Natural systems retain significant advantages over engineered systems in many aspects, including size and versatility. In this research, we develop a hybrid robotic system using American (Periplaneta americana) and discoid (Blaberus discoidalis) cockroaches that uses the natural locomotion and robustness of the insect. A tethered control system was firstly characterized using American cockroach...

The amounts of carboxymethyl cellulase present in the midguts and hindguts of two species of cockroaches were determined. Numbers of colonies from the guts which digested carboxymethyl cellulose, visualized by flooding plates with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide after incubation, were counted. The numbers indicated the presence of a resident, multiplying population of predominantly anaerobic car...

Cockroaches are among the most ancient winged insects, the earliest fossils dating back to about 400 million years. Several conflicting phylogenies for cockroach families, subfamilies, and genera have been proposed in the past. In addition, the relationship of Cryptocercidae to other cockroach families and the relationship between the cockroach, Cryptocercus punctulatus, and the termite, Mastot...

Alkyl and aryl neoalkanamides with a total carbon number between 11 and 14, or within a molecular weight range between 185 and 227, were highly effective repellents of male German cockroaches, Blattella germanica (L.). Comparison with known repellents showed that members of this unique family of secondary amides are among the most effective and long-lasting repellents of cockroaches examined to...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Resistance to organophosphorous and carbamate insecticides amongst German cockroaches is widely reported. Cyphenothrin EC, a new synthetic pyrethroid was evaluated in cookhouses in an urban area, with the aim of exploring alternate control option against the German cockroach Blatella germanica. METHODS Three cookhouses were selected by simple random sampling method, tw...

A study on the prevalence of a common endoparasite in the wild population of the American cockroach was conducted in Penang Island using a trapping method at several sampling sites on the island. Gregarine blattarum was found in the digestive tract in 5 out of 115, or 4.35%, of the wild American cockroaches, Periplaneta americana, that were sampled. This is the first report in Malaysia of Grega...

Arthropods can be found on human or animals as ecto-parasites. Vectors can contaminate stored foods and transmit illness, or introduce diseases in new areas. Pet species facilitating infestations, and different risk factors related to infestation were identified. To determine the possible role of insects in dissemination of medically important parasites, study was carried out in residential are...

OBJECTIVES To describe the home environment in terms of housing conditions and their association with child health in a disadvantaged immigrant population. DESIGN A cross-sectional observational study. SETTING Enrolment took place during 2010-2011 in Rosengård, Malmö, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS Children aged 0-13 years in 2 study neighbourhoods were recruited from local health records and from ...

The walking paths of male cockroaches, Periplaneta americana, tracking point-source plumes of female pheromone often appear similar in structure to those observed from flying male moths. Flying moths use visual-flow-field feedback of their movements to control steering and speed over the ground and to detect the wind speed and direction while tracking plumes of odors. Walking insects are also k...