A Guide to the Cockroaches of Australia [OP]

715 Pages·2014·33.181 MB·English

by  David Rentz

A GUIDE TO THE
COCKROACHES
OF AUSTRALIA
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This book is dedicated to
Kathy Hill
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A GUIDE TO THE
COCKROACHES
OF AUSTRALIA
DAVID RENTZ
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© David Rentz 2014
All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act
1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
copyright owner. Contact CSIRO Publishing for all permission requests.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Rentz, David C., author.
A guide to the cockroaches of Australia / David Rentz.
9780643103207 (paperback)
9781486300372 (ePDF)
9781486300389 (epub)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Cockroaches – Australia.
Cockroaches – Australia – Identification.
595.7220994
Published by
CSIRO Publishing
150 Oxford Street
(PO Box 1139)
Collingwood VIC 3066
Australia
Telephone: [phone]
Local call: 1300 788 000 (Australia only)
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web site: www.publish.csiro.au
All photos are by the author unless noted otherwise.
Front cover (top left to right): Calolampra sp., Mediastinia australica, Leptozosteria prima
(M Harvey); (main image) Ellipsidion simulans.
Set in Minion Pro 9.5/12.5
Cover and text design by James Kelly
Typeset by Oryx Publishing Pty Ltd
Printed in China by 1010 Printing International Ltd
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magazines and journals from Australia to a worldwide audience and conducts these activities
autonomously from the research activities of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO). The views expressed in this publication are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of, and should not be attributed to, the
publisher or CSIRO. The copyright owner shall not be liable for technical or other errors or
omissions contained herein. The reader/user accepts all risks and responsibility for losses,
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information.
Original print edition:
The paper this book is printed on is in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship
Council®. The FSC® promotes environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and
economically viable management of the world’s forests.
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Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
2 Cockroach ‘personalities’
3 Biology
4 Economic importance
5 Australian cockroaches in captivity (by Deanna Henderson)
6 Collection and preservation
7 Habitats and ecology
8 Morphology
9 Cockroach identification
Family Blaberidae
Family Nocticolidae (Delicate Cockroaches)
Family Corydiidae (Elusive Cockroaches)
Family Blattidae
Family Tryonicidae
Family Ectobiidae (formerly Blattellidae)
List of the cockroaches of Australia
Glossary
Australian entomological supplies
Websites and special interest groups
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Orthopteran food mix
Bibliography
Index
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The latest in photo imagery. This Giant Desert Cockroach, Megazosteria
patula, has undergone special treatment. The image has been
processed with Zerene Stacker software from source images taken with
a Hasselblad H4D-50MS camera (120 mm Macro lens) in 4-shot, 50
megapixel mode on a Visionary Digital Bk Plus Laboratory System. The
difference is in the detail. Digital photography by Geoff Thompson, Queensland
Museum. Photos used with permission. © Queensland Museum.
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Preface
Why publish a guide to Australian cockroaches? After all, the mere mention of
the word ‘cockroach’ produces a negative reaction in most people. Most non-
entomologists recoiled in horror when I told them I was working on a book on
Australian cockroaches. Even some entomologists were not impressed. So how
does one approach the subject and not lose the interest of prospective readers on
the first page?
My friend Piotr Naskrecki in his recent book Relics calls them ‘blattodeans’
– which they are. He never uses the word ‘cockroach’ in his book. This is a
novel concept but I have not adopted this idea for reasons that should become
apparent.
Despite the revulsion that pervades the general community about
cockroaches, they are often subjects of games and toys. Shops are replete with a
variety of small toys, some more complimentary to the insects than others.
It is surprising that cockroaches can be topics of sculpture. The Australian
native Giant Burrowing Cockroach (p. 87) seems to be the most popular
Australian subject, perhaps due to the lack of familiarity of the artists with the
range of species. Hopefully this book will remedy that void.
As you will discover in the pages of this book, the diversity and beauty of
Australia cockroaches – or blattodeans – speaks for itself. I hope, therefore, that
Guide to the Cockroaches of Australia goes some way towards elevating the
reputation of these much-maligned insects, and promotes further study of them.
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