112 THE LIFE OF AN INSECT. 



banditti of whom we read in books, these wasps 

 are splendidly attired, although not in the spoils of 

 those they have robbed. Their head, chest, and 

 body is of a resplendent lustre ; now green, or, 

 seen in another position, blue, and glistening with 

 all the lustre of an exquisite varnish; their an- 

 tennse are black, their eyes of a brownish yellow, 

 and their legs partly bronze-coloured, and partly 

 of a beautiful violet. They are strong and swift 

 of wing, and are possessed of a terrible lance, the 

 thrusts of which even man cannot endure without 

 far more pain and inflammation than attends an 

 ordinary sting. 



The foe with whom these magnificently-dressed 

 warriors have to contend, is a kind of insect 

 allied to the cockroach, which, in our kitchens, has 

 acquired the incorrect title of " black beetle." 

 This insect is detested by the inhabitants of the 

 island, for its ravages upon almost everything of 

 value or delicacy, and is not less hated by the 

 sailor for its destructiveness on ship-board. It 

 is called Kakerlac, and is much larger than the 

 cockroaches, which are the plague and terror of 

 our cooks. Imagine that one of these great and 

 odious insects is marching along the highway. 



