ENTOMOLOGY

CHAPTER XXVICockroachesA. N. Caudell.Contending with bedbugs for general unpopularity come cockroaches,noisome creatures scarcely less widely known, or less thoroughly disliked,than those smaller odorous and odious pests. The importance of roachesin houses and camps is consider.able, not only as unsanitary and disgustingvermin, but as mechanical carriers of disease, and also very likelyas intermediary hosts to certain disease-causing organisms. Experimentshave shown these insects eminently fitted for both roles, and their importancewarrants attention by housekeeper and sanitarian.No more offensive insect frequents the habitation of man than thecockroach. These insects have long been known as pests of the householdand are found throughout most of the civilized world, especially intemperate and tropical regions. The ancients are said to have called themZucifuga. by reason of their nocturnal habits, but the more modern namecockroach, or the briefer designation roach, is the one by which theyare now universally known. Certain species are, however, given specialcommon names, which may vary in different regions, as water bug, Crotonbug, German roach, etc., which are names by which the little, brown,house roach is known in various places.Not all cockroaches are loathsome. creatures of disgust, in fact thereare very few of the many hundreds of described forms that are of anymaterial economic importance. Some species of roaches are handsome inform and color, in some cases resembling certain beautifully coloredbeetles, a decided contrast to the flat noisome- creatures of the kitchen.Economically, roaches are of importance only as household pestsand disease disseminators, there being but comparatively few instancesof their injuring living plants or doing other damage to things out ofdoors. But in houses and camps they injure many things, defile food inpantries, eat paint from pictures, covers from books, glue from stamps~and gnaw holes in clothing. They will devour almost anything, and havebeen recorded as biting off eyelashes, gnawing toenails, and biting thegreasy fingers of sleeping children.As a rule but one species of roach occurs at one place in injuriousabundance, two or more forms rarely occurring together in any number.374