Structure and Micro-Climate of the Desert Cockroach, Arenivaga apacha (Polyphagidae, Dictyoptera)

Abstract

Eighteen rodent mounds were analyzed for specific locations of cockroach nests, temperatures, and relative humidities. This study indicates that the cockroaches cooperate to to build nests from the material taken from rodent caches. The nests insulate the cockroaches from the extreme changes in the desert environment and from the less extreme changes in the microclimate of the rodent burrows.