ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the role of aggression in the development and maintenance of the hierarchy that characterizes the social organization of a group of adult male cockroaches. It examines the different behaviors exhibited by dominant and subordinate roaches when they interact, the formation of a hierarchy, and the responses of dominant and subordinate males to the introduction of new males and virgin females. Dominance - the ranking of individuals on the basis of real or apparent authority, strength, influence, etc. - is less well documented for invertebrates than it is for vertebrates. The cockroach Nauphoetacinerea is a native of Africa that has become established in human domiciles throughout tropical and subtropical regions, including Florida. The hierarchy established is semilinear; a dominant male does not always defeat those subordinate to him, but he does win over 50% of the encounters.
