BLATTARI^. 575 



sites. The young are long and linear. The Race-horse, Man- 

 tis Carolina Linn. (Fig. 567; fig. 568, eggs, natural size), 

 occurs in the Southern and Westei-n States, and in the tropics 

 occur the allied genera Vates, Empusa, Harpax and Schizoce- 

 phala. According to Mr. T. Glover the eggs of Mantis 

 Carolina are laid in a packet about an inch long attached to 

 leaf-stalks and twigs. The body of the recently hatched j^oung 

 is linear and turned up at each end, and it devours caterpillars 

 and insects, holding them in the fore legs with a firm grasp 

 by appljdng the spined tibiae and tarsi against the more stoutly 

 spined femora, and then sucking their blood at its leisure. Pro- 

 fessor Sanborn Tenney tells me he has observed the female 

 after sexual union devour the male. Burmeister says that 

 Mantis argentina Burm., of Buenos Ayres, seizes and. eats 

 small birds. The genus EremojjJiila (E. Ehrenbergi of Burm- 

 eister) inhabits the deserts of Northern Africa, where it re- 

 sembles the sand in color. 



Blattari^ Latreille. The Cockroaches are flattened ovate, 

 with the head rounded and partially concealed by the expanded 

 pro thorax. The fore wings are large, ovate, not much smaller 

 than the hind wings ; the antennae are long and filiform, many 

 jointed. The bilobate subgenital plate is formed by the eighth 

 sternite ; the ninth abdominal ring is complete, the sternite 

 being small and lodged between the two episternites which are 

 soldered into a single annular piece. The anal stylets are 

 short. The species, which are almost invariably reddish 

 brown, or paler, are nocturnal, hiding by day, and are found 

 under stones. They are fond of heat, the house cockroaches 

 frequenting heated rooms. While the common species are 

 troublesome from eating garments, etc., they do great service 

 in clearing houses and ships of bed-bugs, which they greedily 

 devour. The eggs are laid in a bean-shaped capsule (ootheca) 

 which is divided into two apartments, each containing a row 

 of separate chambers, about thirty in number, each of which 

 encloses an egg. Many days are required for oviposition, and 

 the female may be seen running about with the capsule par- 

 tially protruding from her body. During this period embryos 

 are forming within the capsule, and very soon after it is 



