Abstract
Field surveys of the distribution of domiciliary cockroaches were conducted in Tokyo and Kawasaki during the period between 1972 to 1974. In Tokyo, dead cockroaches collected from various types of buildings following insecticide treatment by pest control operators were brought to the laboratory and identified. Among a total of 286 buildings surveyed, 172 (60.1%) were restaurants and snacks, 25 (8.7%) offices, 14 (5.0%) food factories, 12 (4.2%) residences and 12 (4.2%) supermarkets. A total of 2,802 cockroaches was collected including Blattella germanica (93.7%), Periplaneta fuliginosa (4.8%), P. japonica (0.5%), P. americana (0.8%) and P. australasiae (0.2%). However, the findings cannot be taken to represent the general tendency of cockroach infestation in Tokyo since a disproportionately high number of restaurants and offices, which are the principal clients of pest control services, were surveyed. A correlation between the type of structural property and established cockroach species was examined and a dominance of B. germanica was shown in all cases. This was especially striking in the case of structures constructed within the past 5 years. In Kawasaki, a total of 145 cockroach adhesive traps were set in offices, restaurants, stores, apartments, residences and farm houses on two occasions in both summer and winter. Species compositon of trapped 1,755 individuals was B. germanica (78.6%), P. fuliginosa (20.7%) and P. japonica (0.7%). B. germanica was dominant over P. fuliginosa in offices, apartments, restaurants and stores, while the opposite was true for residences. In farm houses, P. fuliginosa was most abundant followed by P. japonica. A distinct tendency for the abundance of B. germanica in urban buildings, P. fuliginosa in residences and P. japonica in farm houses was observed. Furthemore, P. japonica has never been trapped during winter, suggesting that they had entered diapause.
