BEETLES, OR COLEOPTERA. 471 



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

 does not appear to live in my garden ; at any rate I have never seen 

 it, though it exists in the grounds of Wallington House. 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. 



The Cockroach {Blatta orientalis, fig. 1 041) 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 f,g. lo+i.-cockroaa. 



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

 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 found by the station- 

 master at Hackbridge, and others have been placed in my field for 

 observation, but do not appear to have bred. 



