frequently closes up and heals. In any case, strange to say, the ravages of the parasite appear to have but little effect upon the health of the bee.

Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent’s Park. MUSK-BEETLE. The odour of this beetle may often be detected at a distance of twenty or thirty yards.

Straight*winged Insects 689

STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS, OR EARWIGS, COCKROACHES, SOOTHSAYERS,

STICK-INSECTS, CRICKETS, GRASSHOPPERS, AND LOCUSTS.

BY W. F. KIRBY, F.L.S.

THE insects of this order are less numerous in species than those of any other but the next, and are easily recognised. The fore wings are usually of a leathery consistency, and the hind wings are folded beneath them like a fan in the more typical families, though in prevails. In the S^/ the Earwigs and Cockroaches a somewhat different arrangement Earwigs, indeed, the wings are doubled back at the ends, and in the Cockroaches ^C /N the wing-cases, or " tegmina," as they are technically called, overlap. As a rule

W these insects feed entirely on vegetable substances. The " Soothsayers " form an exception, being carnivorous, though they are not parasitic, like the Ichneumon-flies, but feed on fresh food; and several species of Earwigs, Cockroaches, and Crickets, especially those which are semi-domesticated, are omnivorous, and will

EARWIG. eat animal as well as vegetable food. These insects have an imperfect metamor-

The forceps. phosis that is, there is no inactive pupa-state; but the young, on emerging fromJike appendage at the end of the egg, already possess a recognisable resemblance to their full-grown parents, this insect's body is said to and their metamorphosis consists of a series of moults, before the last of which be used and un-folding for rudimentary wings appear in those species which ultimately acquire these appen-folding the dages. A considerable number of species never have wings, a circumstance whichwings. frequently renders it difficult to determine whether a specimen is fully developed. The antennae are usually long, and the joints distinctly separated, but are very rarely feathered. At the other end of the body we often find two long jointed organs, called " cerci." The jaws are always furnished with strong mandibles. Many Grasshoppers and Locusts have a curious arrangement on the shank of the front leg, consisting either of a round or an oval cavity slits in front. These are con-on each side, closed by a membrane, or of two long parallel sidered to be organs of hearing. The largest known insects belong to this order; the proportion of large or moderate-sized species is considerable; and the smallest are probably considerably larger than the smallest members of any other group. They are not numerous in temperate climates; there are only about fifty British species, and most of the larger of these are either naturalised species, or merely casual visitors from abroad. The EARWIGS form the first family. Some are wingless, but most have very short wing-cases, under which very large wings, forming the most beautiful feature of these otherwise unattractive insects, are doubled and folded into a very small compass. Some of the smaller species fly readily; but others, such as the COMMON EAR- WIG, though furnished with ample wings, are rarely seen to use them. The most conspicuous organ of the earwigs is the curious forceps at the extremity of the body, the use of which itdoes not seem to be well made out, though has been suggested that it is used for folding and unfolding the wings. The forceps differs very much in size and shape in different species; [Regent's Park. it is always larger in the male than in the Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] female, and often differently shaped. In the AMERICAN COCKROACH. in and now found in most England, Common in many warehouses is flattenedcommon earwig the male forceps the world. parts of and contiguous at the base, and rounded and 87

Photo by Highley. STICK-INSECT. The largest insect known is a species of stick-insect; it is a native of Borneo, and measures 13 inches. Lo Photo by Scholastic Photo Co.) (Parson's Green,

WALKING LEAF-INSECTS.

Natives of the East Indies, and remarkable for their resemblance to green leaves. incurved at the extremity. There are two varieties, in one of which the forceps is twice as long as in the other; but intermediate gradations do not seem to be met with. In the female the forceps is narrow, nearly straight, and approximating. The earwig is a nocturnal insect, and hides itself during the day in large-headed flowers, like dahlias, to which it is very destructive, or in any convenient dark and narrow crevice, especially among decaying vegetable matter. It derives its name from its occasionally entering the human ear, but it may be easily driven out by dropping in a little olive oil. In most books it is denied that earwigs enter the ear at all, but it is, nevertheless, an undoubted fact; and the fanciful derivation that has been suggested of earwing in the place of earwig cannot be entertained respecting an insect which seldom shows its wings at all. It should be noted that the female earwig is said to tend her young very much as a hen tends her chickens—an uncommon habit in insects. The Common CocKroacH is too well known to need description. The individuals with half-developed wings are the perfect females; but there are other species in which the wings are fully developed in both sexes, others in which. the male is winged and the female wingless, and others again in which both sexes are wingless. In warm countries and on ship-board cockroaches are far more troublesome than in cold climes; and the large brown ones, with a mark on the back of the thorax resembling a crown, and very broad wing-cases and wings, are called DrumMErS in the West Indies, from the loud noise they keep up during the night. Lady Burton has given- an amusing account of her introduction to cockroaches abroad: “After two days we were given a very pleasant suite of rooms — bedroom, dining- and drawing-room—with wide windows overlooking the Tagus and a great part of Lisbon. These quarters were, however, not without drawbacks, for here occurred an incident which gave me a foretaste of the sort of thing I was to expect in Brazil. Our bedroom was a large whitewashed place; there were three holes in the wall, one 1

Straight*winged Insects

the bedside bristling with horns, and these were cockroaches some three inches long. The drawing-room was gorgeous with yellow satin, and the magnificent yellow curtains were sprinkled with these crawling things. The consequence was that I used to stand on a chair and scream. This annoyed Kichard very much. 'A nice sort of traveller and companion you are going to make,' he said; 'I suppose you think you look very pretty and interesting standing on that chair and so much that,howling at those innocent creatures.' This hurt me without descending from the chair, I stopped screaming, and made a meditation like St. Simon Stylites on his pillar; and it was, 'That if I was going to live in a country always in contact with these and worse things, though I had a perfect horror of anything black and crawling, it would never do to go on like that.' So I got down, fetched a basin of water and a slipper, and in two hours by the watch I had knocked it. It cured me. From that day I had no I'kolo by W. P. Uaiido, F.Z.S^,ninety-seven of them into more fear of vermin and reptiles, which is just as well in a country Regent's Park. where Nature is over-luxuriant. A little while after we changed our HOUSE-CRICKET. rooms we were succeeded by Lord and Lady Lytton, and, to my Very similarthe cockroach.in its habits to infinite delight, I heard the same screams coming from the same room a little while after. 'There,' I said in triumph, 'you see I am not the only woman who " does not like cockroaches.'

The dimensions of the insects are not so much exaggerated; for I believe this story refers to the large reddish American cockroach, which is common in many English cities, although ; but the antennasonly in warehouses. It does not usually much exceed an inch in length are very long, and the wing-cases expand nearly 3 inches. (See photograph on page 689.)

The SOOTHSAYERS, or PRAYING-INSECTS, are not British, though one or two species are found in the south of Europe. They have long fore legs, the shanks of which are set with a double row of long, curving, sabre-like spines, and when at rest they hold them up as if in the attitude of prayer; but they are really on the look-out for prey, and the long spines are admirably adapted for wounding or grasping the insects which form their food. They also fight fiercely among themselves, and it is no uncommon occurrence for a female.to tear to pieces and devour her mate, either during or after their courtship. -The soothsayers are often of a green colour, so as to match the grass and leaves among which they live, and thus conceal them from their prey. The STICK-INSECTS, or SPECTRE-INSECTS, have some resemblance to the Soothsayers, but are exclusively vegetable-feeders, and have

; long, sprawling legs, or shorter ones, sometimes more or less lobate but they never possess prehensile fore legs for seizing prey. The wing-cases are generally quite small; but some species have beautiful large green or pink wings, folded fan-wise, and covered by the stout front border of the wing. Many species are wingless, and of a grey or brown colour, which renders them scarcely distinguishable from dry bits of stick; and among these is the largest living insect known, a grey stick-like species from Borneo, measuring nearly 13 inches from head to tail. Other species have curious ex- _ crescences on the legs and body, which make them look like Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S. Regent's Park. bits of wood overgrown with moss or lichen; while others possess

MOLE-CRICKET. large flat lobes growing from the legs and body, which cause them inches 2 about from brown insect almost be A; and, indeed, green leaves indistinguishable f ' flat nt 1 long," to " ^ Leaves." are insects these Walking frequently called LTbur^inT21

I'kolo by W. P. Uaiido, F.Z.S^, Regent's Park. HOUSE-CRICKET. Very similar in its habits to the cockroach.

_ ht _Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S. Park.

of the World692 The Living Animals

With the CRICKETS we commence the last three families of the group, which are distinguished from the others by their power of leaping. The hind legs are very long, with very thick thighs, and generally a double row of strong teeth or spines on the shanks. The feet are generally three-jointed, and there is usually a long ovipositor in the females. There are very few true crickets in England, but three of these are very conspicuous species. The first is the MOLE-CRICKET, a large light brown insect nearly 2 inches long, with broad, short front legs rather like those of a mole, which it uses in a

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