 The mite species "Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi" lives on this species of cockroach along the undersides and bases of the legs and takes some of its host's food as well as consuming particulates along the host's body.As these mites do not harm the cockroaches they live upon, they are commensals, not parasites, unless they build up to abnormal levels and start starving their host.Recent studies have shown that these mites also may have beneficial qualities for the cockroaches, in that they clean the surfaces of the cockroaches of pathogenic mold spores, which in turn increases the life expectancy of the cockroaches.