Читать книгу The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches - Edwin R. Willis - Страница 428

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Michel (1935) stated that the development of air transportation brought the same insect dispersal problems that exist in land and water transportation; in addition, the problem of cockroach infestation had become a very serious one, quite aside from the hygienic point of view, because it had been discovered that these insects seek out the wings of airplanes, where they subsisted on the glue and dope used in airplane construction. However, Dethier (1945) found no cockroaches in dismantled or wrecked wing and tail structures of metal aircraft in central Africa. In fact, all-metal aircraft would seem to provide little in the way of food or water for stowaway cockroaches.

Laird (1951, 1952, 1956a) found living specimens of Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, and Periplaneta australasiae in baggage compartments and/or kitchens in aircraft. Other species which have been recovered from undisclosed spaces in aircraft are listed below. Some of the cockroaches that were reported as dead may not have died from exposure during flight but may have been killed by insecticide applied by inspecting personnel at the airports.