18 THE COCKROACH: 



illud Indicum, sub nomine Kakkerlak satis notum," and very 

 properly distinguishes from it " the species of Scarabaeus ' 

 (Blaps), which Moufet had taken for a Blatta.* 



The American Cockroach is native to tropical America, but 

 has now become widely spread by commerce. An Australian 

 species also (P. auztralasice) has begun to extend its native 

 limits, having been observed in Sweden, f Belgium, Madeira, 

 the East and West Indies,:}: Florida, &c. In Florida it is said 

 to be the torment of housekeepers. 



To the genus Blatta belong a number of small European 

 species, which mostly lurk in woods and thickets. Some of 

 these are found in the south of England. B. lapponica is one of 

 the commonest and most widely distributed. It is smaller than 

 the common Cockroach, and both sexes have long wings and 

 wing-cases. The males are black and the females yellow. It is 

 found on the mountains of Norway and Switzerland as high as 

 shrubs extend, and when sheltered by human dwellings, can 

 endure the extreme cold of the most northern parts of Europe. 

 This is the insect of which Linnaeus tells, that in company with 

 Silpha lapponica it has been known to devour in one day the 

 whole stock of dried but unsalted fish of a Lapland village. 

 B. germanica also has the wings and wing-cases well developed 

 in both sexes. Two longitudinal stripes on the pronotum, or 

 first dorsal plate of the thorax, are the readiest mark of this 

 species, which is smaller and lighter in colour than the common 

 Cockroach. It is plentiful in most German towns, and has been 

 introduced from Germany into many other countries ;|| but it 

 appears to be native, not to Germany alone, but to Asia and all 

 parts of central and southern Europe. Where and how it first 

 became domesticated we do not know. 



* Biblia Natune, Vol. I., p. 216. 



^ De Borck. Skandinaviens ratvingade Insekters Nat. Hist., L, i., 35. 



+ Brunner. N. Syst. d. Blattaires, p. 234. 



Scudder. Proc. Boston Soc. N.H., Vol. XIX., p. 94. 



|| For example, the Russians often call it Proussaki, the Prussian Cockroach, and 

 believe that their troops brought it home with them after the Seven Years' War. 

 The native Russian name is Tarakan. In Finland and Sweden the same species is 

 called Torraka, which appears to be a corruption of the Russian word, and confirms 

 the account of Linnaeus quoted above. 



B. germanica is found in the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is 

 generally known as the Croton Bug, because in New York it is often met with about 

 the water pipes, which are supplied from the Croton River (Dr. Scudder). 



