14 MORE MINOR HORRORS 



stages as caterpillar and pupa in their life- 

 history. 



But, like other insects, cockroaches change 

 their skin from time to time, and they lose 

 little time before beginning this ecdysis, for 

 they first cast their cuticle immediately after 

 escaping from the egg-capsule. The second 

 ecdysis is four weeks later, and the third at the 

 end of the first year, and after this time they 

 moult annually. At the seventh moult, when 

 the animal is now four years old, it assumes 

 the form of the perfect insect, and is capable 

 of reproduction. The later moults fall in 

 the summer time, and so does fertilisation 

 and oviposition. Male cockroaches may 

 be distinguished from the females by their 

 well-developed wings and wing-covers. They 

 stand higher on their legs than do the 

 females, whose abdomens often trail upon 

 the ground. 



In spite of the noxious secretion of their 

 abdominal glands there are creatures who 

 habitually feed on cockroaches — hedgehogs, 

 for instance, are frequently imported into 

 our houses to check these pests. Rats, cats, 

 polecats, frogs, and wasps have been known 

 to eat them, and some few of the digging- 

 wasps lay them down in their larders for 

 the use of their progeny. Some birds will 

 also tackle them. But even the most devoted 



