Derya - Indeed, the spots are American cockroach attar stains. They spit this out from their mouthparts. It's sort of like when a grasshopper spits "tobacco juice" on your fingers when you grasp it. The attar contains an aggregation pheromone, which other American cockroaches can "smell" with their antennae from long distances. It "tells" the cockroaches this is a safe place to hang out during the daytime. Good observations.
Tom Parker -----Original Message----- From: derya gölpinar <deryagolpi...@hotmail.com> To: pestlist <pestlist@museumpests.net> Sent: Fri, Feb 25, 2011 11:34 am Subject: [pestlist] is this cockroach attar? Hi Everyone, Would anyone be able to confirm that the stains in the attached photos are attar from American cockroaches? I found them on a box that had American cockroach droppings inside and that certain cockroach smell. I have heard of attar but I have never seen it. I think this is it, but I am not sure. If it is attar, I would like to add the photos to the museumpests website for reference purposes. Have a great Friday everyone and enjoy your weekend! Warm regards, Derya Derya Golpinar Collections Manager/ Registrar The Lower East Side Tenement Museum 91 Orchard Street New York, NY 10002 Tel: 212-431-0233 ext. 226 www.tenement.org Revealing the Past. Challenging the Future.
