BEETLES, OR COLEOPTERA. 471 



The Dytiscus marginalis, a great water beetle which abounds in ponds, 

 does not appear to live in our river ; at any rate I have never seen 

 it. The small water beetles are exceedingly numerous, and six or 

 more of them may sometimes be found on a single stone under water 

 in my Central brook, and many more may be descried on a piece 

 of wood in the river. I believe that they are of no importance 

 to the gardener. 



ORTHOPTERA. 



The Third order of insects are the Orthoptera, which comprise the 

 Cockroaches, Crickets, and Grasshoppers. They have jaws, two opaque 

 upper wings, and two larger thin wings. The larva, like that of the 

 ordinary cockroach, has no wings. All these creatures are injurious to 

 vegetation. 



The Cockroach (Blatta orientalis, fig. 1041) is a tropical insect, and 

 loves the tropical temperature of our orchard-houses and cucumber- 

 houses. We generally see 

 this creature in the larva 

 state, but really, when it has 

 complete wings, it is far 

 from being so ugly a crea- 

 ture as it is generally con- 

 sidered tO be. It hides FIG. 1041. --Cockroach. 



itself by day, and prowls about by night to devour what it can 

 For the delicate shoots and fresh roots of orchids it has a particular 

 fancy. These creatures may be poisoned by a mixture of red lead, 

 treacle, and meal, or they may be trapped ; but toads are their great 

 destroyers, and therefore they should always be kept where cock- 

 roaches abound. 



There is an extraordinary creature called the Mole Cricket (Gryllo- 

 talpa vulgaris), which is common in Hampshire. It has a powerful 

 pair of fore-legs, formed like those of a mole, by means of which 

 it burrows underground. A single specimen was this year found by 

 the station-master at Hackbridge near my garden. 



