68 



increased enormously in parts of New Jersey, New York and Maine, stripping acres of 

 trees, leaving them as bare as in midwinter, and congregating in heaps by the fences, 

 showing that what is usually a scarce and harmless insect may, under favourable condi- 

 tions, increase to such an extent as to be seriously injurious. 



Family 5.— Blattid^e, (Cockroaches). 



Cockroaches are flattened, ovate insects, generally of a dull brown colour, and have 

 an oily and disagreeable smell. They run swiftly, but do not jump like the crickets and 

 locusts. The eggs are laid in a bean-shaped capsule, divided into two compartments, 

 each containing a row of separate chambers, each of which encloses an egg. Some days 

 are required for oyiposition, and the female may be seen running about with the egg-case 

 partially protruding from the body. The egg-case is dropped at random, the female not 

 •depositing or concealing it in any particular place or manner. 



Cockroaches are omnivorous insects, feeding on almost everything eatable, whether 

 animal or vegetable, some species being great pests in houses. The kinds found in our 

 dwellings have been carried here in shipping, and are now common in almost every part 

 of the world. 



The large black species so familiar to housewives, under the name of '' The Black 

 Beetle," is the Blatta (Stylojyhyga) orientalis, Linn. As the name implies, it is an eastern 

 species, brought to us by commerce. During summer it sometimes takes up temporary 

 quarters in the open air, as I once found a flourishing colony under some stones in a lane 

 in the rear of a bakehouse. 



The other important species is the small reddish-brown cockroach, Ectobia Germanica, 

 commonly known in the New England States as the " Croton Bug." It infests houses, 

 and is even more troublesome than the large species, making itself at home in wooden 

 partitions and cracks in furniture, soon becoming unpleasantly numerous. It is not so 

 strictly nocturnal in its habits as the large species, and may often be seen on a voyage of 

 -discovery in broad daylight. 



Our native species live under stones and beneath the loose bark of dead trees, and 

 appear to be rare insects. 



Family 6. — Forficulid^e, (Earwigs). 



Earwigs may be distinguished from all other Orthoptera, by their narrow, flattened 

 body and short wing covers, and by the extremity of the abdomen being furnished with a 

 forceps, which in some species equals the body in length. 



This instrument appears to be used for several purposes. Westwood says " they are 

 weapons of offence and defence." De Geer states " that they are used during sexual inter- 

 course." The Rev. J. G. Wood says " the membranous wings of the earwig are truly 

 beautiful. They are thin and delicate to a degree, very large and rounded, and during 

 the day-time packed in the most admirable manner under the little square elytra. The 

 process of packing is very beautiful, being greatly assisted by the forceps on the tail, 

 which are directed by the creature with wonderful precision, and used as deftly as if 

 they were Angers and directed by eyes." 



Dr. John G. Morris's experience does not agree with the Rev. Mr. Wood's account. 

 He says, " last summer I had a good opportunity of observing the habits of this insect, 

 for every night numbers of them came into my study window in the country, and lighted 

 very conveniently upon the table at which I was writing. Each one of them, before he 

 took flight, for they were active, would bend his body back and lift up the short elytra 

 with his forceps before the wings would expand, and this they did invariably. The forceps 

 "were not used to fold the semi-circular wings, but only to elevate the wing-covers before 

 flying." 



These accounts may perhaps be reconciled upon the assumption that the forceps is 

 not used for the same purpose by every species. The smaller species of Staphylinidce, for 

 which a small earwig would be easily mistaken while on the wing, may very often be 



