cockroaches and other insects. Three agamids studied by these workers were Amphibolurus barbatus (Gray), Physignathus lesueurii Gray, and Chlamydosaurus kingii Gray.
Family CHAMAELEONTIDAE
Chamaeleon chamaeleon(Linnaeus) and
Chamaeleon oustaletiMocquard
Experimental prey.—Cockroaches, Amsterdam (Portielje, 1914): Large cockroaches were fed to these lizards in the reptile house of Artis.
Family TEIIDAE
Ameiva exsulCope
Common name.—Iguana, ground lizard.
Natural prey.—Cockroach (nymph), Epilampra wheeleri, and Periplaneta americana, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1924): Stomach contents of 15 lizards were analyzed. E. wheeleri formed 30 percent of the food of one lizard. The cockroach nymph formed 5 percent of the food of one lizard. One P. americana formed 20 percent of the food of one lizard; another formed 50 percent of the food of a second lizard.
Experimental prey.—Cockroach nymphs, Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1924).
Ameivasp.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a): The above lizard is terrestrial and found near clearings. The stomach contents of 18 out of 40 reptiles contained cockroach remains.
Cnemidophorussp.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a): This is a terrestrial lizard found near clearings. The stomach contents of 4 out of 40 lizards contained cockroaches.
Unidentified lizards
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, West Indies (H., 1800).
Experimental prey.—Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Rau, 1924): Rau called the predator a common gray lizard.
Periplaneta americana, Germany, Frankfurt am Main, Zoological Garden (Lederer, 1952): Newly molted cockroaches were accepted as food, but others were usually passed by or consumed unwillingly.
Order SERPENTES
Family COLUBRIDAE
Heterodon platyrhinosLatreille
Synonymy.—Heterodon contortrix [Dr. Doris M. Cochran, personal communication, 1957].
Common name.—Hog-nosed snake.
Experimental prey.—Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Moore, 1946): Cockroaches containing infective acanthellas of Moniliformis dubius were fed to one snake.
Garter Snake
Experimental prey.—Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Rau, 1924).
Class AVES
The cockroach is always wrong when arguing with a chicken.
Spanish proverb (Hartnack, 1939)
Arboreal cockroaches hidden in and under bark are much more likely to be encountered by birds than by other predators, and insectivorous birds undoubtedly consume many more cockroaches than the few records would indicate. Most of the records we have located identify the birds at least by common name. Where possible we have given the scientific names for those birds whose common names are recognizably specific. We have followed the systematic classification of Wetmore (1940).
Figuier (1869) stated that poultry and owls are very fond of cockroaches. Perkins (1913) made the general statement that some of the native birds of Hawaii are partial to the endemic Allacta similis. Asano (1937) stated that in Japan natural enemies of cockroaches may be found in the Galliformes, Strigiformes, Passeriformes, and Piciformes. Although Lederer (1952) successfully fed newly molted Periplaneta americana to insectivorous birds in the Zoological Garden, Frankfurt am Main, Blattella germanica were preferred by these birds. The following records are of specific birds feeding on cockroaches.
Order ANSERIFORMES
Family ANATIDAE
Domestic duck
Natural prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Australia (Fielding 1926): The ducks became infected with Manson's eye worm of which P. surinamensis is the only known intermediate host.
Cockroach, Bermuda (Jones, 1859): "All kinds of poultry feed greedily upon the cockroach; tame ducks spending entire moonlight nights in their capture."
Order GALLIFORMES
Family PHASIANIDAE
Bambusicola thoracicaTemminck
Common name.—Kojukei.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Japan (Asano, 1937).
Gallussp.
Common name.—Jungle fowl.
Natural prey.—Periplaneta australasiae, Hawaii (Schwartz and Schwartz, 1949).
Phasianus calchicus karpowiButurlin
Common name.—Korean pheasants.
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica and Periplaneta picea, Japan (Asano, 1937): Adults of these cockroaches were devoured at once when they were fed with the heads cut off.
Phasianussp.
Common name.—Pheasant.
Natural prey.—Blattidae, unidentified (below 1 percent of the diet), Cutila soror (below 1 percent of the diet), Diploptera punctata (above 6 percent of the diet), and Pycnoscelus surinamensis (6 percent of the diet), Hawaii (Schwartz and Schwartz, 1949).
Coturnix coturnix japonica(Temminck and Schlegel)
Common name.—Japanese quail.
Natural prey.—Blattidae (unidentified) and Lobopterella dimidiatipes, Hawaii (Schwartz and Schwartz, 1949).
Domestic chicken
Natural and experimental prey.—Blaberus craniifer, U.S.A., Key West, Florida. J.A.G. Rehn in 1912 (personal communication) observed chickens feeding on nymphs of B. craniifer which had dropped to the ground from among stacked coffins in an undertaker's shack.
Blatta orientalis, U.S.A. (Rau, 1924): The chickens ate cockroaches that were caught in traps.
Hebardina concinna, Japan (Asano, 1937): Experimental feeding to white Leghorn chickens.
Periplaneta americana, Surinam (Stage, 1947): Several cockroaches ran off the floor of a house, which was being sprayed with DDT, and were eaten by chickens. Although some chickens had DDT tremors the next day, all appeared normal two days later.
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Australia (Fielding, 1926); Formosa, experimental feeding (Kobayashi, 1927); Australia, experimental feeding (Fielding, 1927, 1928); U.S.A., Florida, experimental feeding (Sanders, 1928); Antigua (Hutson, 1943); Hawaii (Illingworth, 1931; Schwabe, 1949, 1950a, 1950b). This cockroach is the intermediate host of Oxyspirura mansoni, the chicken eye worm.
Cockroaches, Guadeloupe (Dutertre, 1654); Africa (Moiser, 1947): "Poultry" ate cockroaches which had been killed by DDT and sodium fluoride. Hawaii (Zimmerman, 1948).
Partridge
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a): The food of two small species of leaf-colored partridges that lived on the jungle floor, consisted chiefly of cockroaches and beetles.
Family MELEAGRIDIDAE
Meleagris gallopavo(Linnaeus)
Common name.—Turkey.
Natural prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Antigua (Hutson, 1943): Turkeys were found heavily infected with Manson's eye worm of which P. surinamensis is the only known intermediate host. These turkeys therefore were presumed to have fed on this cockroach.
Order COLUMBIFORMES
Family COLUMBIDAE
Streptopelia chinensis(Scopoli)
Common name.—Chinese dove.
Natural prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Schwabe, 1950b).
Pigeon
Experimental prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Australia (Fielding, 1927); U.S.A., Florida (Sanders, 1928).
Order STRIGIFORMES
Family STRIGIDAE
Gymnasio nudipes(Daudin)
Common name.—Bare-legged owl.
Natural prey.—Epilampra sp., Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): One specimen identified in stomach of a wild-caught owl.
Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): These insects were found in stomachs of five owls.
Order CORACIFORMES
Family TODIDAE
Todus mexicanusLesson
Common name.—Porto Rican tody.
Natural prey.—Plectoptera poeyi?, Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): The stomachs of 89 birds were examined; a single bird had eaten the above cockroach. According to Wolcott (1950) P. poeyi could be Plectoptera dorsalis, P. rhabdota, or P. infulata.
Family BUCEROTIDAE
Tockus birostris(Scopoli)
Synonymy.—Lophocerus birostris [Dr. H. Friedmann, personal communication, 1957].
Common name.—Common gray hornbill.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, India, Central Provinces (D'Abreu, 1920).
Order PICIFORMES
Family PICIDAE
Dendrocopus mahrattensis(Latham)
Synonymy.—Liopicus mahrattensis [Friedmann, p. c. 1957].
Common name.—Yellow-fronted pied woodpecker.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, India, Central Provinces (D'Abreu, 1920).
Melanerpes portoricensis(Daudin)
Common name.—Puerto Rican woodpecker.
Natural prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): One specimen found in 59 bird stomachs examined.
Order PASSERIFORMES
Family FORMICARIIDAE
Gymnopithys leucaspis(Sclater)
Common name.—Bicolored antbird.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Panama Canal Zone (Johnson, 1954): This bird feeds on small cockroaches, and other arthropods, which are flushed from their hiding places by swarms of the army ant, Eciton burchelli.
Family ORIOLIDAE
Icterus portoricensis(Bryant)
Common name.—Puerto Rican oriole.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): Cockroaches and oÖthecae found in the birds' stomachs.
Family CORVIDAE
Aphelocoma coerulesens(Bosc)
Common name.—Florida jay.
Experimental prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A., Florida (Sanders, 1928).
Cyanocitta cristata(Linnaeus)
Common name.—Blue jay.
Experimental prey.—Diploptera punctata, U.S.A. (Eisner, 1958).
Eurycotis floridana, Neostylopyga rhombifolia, and Periplaneta americana, U.S.A. (Eisner, personal communication, 1958): E. floridana was only eaten after the odor of 2-hexenal, which was released by the insect on being attacked by the bird, had dissipated.
Family PARADISEIDAE
Paradisea papuanaBechstein
Experimental prey.—Cockroaches, Malaya and on shipboard (Wallace, 1869): Two adult males fed voraciously on rice, bananas, and cockroaches. Wallace collected cockroaches every night on board ship to feed the birds. "At Malta ... I got plenty of cockroaches from a bakehouse, and when I left, took with me several biscuit-tins full, as provision for the voyage home."
Family TROGLODYTIDAE
Troglodytes aedonVieillot
Common name.—House wren.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, U.S.A. (Greenewalt and Jones, 1955): The wren carried three small cockroaches to nestlings; the records probably represent incidental captures.
Troglodytes audaxTschudi
Common name.—Cucarachero.
Natural prey.—Cockroach (called Chilicabra by Peruvian Indians), Peru (Tschudi, 1847): The bird seized the cockroach and bit off its head then devoured the body discarding the wings.
Family LANIIDAE
Lanius ludovicianusLinnaeus
Common name.—Loggerhead shrike.
Experimental prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A., Florida (Sanders, 1928).
Family STURNIDAE
Acridotheres tristisBonnaterre and Vieillot
Common name.—Myna, mynah.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Hawaii, Lanai (Illingworth, 1928): Illingworth reported that he had never seen as many cockroaches anywhere else in Hawaii. The birds followed tractors that were destroying cactus and kept close to the chain that turned over the stumps. The following species were collected: Allacta similis, Blattella germanica, Cutilia soror, Diploptera punctata, Leucophaea maderae, Periplaneta americana, Periplaneta australasiae, Pycnoscelus surinamensis. Illingworth did not state whether the birds ate all these species indiscriminately.
Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Williams et al., 1931; Schwabe, 1950b): In many places this species forms an important fledgling food for mynah birds.
Family VIREONIDAE
Vireo latimeriBaird
Common name.—Latimer's vireo.
Natural prey.—Periplaneta sp., Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): Cockroaches were found in one of 43 stomachs examined.
Family ICTERIDAE
Agelaius xanthomus(Sclater)
Common name.—Yellow-shouldered blackbird.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): OÖthecae and remains of adult cockroaches found in stomachs.
Dolichonyx oryzivorus(Linnaeus)
Common name.—Bobolink.
Experimental prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A., Florida (Sanders, 1928).
Holoquiscalus brachypterus(Cassin)
Common name.—Puerto Rican blackbird.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): A few eggs (oÖthecae) of cockroaches in stomachs.
Black bird
Experimental prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, U.S.A., Florida (Sanders, 1928).
Family FRINGILLIDAE
Passer domesticus(Linnaeus)
Common name.—English sparrow.
Natural prey.—Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Hawaii (Illingworth, 1931; Schwabe, 1950b): Remains of this cockroach were found in the stomach of the sparrow.
Sparrow
Natural prey.—Periplaneta americana, England (Lucas, 1908, 1920).
Cockroaches, Japan (Asano, 1937).
Tiaris bicolor omissa(Jardine)
Common name.—Carib grassquit.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Puerto Rico (Wetmore, 1916): Animal food was found in 5 of 72 stomachs examined; one bird had eaten two cockroaches among other insects.
Class MAMMALIA[11]
Order MARSUPIALIA
Family DIDELPHIDAE
Monodelphissp.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a): The above opossum is nocturnal and arboreal but nests on the ground in grass.
Order INSECTIVORA
Family ERINACEIDAE
Erinaceus europaeusLinnaeus
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): Two hedgehogs were fed cockroaches infested with Prosthenorchis elegans and P. spirula.
Erinaceussp.
Common name.—Hedgehog.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, England (Samouelle, 1841; Cowan, 1865).
Order CHIROPTERA
Family MOLOSSIDAE
Molossussp.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a): The above bat is a common house bat of the area.
Order PRIMATES
Family LEMURIDAE
Lemur coronatusGray
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): The monkey apparently became infested naturally with Prosthenorchis spirula for which B. germanica was the intermediate host in the monkey house.
Lemur fulvusE. Geoffroy
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comment under Lemur coronatus.
Family LORISIDAE
Loris tardigradus(Linnaeus)
Synonymy.—Lemur tardigradus [Dr. D. H. Johnson, personal communication, 1957].
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, on board ship (Cowan, 1865).
Perodicticus potto(P. L. S. MÜller)
Common name.—Potto.
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comment under Lemur coronatus.
Experimental prey.—Blattidae, East Africa (Pitman, 1931): Both sexes of the potto ate freely of all types of cockroaches.
Family TARSIIDAE
Tarsiussp.
Experimental prey.—Cockroaches, Borneo (Shelford, 1916).
Family CEBIDAE
Aotes zonalisGoldman
Synonymy.—Aotus [Simpson, 1945].
Common name.—Canal Zone night monkey.
Natural prey.—Leucophaea maderae, Panama (Foster and Johnson, 1939): Captive monkeys became naturally infested with Protospirura muricola by eating cockroaches that contained infective larvae of the worm.
Ateles dariensisGoldman
Common name.—Darien black spider monkey.
Natural prey.—Leucophaea maderae, Panama (Foster and Johnson, 1939): See comment under Aotes zonalis.
Cebus apella(Linnaeus)
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comment under Lemur coronatus.
Cebus capucinus(Linnaeus)
Common name.—White-faced monkey.
Natural prey.—Leucophaea maderae, Panama (Foster and Johnson, 1939): Favorite item of food in the laboratory. See comment under Aotes zonalis.
Saimiri sciureaLinnaeus
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comment under Callithrix chrysoleucos.
Family CALLITHRICIDAE
Callithrix chrysoleucos(Natterer)
Synonymy.—Callithrix chrysolevea [Johnson, personal communication, 1957].
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): The monkey apparently became infested naturally with Prosthenorchis elegans for which B. germanica was the intermediate host in the monkey house.
Callithrix jacchus(Linnaeus)
Synonymy.—Simia jacchus.
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comment under Lemur coronatus.
Cockroaches, on board ship (Neill, 1829; also cited by Samouelle, 1841, and Cowan, 1865): "It was quite amusing to see it at its meal. When he had got hold of one of the largest cockroaches, he held it in his fore paws, and then invariably nipped the head off first; he then pulled out the viscera and cast them aside, and devoured the rest of the body, rejecting the dry elytra and wings, and also the legs of the insect, which are covered with short stiff bristles. The smaller cockroaches he eat[s] without such fastidious nicety."
Leontocebus oedipus(Linnaeus)
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comment under Callithrix chrysoleucos.
Leontocebus rosalia(Linnaeus)
Synonymy.—Midas rosalia [Simpson, 1945].
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comments under Lemur coronatus and Callithrix chrysoleucos.
Leontocebus ursulus(E. Geoffroy)
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comments under Callithrix chrysoleucos.
Family CERCOPITHECIDAE
Cercopithecussp.
Experimental prey.—Cockroaches, East Africa (Carpenter, 1921, 1925): The monkey rarely tasted and usually ignored cockroaches offered to it. In one experiment the monkey had to be deprived of food before it would eat the cockroach.
Macaca mulatta(Zimmermann)
Synonymy.—Macaca rhesus [Johnson, personal communication, 1957].
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938, 1938a): The macaque was fed cockroaches infested with Prosthenorchis elegans and P. spirula.
Macaca sylvanus(Linnaeus)
Synonymy.—Inuus sylvanus [Simpson, 1945].
Common name.—Macaque.
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): See comment under Lemur coronatus.
Papio papio(Desmarest)
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938, 1938a): This baboon was fed cockroaches infested with Prosthenorchis elegans and P. spirula.
Family PONGIDAE
Pansp.
Common name.—Chimpanzee.
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, Netherlands (Thiel and Wiegand Bruss, 1946): Indirect evidence for this relationship was shown by these workers who found two animals heavily infected with Prosthenorchis spirula in a zoo in Rotterdam; the intermediate host of the worm was shown to be B. germanica.
Family HOMINIDAE
Homo sapiensLinnaeus
Natural prey.—OÖthecae of Blatta orientalis and Neostylopyga rhombifolia, Thailand (Bristowe, 1932).
Periplaneta americana, Formosa (Takahashi, 1924).
Periplaneta americana and Periplaneta australasiae, Australia, China, and Japan (Bodenheimer, 1951).
Cockroaches, Annam and French Guinea (Brygoo, 1946).
In addition to the above records of cockroaches being used as food by man these insects have also been eaten for medicinal purposes (see Roth and Willis, 1957a).
Order EDENTATA
Family DASYPODIDAE
Dasypus novemcinctusLinnaeus
Synonymy.—Tatu novemcinctum [Johnson, personal communication, 1958].
Natural prey.—Ischnoptera deropeltiformis, Texas (Hebard, 1917): A specimen of this cockroach in the U. S. National Museum was taken from the stomach of the armadillo.
Order RODENTIA
Family MURIDAE
Mus musculusLinnaeus
Experimental prey.—Diploptera punctata, U.S.A. (Eisner, 1958).
Rattus norvegicus(Berkenhout)
Synonymy.—Mus decumanus; Epimys norvegicus.
Natural prey.—Leucophaea maderae, Venezuela (Brumpt, 1931): Rats infested with Protospirura bonnei presumably ate this cockroach which is the intermediate host of the worm.
Periplaneta americana, Brazil (MagalhÃes, 1898): Remains found in the stomachs of brown rats. Denmark (Fibiger and Ditlevsen, 1914): This cockroach was found to be the intermediate host of Gongylonema neoplasticum, a parasite of rats.
Rattus rattus(Linnaeus)
Natural prey.—Periplaneta americana, Denmark (Fibiger and Ditlevsen, 1914): See comment after these authors under Rattus norvegicus.
Rattusspp.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, India (Maxwell-Lefroy, 1909); Burma (Subramanian, 1927).
Family CAVIIDAE
Caviasp.
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Hobmaier, 1941): Guinea pigs were fed cockroaches infested with Physaloptera maxillaris.
Order CARNIVORA
Family CANIDAE
Canis familiarisLinnaeus
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Hobmaier, 1941): Dogs were fed cockroaches infested with Physaloptera maxillaris. U.S.A. (Petri and Ameel, 1950): Cockroaches infested with Physaloptera rara were fed to a dog.
Canis latransSay
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Petri and Ameel, 1950): Cockroaches infested with Physaloptera rara were fed to a coyote.
Vulpessp.
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938a): A fox was successfully infected when fed cockroaches infested with Prosthenorchis elegans and P. spirula.
Family PROCYONIDAE
Bassariscus astutus(Lichtenstein)
Common names.—Cacomistle, ring-tailed cat.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, U.S.A., Arizona (Dr. H. Stahnke, personal communication, 1953): The ring-tailed cat enters dwellings located on the desert and feeds on cockroaches and other arthropods.
Nasua narica(Linnaeus)
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938): The coati apparently became infested naturally with Prosthenorchis spirula for which B. germanica was the intermediate host in the laboratory.
Nasua nasua(Linnaeus)
Natural prey.—Blattella germanica, on board ship (Myers, 1931): This insect was eaten when other insects were absent.
Cockroach, a small outdoor species, Trinidad (Myers, 1931).
Nasuasp.
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, British Guiana (Beebe, 1925a).
Family MUSTELIDAE
Melessp.
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938a): A badger was successfully infected when fed cockroaches infested with Prosthenorchis elegans and P. spirula.
Family VIVERRIDAE
Herpestes javanicus auropunctatusHodgson
Natural prey.—Epilampra wheeleri, Eurycotis improcera, Panchlora nivea, Pycnoscelus surinamensis, and others unidentified to species, St. Croix and Puerto Rico (Wolcott, 1953): Based on 37 or more cockroaches obtained from stomachs of 42 mongooses collected in St. Croix (by Seaman) and 56 collected in Puerto Rico (by Pimentel).
Pimentel (personal communication, 1958) has given us the following percentage occurrence of cockroach species in the total number of mongoose stomachs that he examined in Puerto Rico: Epilampra wheeleri 1.8, Ischnoptera rufa rufa 3.6, Panchlora nivea 1.8, Periplaneta americana 1.8, and Pycnoscelus surinamensis 19.6.
Herpestessp.
Natural prey.—Periplaneta americana and Periplaneta australasiae, Hawaii (Perkins, 1913): Large numbers of these cockroaches are devoured.
Cockroach, East Africa (Loveridge, 1923): Cockroach remains found in stomach of mongoose.
Family FELIDAE
Felis catusLinnaeus
Natural prey.—Periplaneta americana, Hawaii (Williams et al., 1931).
Cockroaches, U.S.A., Arizona (Stahnke, personal communication, 1953).
Experimental prey.—Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Hobmaier, 1941): Cats were fed cockroaches infested with Physaloptera maxillaris. U.S.A. (Petri and Ameel, 1950): Cockroaches infested with Physaloptera rara were fed to a kitten. France (Brumpt and Urbain, 1938a): A young cat was fed cockroaches infested with Prosthenorchis elegans and P. spirula.
Felis pardalis mearnsiJ. A. Allen
Natural prey.—Cockroaches, Panama (Dr. H. L. Sweetman, personal communication, 1958): An ocelot was seen collecting and feeding on cockroaches, possibly Blaberus sp. "The ocelot was quite efficient and seemed to relish the roaches."
