356 WHITE 



early as the 24th March, it did not show itself above ground 

 till nearly two months afterwards ? MARKWICK. 



PTINUS PECTINICORNIS. Those maggots that make worm- 

 holes in tables, chairs, bedposts, etc., and destroy wooden fur- 

 niture, especially where there is any sap, are the larvae of the 

 ptinus pectinicornis. This insect, it is probable, deposits its 

 eggs on the surface, and the worms eat their way in. 



In their holes they turn into their pupae state, and so come 

 forth winged in July ; eating their way through the valances 

 or curtains of a bed, or any other furniture that happens to 

 obstruct their passage. 



They seem to be most inclined to breed in beech : hence 

 beech will not make lasting utensils or furniture. If their 

 eggs are deposited on the surface, frequent rubbing will pre- 

 serve wooden furniture. WHITE. 



BLATTA ORIENTALIS ; COCKROACH. A neighbor com- 

 plained that her house was overrun with a kind of black 

 beetle, or, as she expressed herself, with a kind of black bob, 

 which swarmed in her kitchen when they got up in a morn- 

 ing before daybreak. 



Soon after this account, I observed an unusual insect in 

 one of my dark chimney-closets, and find since, that in the 

 night, they swarm also in my kitchen. On examination I 

 soon ascertained the species to be the blatta orientalis of 

 Linnaeus, and the blatta molendinaria of Mouffet. The male 

 is winged ; the female is not, but shows somewhat like the 

 rudiments of wings, as if in the pupa state. 



These insects belonged originally to the warmer parts of 

 America, and were conveyed from thence by shipping to the 

 East Indies ; and by means of commerce begin to prevail in 

 the more northern parts of Europe, as Russia, Sweden, etc. 

 How long they have abounded in England I cannot say ; but 

 have never observed them in my house till lately. 



They love warmth, and haunt chimney-closets and the backs 

 of ovens. Poda says that these and house-crickets will not 

 associate together; but he is mistaken in that assertion, as 

 Linnaeus suspected he was. They are altogether night insects, 

 , never coming forth till the rooms are dark and still, 



