The interaction of surface and dust particle size on the pick‐up and grooming behaviour of the German cockroach Blattella germanica

Abstract

The relationship between the particle size of an inert silica dust, its up‐take from different surfaces and the grooming behaviour of males, gravid females, and fifth and sixth instar nymphs of the German cockroach Blattella germanica (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) (L.) was investigated. The normal grooming behaviour of gravid females, nymphs and males differed according to sex and age. The gravid females and nymphs exhibited greater grooming activity than the males, especially of the antennae and the legs. Gravid females, nymphs, and adult males exhibited increased grooming activity after exposure to dust in the size range 0.5–63 μm, but there was no significant difference in grooming behaviour from the control when cockroaches were exposed to dust sizes greater than 70 μm. Antennal grooming by males was greater than leg grooming when exposed to all dust sizes, except size particles ranging 4.5–7.5 μm. A dust pick‐up experiment indicated that the average amount of dust transferred to B. germanica is affected by particle size, the porosity of the treated surface, and the sex and age of the cockroaches. Gravid females picked up greater amounts of dust than fifth and sixth instar nymphs, which in turn picked up more dust than males. Silica dust particles (0.5–7.5 μm) were picked up more effectively than larger particle sizes, by all three categories, males, females and fifth and sixth instar nymphs of cockroach on all three test surfaces plastic, ceramic and unpainted plywood. Plywood was the least effective surface for transfer of dust, of all sizes, to males, females and nymphs.

Ants detect but do not discriminate diseased workers within their nest

“…In the case of ant societies, the increased allogrooming of fungus-infected nestmates (Bos et al 2012;Walker and Hughes 2009) significantly reduces the pathogen load and the risk of disease outbreak inside the nest (Reber et al 2011), even though mutual cleaning does not seem to rely on a specific recognition of infectious spores. Instead, it appears as a constitutive line of defence against any external contaminants-biological or chemical-present on the cuticle regardless of the associated sanitary risk (Gratwick 1957;Hlavac 1975;El-Awami and Dent 1995).…”

Grooming Behavior as a Mechanism of Insect Disease Defense

“…Irritants and mechanical stimulation often cause simple reflex reactions aimed at removing foreign material from the integument. Induced grooming in insects has been studied using dust particles, chemical irritants and weak mechanical stimulation [ 13 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. In contrast, grooming also has been reported as an activity executed spontaneously without apparent external stimuli [ 5 , 43 , 44 , 45 ].…”

Fatores que afetam a eficiência da Terra de Diatomácea no controle de adultos de Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

“…Além disso, El-Awami & Dent (1995), testando a exposição de Blatella germanica L. (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) em diferentes superfícies tratadas com TD, verifi caram que a madeira foi a menos efi ciente na transferência das partículas . Médias ( EPM) seguidas pela mesma letra maiúscula na coluna e letra minúscula na linha não diferem entre si, pelo teste de Tukey (P < 0,05).…”