Family ECTOBIIDAE Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865

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Family ECTOBIIDAE Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865

Compiler and date details

March 2012 - ABRS, following advice from D.C.F. Rentz

A.M.E. Roach & D.C.F. Rentz, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Ectobiidae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865 [An ICZN Ruling (Melville, 1982) states that the name Ectobiidae is to be given precedence over Blattellidae Karny, 1908 (the replacement name for Phyllodromiidae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865) whenever these names are used within a single superfamily].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

Baccaloni, G.W. & Eggleton, P. 2011. Order Blattodea Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882. pp. 199-200 in Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.). Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa 3148

Miscellaneous Literature Names

Blattellidae.

Introduction

According to Beccaloni and Eggleton (2011) priority for family-group names based on Ectobius dates from Ectobiidae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865, and in keeping with their newly published classification, the family name Ectobiidae is now used for the group previously referred to as the Blattellidae. The text of Roach and Rentz (1998) is here updated to follow this new classification. The Ectobiidae are the largest known family in the Blattodea with some 223 genera and 2381 species (Beccaloni & Eggleton 2011). They are widespread in Australia, occurring in most habitats. At present, some 34 genera are recognised and more are likely to be discovered as the group becomes better known.

Most ectobiid species are small in size, long-legged and very fast-moving. At any given locality, several species may be encountered. A number occur as commensals in the burrows of other animals and some live in caves. The majority are nocturnal but some are crepuscular and others diurnal. The most brilliantly coloured are members of the genus Ellipsidion Saussure which can often be seen sunning themselves on leaves or flowers. Their bright orange colours suggest membership in mimicry complexes. Mimicry occurs in other blattellids: Anaplecta Burmeister species are small and beetle-like and apparently mimic chrysomelid beetles of the genus Monolepta Dejean. One of Australia's most unusual cockroaches in the Blattellinae, Trogloblatta nullarborensis Mackerras, is a large, troglodytic species found deep within the limestone caves of the Nullarbor Plain. It is eyeless, has greatly reduced wings and tegmina, and the males have large dorsal glands.

Some of the world's most important cockroach pests are ectobiids. These include the German Cockroach, Blattella germanica (Linnaeus) and the Brown-banded Cockroach, Supella longipalpa (Fabricius), both of which are notorious transmitters of disease. Two Australian species are considered as pests. Paratemnopteryx couloniana (Saussure) enters houses and restaurants and infests kitchens and pantries. The Orchid Cockroach, Shelfordina orchidae (Asahina), causes concerns to orchid growers when it is found in their glasshouses where it lives in the potting mix. Whether the species causes damage or is just a harmless commensal has yet to be determined.

The Ectobiidae are divided into subfamilies with varying degrees of acceptance. The present trend is to follow a scheme laid out by McKittrick (1964) that involves knowing how the female rotates the oötheca at oviposition. As a result of the instability, many genera have been assigned 'provisionally' to one subfamily or another because the critical observations have not been made. Roth (1990a, 1990b, 1991, 1992) should be consulted for discussion of this problem.