ENTOMOLOGICAL SOOIETY OF ONTARIO. 



53 



Cockroaches belong to the family Blattidae, of the order Orthoptera, which includes 

 crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, etc, This family consists of a very large number of 

 species, nearly a thousand having been named and preserved in collections, and it is 

 estimated that about four times as many more are in existence in the world, chiefly in 

 tropical countries. The great majority of them live out of doors and are vegetable 

 feeders, and some attain to large dimensions. I have a specimen from Mexico, whose 

 wings expand five inches, and larger species than this are known. Happily, but few 

 species have become domesticated, and in North America there are only four that can be 

 regarded as household pests. These are the American Cockroach (Periplaneta Americana), 

 the German (Ectobia Germanica), the Oriental (P. orientalis), and the Australian (P. 

 Australasice) As far as my limited experience goes, the first named, the American Cock- 

 roach (Fig. 32) is the common species in Ontario. Full grown specimens are about an 

 inch in length, of a light brown color, and furnished with ample wings in both sexes. It 

 is a native of this continent, having originated in the warm regions of the south and 

 gradually spread northward ; it is especially abundant in the Middle and Western States, 

 its place being taken in the Atlantic States by one or other of the imported species. 



The German Cockroach (Fig. 33) is more familiarly known under the name of the 

 *' Croton Bug," from its association with the Croton waterworks system in the city of 

 New York. It had, no doubt, been introduced into the city long before, but had not 

 attracted general attention till the extension of the waterworks and the immense 





d\ \ 



Fig 33. The German Cockroach ; a first stage ; b, c, d, second, third and 



fourth stages ; e adnlt ; f female with egg- case ; q egg- case enlarged ; 



h adult with wings spread. All natural size, except g. 



(After Riley). 



multiplication of piping in houses enabled it to make its way from one building to 

 another without difficulty, and the dampness and heat of hot water pipes afforded it the 

 most favorable conditions for living and increasing. As its name indicates, it is a 

 European species, being particularly abundant in Germany and the adjacent countries. 

 It has, however, been carried by commerce and emigrants to all parts of the world, and 

 ie now spreading so rapidly in England, owing probably to the immense importation of 

 goods " made in Germany," that Miss Ormerod tells us it is supplanting the familiar 

 English species, known as ''the black beetle." It is much smaller than the other 

 domestic species, rarely exceeding five- eighths of an inch in length, very light brown in 

 color and distinctively marked on the thorax with two dark brown stripes. It is more 

 active and wary than the larger species and much more difficult to get rid of; it also 

 multiplies much more rapidly, the breeding period being shorter and a greater number of 

 eggs being produced at a time. 



The Oriental cockroach is the common species in England, where it is known in the 

 household by the name of " the black beetle." It is supposed to be of Asiatic origin, and 

 to have spread through Europe several centuries ago. It is very dark brown,- almost 

 black, in colour, shining, and much stouter than the other species. The wings of the 

 male are shorter than the body and in the female are so abbreviated as to render her 

 practically wingless. It is notably gregarious in habit, the individuals living together in 

 colonies in the moat friendly manner. This species was brought in early days to the 

 British settlements in North America and is very common now in the Eastern States ; it 

 has also spread far inland, and has been found even in New Mexico 



