24 BRITISH INSECTS 



some other cockroaches, however, development is 

 known to be much more rapid, being complete in the 

 course of a few months. 



Besides Blatta ovientalis, at least six other exotic 

 cockroaches occur in Britain, two having established 

 flourishing colonies in several localities, though always 

 within the shelter of buildings. One of these is the 

 German cockroach, 1 which is a wild, woodland species 

 in many parts of Europe and a household pest in 

 Germany and France. The other is the American 

 cockroach, 2 whose real home is said to be South 

 America, although it has spread with commerce, and 

 is now found in most parts of the world. Both these 

 species are numerous in many warehouses, restaurants, 

 and hotels, especially in London, and in some of the 

 houses at the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park. 

 The former is rather small (about five eighths of an inch 

 from head to tail), reddish-testaceous in colour, with two 

 dark, longitudinal marks on the pronotum. The latter 

 is a handsome, chestnut brown insect, one inch and a 

 quarter or more in length. In each species both sexes 

 have fully-developed wings. 



The leaping, or saltatorial, section of the Orthop- 

 tera comprises the short-horned grasshoppers, 3 the 

 long-horned or tree-grasshoppers, 4 and the crickets. 5 

 In addition to the great development of their hind- 

 legs, many of these insects are characterized by 

 remarkable auditory structures, or "ears," while the 

 males usually possess stridulating organs, by means 

 of which they are able to produce " chirping" sounds. 

 The females are equipped with ovipositors, which 



1 Phyllodromia germanica. 2 Periplaneta americana. 



3 Locustida the Acvidiida of some authors. 



4 Phas%onurid<z. 5 Gryllidce. 



