HOUSE-CRICKET.
Very similar in its habits to the cockroach.
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 only in warehouses. It does not usually much exceed an inch in length; but the antennæ are very long, and the wing-cases expand nearly 3 inches. (See photograph on page [689].)
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.
MOLE-CRICKET.
A brown insect about 2 inches long. The very broad and flat front legs are used for burrowing.
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 excrescences on the legs and body, which make them look like bits of wood overgrown with moss or lichen; while others possess large flat lobes growing from the legs and body, which cause them to be almost indistinguishable from green leaves; and, indeed, these insects are frequently called "Walking Leaves."
