ORTHOPTERA : BLATTID^E. 353 



Section B. SALTATORIA. Hind legs formed for leap- 

 ing ; wings and wing-covers generally deflexed at the 

 sides; females generally provided with an exserted 

 horny ovipositor. 



4. Achetidce. Antenna? very long; wings and wing- 

 covers horizontal ; tarsi three-jointed. (Crickets.) 



5. Gryllidee. Antenna? very long; wings and wing- 

 covers deflexed ; tarsi four-jointed ; ovipositor long, 

 sword-shaped. (Grasshoppers, with long antennae.) 



6. LocustidcB. Antennae short ; wings and wing-covers 

 deflexed ; ovipositor short. (Locusts and grasshoppers, 

 with short antennae.) 



The Blattidee or cockroaches are nocturnal in their habits, 

 extremely active, and the majority reside in the interior of 

 houses, where they delight to take up their abode in the 

 neighbourhood of fire-places in kitchens, &c., but especially 

 in bakehouses and other situations where much cooking 

 takes place, where they inhabit the clefts of walls near ovens 

 by day, coming forth by night in myriads, but retreating 

 with the utmost precipitation to their holes immediately that 

 a candle is intruded amongst them. They are extremely 

 voracious, destroying almost all sorts of provisions, but more 

 particularly bread and other vegetable matters. It is very 

 difficult to extirpate these disgusting insects, which, in ad- 

 dition to the destruction which they cause, emit an exceed- 

 ingly disagreeable odour, which attaches to whatever they 

 have crept over. Perhaps the most advantageous method 

 of destroying them is to use a small wooden box with 

 sloping sides, having a circular aperture at the top with 

 glass edges, out of which it is impossible for them to escape. 

 This should be nightly baited, and the contents thrown the 

 following morning into scalding water. This plan is cer- 

 tainly superior to the employment of red poisoned wafers. 



