CHAP. XVIII 



INSECTA: ORTHOPTERA 



267 



" black-beetle " — which is, however, neither black nor a beetle 

 — -is due to the fact that it often becomes a pest in old houses ; 

 yet if we overcome this first natural repugnance, there is 

 much to admire in the various adaptations of its body 

 structure, even if we cannot get so far as the writer in the 

 Cambridge Natural Histm-y, who speaks of it as a "rather 

 amusing pet " ! 



Differences "^^^ iovm. most usually to be seen scurrying 

 in Male, over the floor to escape our onslaught is the female 

 Female^ and cockroach, which has small rudimentary wing-covers 

 and no membranous wings at all, but a relatively 



M&l« Urvd. 



Larva. 



Fig. 199. — The Common Cockroach. 



large body (Fig. 199). The male is shorter and has a well 

 developed second pair of membranous wings lying below 

 the upper pair of stiffer wing-cases, and he is able to fiy, 

 though rarely seen in the act. The young larva has no 

 trace of wings, and it is said that four years elapse before it 

 becomes fully developed. Immature Cockroaches are always 

 paler in colour than the adults. 



In all stages the flattened form of the body is 



St "^t e noticeable, and also the curious position of the 



head, which is turned downwards (see Fig. 199), 



so that very little of it can be seen when viewed from above. 



The head bears a pair of long, very flexible, many-jointed 



antennae, a pair of compound eyes, ,and a mouth surrounded 



