280 INSECTS ABROAD. 



cases where the wings are fully developed, they are always 

 very beautiful in form, and often so in colour, having always a 

 more or less shining iridescence, and in some cases being as 

 brilliantly coloured as those of any butterfly. 



As to the arrangement of the Orthoptera, Mr. Westwood 

 divides them into four sections. The first is the Cursoria, or 

 Runners, so called because their legs are formed for running, 

 and the insects are consequently swift of foot. The too-familiar 

 Cockroach is an example of this section. Next come the 

 Raptoria, or Snatchers, the fore-legs of which are formed for 

 seizing and holding. The Mantis, or Praying Insect, is an 

 example of this order. These are followed by the Ambulatoria, 

 or Walkers, such as the Walking-stick Insects or Phasmas ; and 

 last come the Saltatoria, or Jumpers, such as the Grasshopper, 

 whose hind legs are greatly developed and used for leaping. 



We will begin with the first section, namely, the Cursoria, 

 which consists of a single family, the Blattidse, or Cockroaches. 

 Our indigenous Cockroaches are few in number, small, and live 

 in the open air, the singularly unpleasant insect which frequents 

 our dwelling-houses being a comparatively recent importation. 

 In various parts of the world, especially those where the climate 

 is sultry, the Cockroaches are very numerous and often very 

 large. One of these species is well known to sailors for its 

 predilection for ship-life. A ship thus infested is infinitely more 

 disagreeable than a house can be; for, in the first place, the 

 insect is much larger than the Blatta oricntalis of our houses, 

 and, in the next place, it pervades the whole vessel, especially 

 at night, and causes woful discomfort to the iumates. 



Even so experienced a sailor as the late Michael Scott, author 

 of " Tom Cringle's Log," could not bring himself to endure the 

 Cockroach, and writes as follows: — "For the information of 

 those who have never seen this delicious insect, I take leave to 

 mention here, that when full-grown it is a large, dingy-brown 

 beetle, about two inches long, with six legs, and two feelers as 

 lon-T as its body. It has a strong anti-hysterical flavour, some- 

 thing between rotten cheese and assafcetida, and seldom stirs 

 abroad when the sun is up, but lies concealed in the most 

 obscure and obscene crevices it can creep into ; so that when it 

 is seen, its wings and body are thickly covered with dust and 



