Seín (in Rehn and Hebard, 1927) in Puerto Rico found Aglaopteryx facies in abandoned cocoons of Megalopyge krugii (Dewitz) and in leaves webbed together by caterpillars and in abandoned spiders nests. Wolcott (1950; and in Rehn and Hebard, 1927) also found A. facies in the empty cocoons of M. krugii and in the larval tents of Tetralopha scabridella Ragonot on Inga vera (coffee shade tree); and "Where there are no butterfly-nests, it lives in abandoned spider-nests on the leaves of other forest trees." Cotton (in Wolcott, 1950) found the type of Aglaopteryx absimilis also living in the abandoned cocoon of M. krugii on bucare trees in Puerto Rico. Wolcott (1950) reported that Plectoptera dorsalis, Plectoptera infulata, and Plectoptera rhabdota have been found living in trees between leaves or in "butterfly-nests" of Tetralopha scabridella in leaves of Inga vera, or nests of Pilocrocis secernalis (Möschler) in the leaves of Petitia domingensis in the mountains of Puerto Rico. Seín (in Rehn and Hebard, 1927) had collected P. rhabdota in the nest of larvae of T. scabridella.
Wolcott (1950) reported that Nyctibora lutzi had been found in a large rotten stump associating with "'comején' termites [Nasutitermes costalis (Holmgren)], yellow wood-ants and rhinoceros beetle grubs." Rehn and Hebard (1927) found Simblerastes jamaicanus in numbers in the debris of an abandoned termites' nest in Jamaica: "To what extent the species is dependent upon the protection of the termite or other structures remains to be determined."
In Virginia Cryptocercus punctulatus has been found living in the same galleries with Reticulitermes sp., and on the Pacific Coast it has been found occupying the same log with Termopsis sp. (Cleveland et al., 1934).
Shelford (1909) found one male and one female of Balta platysoma in a nest of a spider of the genus Phryganoporus and assumed a symbiotic association. Chopard (1924) recorded Mareta acutiventris from empty nests of spiders on Barkuda Island, India; nothing is known of the relationships, if any, between these cockroaches and spiders.
Chopard (1924c) found Margattea sp. in the nest of the ant Acropyga acutiventris Roger; he also found Margattea sp., Periplaneta sp., Polyphaga indica, and Temnopteryx obliquetruncata in deserted termite mounds in India. However, he believed that none of these species were more than accidental associates of the host insects; he considered them hygrophilous cockroaches which had found a retreat in the nests.
McClure (1936) obtained a large nest of Vespula maculata (Linnaeus) [= Vespa maculata] in March in Illinois. In it were living 65 nymphs of Parcoblatta pensylvanica, 3 spiders (Philodromus pernix Blackwall), 2 immature spiders (Drassus sp.), and 6 mites. Balduf (1936) observed four individuals of Parcoblatta pensylvanica in a nest of Vespula maculata; he suggested that they probably fed on dead bodies and organic wastes of the wasps. However, Rau (1940) has observed this cockroach devour a Polistes larva in its cell. Although we do not imply that a commensal relationship exists between Parcoblatta and the wasp, it is well to recall a statement by Rothschild and Clay (1957): "A commensal relationship is potentially even more dangerous than a merely social tie, for by nature it is more intimate. The closer the association, the more easily is the balance upset. One partner can then suddenly take a mean advantage of the other."
Cockroach nymphs may enter bees' nests where, according to Imamura (in Sonan, 1924), they do not feed on honey or pollen but presumably feed on excreta of bees or anything scattered by bees in their nest; the bees are not disturbed by the cockroaches.
Cockroaches that have been found in the burrows of vertebrates are listed on pages 23-25.
Paulian (1950) found immature cockroaches in the nests of birds (Ploceinae) in Madagascar and Ivory Coast. All nests of Fondia sp. examined in Madagascar contained many cockroaches, and Paulian believed that the blattid was a species peculiar to the nests of birds. Three nests of Ploceus sp. in Ivory Coast yielded one or two cockroaches each in association with more numerous mites, Psocoptera, Heteroptera, beetles, and lepidopterous larvae (Delamare, Deboutteville and Paulian, 1952). These last cited workers also found four cockroaches in a nest of Estrildine sp., and two in a nest of an undetermined bird, all in association with other arthropods. Moulton (1912) observed large numbers of Symploce cavernicola and Periplaneta australasiae swarming in soft bird guano on the floor of caves in Borneo. Abdulali (1942) found in India many Periplaneta americana in caves containing the edible-nest swift; there was no indication of association of the cockroaches with the birds. Danforth (in Wolcott, 1950) reported finding large numbers of Aglaopteryx facies "in the nests of the grey kingbird, in the region of the Cartagena Lagoon [Puerto Rico], 'living among the twigs.'" In Trinidad, Kevan found a male of Blaberus discoidalis in a bird's nest (Princis and Kevan, 1955).