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ORDER II.-HEMIPTERA.

This Order includes all insects with half-wing cases; and they differ from the coleoptera, in the elytra being shorter, only covering half the body; in their being softer, more like parchment than horn; and, thirdly, in their inner margins wrapping over each other, and not meeting in a direct line or suture.

The common black cock-roach (blatta orientalis), which is frequently called in our metropolis, and elsewhere, by the erroneous name of the black-beetle, is supposed to have been first imported from the eastern parts of the world, and seems to have made great progress, of late years, in extending itself throughout the kingdom. This insect lives in crevices and crannies near our fire places and ovens; and, like the cricket, comes out to feed in the night time. It eats flour, bread, and almost any kind of kitchen offal. In the night time, after the family has retired to rest, these insects and their larvæ of all sizes, which are whiter, and have only the rudiments of wings, come out by hundreds, and may be seen in all parts of the kitchen, particularly on the hearth. They are not, as was supposed, inimical to the cricket, but associate with it, and are very similar in their habits, As they prove a disagreeable pest where they abound, many arts have been practised for their destruction. The most effectual that we have seen, is the following:-Cover the outside of a deep glass or bason with cap paper (a common water glass, such as is introduced at table after dinner, will answer the purpose well); put some pieces of bread into it, and place it in a cupboard, or in any other place where the beetles are numerous; and in the morning you will find scores that have crept up the paper on the outside, dropt in, and from the polished surface, as well as form of the glass, have been unable to escape. Many crickets, as well as_cockroaches, will be caught by this means.

The mole-cricket (gryllus gryllotalpa) is a complete representative of the mole among the insect tribes, and burrows under ground like a mole, raising a furrow as it proceeds. It is at once distinguished from all others, by the apt formation of its fore-feet, which are divided into several segments, or claws, spreading out like the palm of the hand, by means of which the insect is enabled to perform its instinctive functions in the most effective manner. It moves slowly, and never leaves its hiding-place till the close of the day. The female lays between two and three hundred eggs in an oval nest under ground, and is very careful of her charge till they are hatched.

The house-cricket (g. domesticus) is one of those busy little insects that reside altogether in our dwellings, and intrude themselves on our notice, whether we wish it or not. They are partial to houses newly built; for the softness of the mortar enables them to form their retreats, without much difficulty, between the joints of the masonry, and immediately to open communication with the different rooms. They are particularly attached to kitchens and bakehouses, as affording them a constant warmth.

"Tender insects, that live abroad (says Mr. White), either enjoy only the short period of one summer, or else doze away the cold, uncomfortable months in profound slumbers; but these, residing as it were in a torrid zone, are always alert and merry: a good Christmas fire is to them, what the heats of the dogdays are to others. Though they are frequently heard by day, yet their natural time of motion is only in the night. As soon as it becomes dusk, the chirping increases, and they come running forth, and are to be seen often in great numbers, from the size of a flea to that of their full stature.

Around in sympathetic mirth

Its tricks the kitten tries;

The cricket chirrups in the hearth,
The crackling faggot flies.

As one would suppose from the burning atmosphere which they inhabit, they are a thirsty race, and show a great propensity for liquids, being found frequently drowned in pans of water, milk, broth, or the like. Whatever is moist they are fond of, and, therefore, often gnaw holes in wet woollen stockings and aprons that are hung to the fire. These crickets are not only very thirsty but very voracious; for they will eat the scummings of pots, yeast, salt, and crumbs of bread, and any kitchen offal or sweepings. In the summer they have been observed to fly, when it became dusk, out of the windows, and over the neighbouring roofs. This feat of activity accounts for the sudden manner in which they often leave their haunts, as it does also for the method by which they come to houses where they were not known before. It is remarkable, that many sorts of insects seem never to use their wings but when they wish to shift their quarters and settle new colonies. When in the air they move in waves or curves, like woodpeckers, opening and shutting their wings at every stroke, and thus are always-rising or sinking. When they increase to a great degree, they become pests, flying into the candles and dashing into people's faces; but they may be blasted by gunpowder discharged into their crevices and crannies. In families, at such times, they are, like Pharaoh's plague of frogs," in their bed-chambers, and upon their beds, and in their ovens, and in their kneadingtroughs." Cats catch hearth-crickets, and, playing with them as they do with mice, devour them.Crickets may be destroyed like wasps, by phials half filled with beer, or any liquid, and set in their haunts; for, being always eager to drink, they will crowd in till the bottles are full.' A popular prejudice, however, frequently prevents any attempts at their destruction; many people imagining that their presence is attended with good luck, and that to kill or drive them away will surely bring some unfortu

nate occurrence on the family. When these insects are running about a room in the dark, and are surprised by a candle, they give two or three shrill notes. These seem a signal to their fellows, that they may escape to their crannies and lurking-holes, for the purpose of avoiding danger.'

The field-cricket (g. campestris), of whose manners and habits the Rev. Mr. White, of Selborne, has given so interesting an account, will feed and thrive in a paper cage, if supplied with plants moistened with water, and set in the sun: the insect will then become so merry and loud, as to render it irksome to be in the same room with it. If the plants are not wetted, it will die.

The small insects, commonly called grasshoppers (see Frontispiece, fig. 2), belong to the genus gryllus, and must not be confounded with the cicada plebeia, which is a native of the warmer parts of Europe.

The white froth-like spittle, which is seen on the leaves and stalks of many kinds of plants in the summer season, is produced by the black-headed frog-hopper (cicada spumaria); and if this froth be wiped off and examined, it will be found to contain the larva or young of the cicada: and this matter, which is discharged from its own body, no doubt serves to protect it from the attacks of other insects.

The common bed-bug (cimex lectularius), we have every reason to believe, has been a domestic pest from time immemorial; at least, it is mentioned by some of the Greek writers, who spoke of the animal with feelings wholly independent of a taste for Natural History. Southall, a celebrated bug-catcher, who published a treatise on the subject in the year 1730, says, that the bug was scarcely known in England before the year 1670, when it was imported among the timber used in rebuilding the city of London after the great fire in 1666; but we have the authority of Mouffet to prove, that this troublesome insect was familiar to most persons long before the fire. In the

beginning of summer, says Dr. Shaw, it deposits its eggs, which are very small, white, and of an oval shape, each standing on a kind of short pedicle or footstalk, in the cavities of walls or wood-work'. The young, which are hatched in a few weeks, arrive at their full size in about three months. In their winter retreats they can bear the most intense frost without injury; and are always ready, as soon as the warm weather returns, to take the field. Most of the species, when touched, have a very strong and disagreeable smell. They are met with in woods and shady places, &c., and many of them are very prettily marked.

Aphis is the generic name for those small insects that infest, at times, almost every kind of plant, and are called tree-lice, vine-fretters, or pucerons. The males are winged, and the females without wings: they are viviparous, producing their young alive in the spring; and also oviparous, laying their eggs in the autumn. As these insects derive their nourishment from the juices of the plant which they infest, Nature has wisely ordained that the females should lay eggs in the autumn, though they bring forth their young alive all the spring and summer months. This is to prevent them from being starved for want of food in winter. The young burst forth from these eggs in spring, as soon as there are leaves to subsist upon. The aphides are very noxious when in any great numbers, causing the plants which they infest to become sickly, and their flowers or fruits to be small, and not to come to perfection. They some

'The best recipe for reducing the number of that troublesome insect, the bug, has been given to us by a gentleman who has frequently experienced its efficacy:-Dissolve three ounces of camphor in four ounces of ethereal turpentine, to which add four ounces of the purest alcohol. The bedstead should be taken to pieces, and the mixture applied with a camel's hair brush: care should be taken, however, not to suffer a candle or light to come in contact with the preparation.

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