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THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



Family BLATTID.E (Blat'ti-dae). 

 The Cockroaches. 



After every one is in bed at night and all is quiet in the 

 kitchen where there are water-pipes, often a throng of little 

 creatures come forth from hiding-places and, like brownies., 

 take possession of everything. They race around every 

 where, trying to find something to eat ; they do not care 

 much whether it is raw or cooked, but will devour almost 

 anything that comes in reach of their greedy jaws. They 

 eat book-bindings and bedbugs, if they find them, with 

 equal alacrity ; and sometimes they get bold enough to 

 appear in broad daylight. The little, pale brown rascal called 

 the Croton-bug, which came to us from Europe and infests 



the vicinity of the pipes 

 of the water systems of 

 many of our cities, is es- 

 pecially bold and impu- 

 dent (Fig. 1 13). In fact, 

 in the North our native 

 cockroaches are mostly 



FIG. 114. A Wing- 

 less Cockroach. 



FIG. 115. Ootheca of a Cock- 

 roach. 



F G. 113. The 



Croton-bug. 



respectable, well-behaved insects, living in fields and forests 

 under sticks and stones, the emigrant cockroaches being the 

 offenders. Many cockroaches are wingless (Fig. 114). The 

 eggs of a cockroach are laid, all at once, enclosed in a 

 sort of pod which is more or less bean-shaped (Fig. 115). 

 Thorough and frequent dusting with insect-powder in the 

 cracks about the kitchen will rid a house of these pests. 



Family MANTID.E (Man'ti-dae). 

 The Praying Mantes, or Mule-killers. 



Certainly they are pious-looking fellows, with their front 

 legs clasped together in front of their meek, alert faces, and 



