COCKROACH, Hatta, a genus of orthopterous (q.v.) insects, having an oval or orbicular flattened body, the head, hidden beneath the large plate of the prothorax, long thread-like antennm, and wings folded only longitudinally. The elytra are parch ment-like, and the wings are sometimes very imperfectly developed, particularly in the females, as in the case of the common cockroach. The eggs of these insects are col lected in a sort of a shell fixed to the abdomen of the mother, which at last she deposits in a suitable situation, attaching it by a glutinous secretion. The larvae, when hatched, discharge a fluid which softens the cement that holds together the toothed edges of a longitudinal slit in this remarkable shell, and emerging through it, at once enter upon active life. They are very similar in form to the perfect insects, and, like them, very voracious. Cockroaches are most numerous in warm countries, and even the common C. (B. orientalis)—now so well known in Britain, a pest in many houses, particularly in towns, and, although not a coleopterans insect, often called the BLACK BEETLE—is said to have been imported front abroad, but its native Country is uncertain It is a noctur nal insect, concealing itself in holes during the day, and fleeing on the approach of a candle. It devours both animal and vegetable substances; and a dark-colored fluid,
which it emits from its mouth, gives a disgusting smell to everything that it passes over. A tame hedgehog is of great use for reducing the number of cockroaches in kitchens and other places where they abound. Another excellent method of getting rid of to place a washing-basin on the floor, with some treacle in the bottom. A piece of wood resting between the floor and the edge of the basin, conducts the C. to the fatal trap, from which the slipperiness of the sides of the basin prevents their exit. In this way thousands of " black beetles " may be caught in a single night. The com mon C. is only about an inch long, but some of the tropical ones are much larger, and are more troublesome because of their frequent use of their wings. The KAKE1LLAC, or American C. (B. Americana), a native of the warm parts of America, has found its way into Europe. and infests some seaport towns. A small species (B. lapponica) is very common in Lapland, sometimes doing great injury by devouring the winter stores of salted fish.