Grylloblattidae

Introduction

In cold areas, often in mountains, under rocks and in litter in forests, and in caves. In summer the North American species feed at night on insects frozen on the surface of snow fields; they are somewhat omnivorous. Western North America, Japan, Korea, China, Siberia.

Unknown as fossils, although some researchers (e.g., Vrsansky et al. 2001) consider grylloblattids to be related to the Protorthoptera complex dating back to the Carboniferous.

Characteristics

• wings absent
• long, multisegmented cerci
• projecting ovipositor
• male genitalia asymmetrical

References

Ando, H., ed. 1982. Biology of the Notoptera. Kashiyo-Insatsu Co., Ltd., Nagano, Japan. 194 pp.

Ford, N. 1926. On the behavior of Grylloblatta. Canadian Entomoogist 58:66-70.

Gurney, A. B. 1948. The taxonomy and distribution of the Grylloblattidae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 50:86-102.

Gurney, A. B. 1953. Recent advances in the taxonomy and distribution of Grylloblatta (Orthoptera: Grylloblattidae). Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 43:325-332.

Gurney, A. B.  1961.  Further advances in the taxonomy and distribution of Grylloblattidae.  Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 74:67-76.

Henson, W. R. 1957. Temperature preference of Grylloblatta compodeiformis (Walker). Nature 179:637.

Jarial, M. S. 1990. Fine-structure of malpighian tubules Grylloblatta compodeiformis (Orthoptera, Grylloblattidae). Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 109(4):329-341.

Kamp, J. W. 1973. Numerical classification of the orthopteroids, with special reference to the Grylloblattodea. Canadian Entomologist 105:1235-1249.

Kamp, J. W. 1979. Taxonomy, distribution, and zoogeographic evolution of Grylloblatta in Canada (Insecta, Notoptera). Canadian Entomologist 111(1):27-38.

Nagashima, T. 1991. Postembryonic development and homology of external genitalia in Galloisiana nipponensis (Caudell et King) (Notoptera, Grylloblattidae). International Journal of Insect Morphology & Embryology 20(3):157-168.

Pritchard, G. and P. Scholefield. 1978. Observations on food, feeding-behavior, and associated sense-organs of Grylloblatta campodeiformis (Grylloblattodea). Canadian Entomologist 110(2):205-212.

Storozhenko, S. Y.  1988.  A review of the family Grylloplattidae [sic] (Insecta).  Articulata 3(5):167-181.

Storozhenko, S. Y.  1995. To the knowledge of the genus Grylloblattella (Grylloblattida, Grylloblattidae). Far Eastern Entomologist 10:19-20.

Vrsansky, P., S. Y. Storozhenko, C. C. Labandeira, and P. Ihringova. 2001. Galloisiana olgae sp. nov. (Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae) and the paleobiology of a relict order of insects. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 94(2):179-184.

Walker, E. M. 1914. A new species of Orthoptera forming a new genus and family. Canadian Entomologist 46:93-99.

Walker, E. M. 1937. Grylloblatta, a living fossil. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada 31:1-10.