ORDER ORTHOPTERA 57 



orientalis), is a common species in houses and is responsible 

 for much annoyance in kitchens and pantries. Another 

 introduced species, the German cockroach {Ectohia ger- 

 manica), is much smaller, but a persistent pest in houses 

 and common in eating houses, bakeries, and other places 

 where starchy food is available. 



The second family in the group, Mantidop, Praying Man- 

 tides, have the front legs much modified for capturing insects. 

 These legs have a peculiar structure. Instead of having 

 short coxse with elongated tibia, the coxa; are very much 

 elongated. This is evidently correlated with the grasping 



Fig. 23. — Praying mantis. (After Lugger.) 



habit, and is paralleled in Emesidfe and Nepidae. They are 

 rather tropical in distribution, occurring in the Southern 

 States. 



One species, Pha,s'momantis Carolina, is found to some 

 extent in southern Ohio and north to Washington, D. C, 

 but is rarely taken in the northern part of the I'nited States, 

 or, in general, north of 40 degrees of latitude. The pairing 

 habits of the adults are rather interesting. The females 

 often capture and devour the males during the process of 

 courtship. The eggs are laid in large masses attached to a 

 twig or some part of a plant, grouped together, lying one 



