TRUE ORTHOPTERA 3151 



eyes, and composed of a stouter basal joint, followed by a number of short joints. 

 The strong and horny jaws are toothed or spined on the inner side, and thus well 

 adapted to biting; and the head is scarcely visible from above, being overlapped by 

 the large, shield-like plate of the prothorax. The legs are long, with spiny tibiae, 

 and end in five-jointed tarsi. The pulvillus, which projects between the tarsal 

 claws of these and many other insects, constitutes a sixth joint, although not 

 usually reckoned as such. Cockroaches are generally provided with two pairs of 

 wings, the front pair being stiff and horny, while the hind pair are of a more 

 membranous texture, and, in a state of rest, are folded longitudinally, and almost 

 entirely covered by the elytra. The abdomen is broad and flat, and carries two 

 jointed appendages the cerci near its extremity. About six species are found 

 in Britain, of which three only are really indigenous, the others having been im- 

 ported. The common cockroach (Periplaneta orientalis} is believed to have 

 belonged originally to the East, though now found in almost all parts of the world. 

 These insects are commonly spoken of as " black beetles," though not beetles, and 

 not black, but having a reddish-brown color. The male is easily recognized by the 

 wings, of which there are two pairs, scarcely reaching beyond the middle of the 

 abdomen. The female is broader in the body, and has very short rudimentary fore- 

 wings and no hind-wings. Her eggs are arranged in a horny case, opening at the 

 top, and shaped like a purse, which she carries about with her for some time, pro- 

 truding from the end of her abdomen. She finally deposits the egg capsule in a 

 crevice in the walls or below the floor, and after some interval the young larvae are 

 excluded. During growth they shed their skin several times. The new skin is at 

 first soft and of a pale or nearly white color, but gradually hardens and gets darker. 

 The American cockroach (P. americana) which is such a pest on many ships, and 

 is found about the docks and warehouses of seaport towns, is larger than the common 

 species. Although it somewhat resembles the latter in general color, it has two 

 pale bands on the prothorax, and is winged in both sexes. The German cockroach 

 (Phyllodromia germanica) is another imported species, said to have first arrived with 

 the soldiers returning from the Crimean War, but now plentiful in some houses, 

 especially in bakeries and restaurants. It may be distinguished by its smaller size, 

 and pale yellow-brown color, with two dark brown bands along the pronotum. Both 

 sexes have wings. In some parts of Central Europe they live in woods, resembling 

 in this respect many other species, including three, belonging to the genus Edobia, 

 found in woods in England. One of the latter (E. lapponica) enters houses in some 

 parts of Europe. 



The earwigs (Forficulidce) , which form the last family of Cursorial 

 Eeirwicrs 



Orthoptera, possess distinct characteristics, and are sometimes 



treated as a separate order, under the name of Dermaptera. Easily recognized by 

 the narrow body, short, squarely cut horny elytra, and the pincer-like appendages 

 of their abdomen, these insects are further distinguished by the intricate folding 

 of the hind-wings. The elytra, or fore-wings, do not overlap one another as in most 

 Orthoptera, but, like those of beetles, simply meet by their edges along the middle 

 line. The hind-wings, which are thin and membranous throughout most of their 

 extent, are folded, partly like a fan, by means of folds radiating from near the middle 



