ward and the eyes directed downward, conforming with their grov- 

 eUng habits. The antennae are very long and slender, often having 

 upward of 100 joints. The males usually have two pairs' of wings, 

 the outer ones somewhat coriaceous and the inner ones more mem- 

 branous and once folded longitudinally. In some species, as, for 

 instance, the black beetle, the females are nearlj^ wingless. The legs 

 are long and powerful and armed with numerous strong bristles or 

 spines. The mouth parts are well developed and with strong biting 

 jaws, enabling them to eat all sorts of substances. 



HABITS. 



In houses roaches are particularly abundant in pantries and kitch- 

 ens, especially in the neighborhood of fireplaces, on account of the 

 heat. For the same reason they are often abundant in the oven 

 rooms of bakeries or wherever the temperature is maintained above 

 the normal. They conceal themselves during the day behind base- 

 boards, furniture, or whatever security and partial protection from 

 the light are afforded. Their very fiat, thin bodies enable them to 

 squeeze themselves into small cracks or spaces where their presence 

 would not be suspected and whei'e they are out of the reach of ene- 

 mies. Unless routed out by the moving of furniture or disturbed in 

 their hiding places, they are rarely seen, and if so discovered, make 

 off with wonderful celerity, with a scurrying, nervous gait, and 

 usually are able to elude all efforts at their capture or destruction. 

 It may often happen that their presence, at least in the abundance 

 in which they occur, is hardly realized by the housekeeper, unless 

 they are surprised in their midnight feasts. Coming into a kitchen 

 or pantry suddenly, a sound of the rustling of numerous objects will 

 come to the ear, and if a light be introduced, often the floor or 

 shelves will be seen covered with scurrying roaches hastening to 

 places of concealment. In districts where the large American roach 

 occurs they sometimes swarm in this way at night in such numbers 

 that upon entering a small room in which they are congregated one 

 will be repeatedly struck and scratched on the face and hands by the 

 insects in their frantic flight to gain concealment. 



The black roach is less active and wary than the others, and par- 

 ticularly the German roach, which is especially agile and shy. 



The domestic roaches are practically omnivorous, feeding on 

 almost any dead animal matter, cereal products, and food materials 

 of all sorts. They are also said to eat their own cast skins and egg 

 cases, and it is supposed that they will attack other species of roaches^ 

 or are, perhaps, occasionally cannibalistic. They will also eat or 

 gnaw woolens, leather (as of shoes or furniture), and frequently are 

 the cause of extensive damage to the cloth and leather bindings of 



