92 



FAMILY II.— COCKROACHES. 



THE ORIENTAL COCKROACH OR BLACK BEETLE. 



[Periplaneta orientalis Fab.) 



This large insect is also a cosmopolite, inhabiting dwell- 

 ings throughout the civilized world. It is a very dark 

 brown, almost black and shining insect, with no bands or 

 markings on the pronotum. Legs lighter in color than the 

 body. In the male both wing-covers and wings are well 

 developed, but do not quite reach the end of the abdomen; 

 in the female the tegmina are very small, not more than 

 one-fifth of an inch long, and no true wings are found be- 

 neath them. The illustration, (Fig. 54), shows this insect. 



Fig. 54. — Periplaneta orientalis; a, female; ft, male; c, side view of female ; d, 

 half-grown specimen. All natural sizes. From " Household Insects," published by 

 U. S. Division of Kntomology. 



This species is verj^ gregarious in habit, and many in- 

 dividuals, large and small, live together in colonies on the 

 most friendly terms. The female deposits 16 eggs in two 

 rows in a large and horny brown capsule, (Fig. 51), which is 

 carried about for some time and is then dropped into a safe 

 and warm place. The. young roaches escape without assist- 

 ance, and to enable them to do so they discharge a fluid that 



