96 



FAMILY II.-COCKROACHES. 



GENUS Ischnoptera. 

 {Platamodes Scudder). 



A genus more closely allied to Periplaneta than to any 

 other, but readily distinguishable from it by its much nar- 

 rower and more elongated body, the sides being sub-parallel 

 throughout their whole extent, while in Periplaneta the 

 abdomen is much swollen. The wings and wing-covers 

 extend beyond the abdomen, the latter being well rounded 

 at the tip. The supra-anal plate is regularh' rounded, but 

 lacks altogether the fissuration seen in Periplaneta. The 

 anal cerci are somewhat shorter and not so flattened as in 

 Periplaneta, while the anal styles are very short, and turned 

 abruptly downwards. In Periplaneta the sub-genital plate 

 does not extend as far backward as the supra-anal. In 

 Ischnoptera it extends backward farther. A further dis- 

 tinction between the two genera may be seen at the inner 

 border of the eyes, which in Ischnoptera are nearly parallel, 

 while in Periplaneta they approach one another anteriorly. 



THE COMMON WOOD-COCKROACH. 



{Ischnoptera pennsylvani(^ De G.). 



This species, (Fig. 58), has long 

 and delicate, light-colored wing- 

 covers and wings which extend 

 considerably beyond the tip of 

 the abdomen. The margin of 

 the pronotum is light, while the 

 disk is dark ; the lateral margins of 

 the tegmina, especially at the base, 

 are lighter than the discal portions. 

 It is a native or our woods, and is 

 frequently found in July in our 

 houses, being readily attracted to 

 light. Entomologists in the habit of ''sugaring" for moths 

 not infrecjuently find these roaches enjoying this sweet food. 

 Length 25 mm. or more. 



Fig. 58. — Ischnoptera penn- 

 sylvanica. Original. 



