Читать книгу The Biotic Associations of Cockroaches - Edwin R. Willis - Страница 6

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Recently we brought together much of the literature linking cockroaches with the transmission of certain organisms that cause disease in man and other vertebrates. In that paper (1957a) we concluded that cockroaches, being potential vectors of pathogenic agents, should not be regarded simply as minor annoyances. Obviously the associations of cockroaches with agents of vertebrate diseases are of more immediate importance than their relations with pathogens of lower animals or with nonpathogens. On the other hand, cockroaches are of general economic as well as medical importance, and their control is sought by many who are unaware of their medical significance. That the control of domiciliary cockroaches is far from satisfactory may be inferred from current entomological and pest-control journals in which new insecticides are continually advocated to replace others found to be inadequate. Possibly new approaches to the control of cockroaches are needed. Whether these lie in the direction of increased use of parasites and predators for the biological control of these insects remains to be seen. In any event, the more we know about any insect, especially its ecology, the greater the likelihood of achieving satisfactory control. In order to advance knowledge in any field of science, new research should proceed from the results of prior investigations when these exist. We hope that the observations and experiments cited herein may suggest areas for future research and exploitation.

To the best of our knowledge no previous publication has brought together the vast literature on the parasites, predators, commensals, and other symbiotic associates of the Blattaria. For this reason, we have tried to assemble observations on all such known associations. Undoubtedly we have overlooked some records, as, for example, those buried in papers dealing with other phases of cockroach biology. We hope that such inadvertent omissions will not seriously impair the usefulness of this compilation. Whatever its defects, this review should be a unified source of information for all who are interested in the biotic associates of cockroaches.

In addition to previously published information, this monograph also contains original records and observations on the associations of cockroaches that are reported here for the first time. Although some of the observations were made by us, others were made by colleagues who have graciously made their knowledge available to us in private communications.