170 THE BLATTINA. 



time of laying. The young larvae are at first of a 

 white colour, but resemble their parents in structure ; 

 they are said not to arrive at their perfect state until 

 the third year of their lives, passing the intervening 

 winters in a hole at a considerable depth beneath the 

 surface of the soil. 



We have thus got fairly to the end of the Salta- 

 torial Orthoptera, or those in which the hind legs are 

 adapted for leaping. Of the Cursorial or Running 

 Orthoptera, the two most interesting tribes (the 

 Phasmina, or Walking Sticks and Leaves, and Man- 

 Una, or Praying Insects) have no representatives in 

 this country, and the remaining insects of the group 

 are commonly regarded, whether justly or not does 

 not much matter, with a feeling of considerable 

 disgust. 



If there is one insect of ordinary occurrence in our 

 houses which inspires this sentiment more than an- 

 other, it is probably the common Cockroach {Blatta i 

 orientalis), or, as it is usually termed, the Black-beetle. 

 Nor can we very well attempt to dispel the general 

 prejudice against this abundant inhabitant of our . 

 kitchens and cellars, for it must be admitted that 

 none of its qualities are calculated to render it par- 

 ticularly amiable, — its nocturnal habits, prompting it 

 to scuttle away and hide its guilty head in dark 

 corners the moment a light is brought into the room 

 Avhere it is enjoying its nightly promenade, its depre- 

 dations upon our stores of provisions, and worst of all, 

 the disagreeable odour which it diffuses, and eveni 

 leaves behind it upon the surfaces over which it has. 





