COLLECTION OF ARTICULATED ANIMALS. 479 



The next order, that of the orthoptera, is com- 

 posed of the genera earwig (forjiculd), cock- 

 roach (blatta), camel-cricket (mantis), locust 

 (gryllus) , and other insects which have soft wing- 

 sheaths, and the wings folded longitudinally 

 like a fan. Many of these orthoptera, such as 

 the locust and camel-cricket, feed upon other 

 insects, but the greatest number live on vege- 

 tables. Being provided with very large wings 

 which they can keep unfolded for a great length 

 of time, they are able to transport themselves to 

 great distances, and they emigrate like birds of 

 passage and with the same view. They unite 

 in such numbers that they darken the skies. 

 The camel-crickets, and especially the acridium 

 lineola (n° 24) and a. migratorium (n° 28), often 

 bring destruction upon the most fertile coun- 

 tries; they devour every thing, and their dead 

 bodies sometimes even infect the air. The in- 

 habitants of some parts of Africa and the Levant 

 pick them up, take off their wings and feet, 

 pickle them and sell them for food. The spe- 

 cies bearing the first numbers are remarkable 

 for the form of the^r thorax. The American 

 cock-roaches are extremely voracious and have 

 a foetid smell. There are some species equally 

 troublesome in Europe ; such as the b. orien- 

 talis (n os 16 and 17), the b. lapponica (n° 26), 



