blattidæ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. A family of cursorial orthopterous insects, the cockroaches, coextensive with the division Blattina or suborder Cursoria, or even the order Dictyoptera. They have a flattened, lengthened, ovate body, with head retracted into the large shield-like prothorax; long, filamentous, many-jointed antennæ; long, strong cursorial legs, with setose tibiæ; 5-jointed tarsi, with an accessory joint or plantula between the claws; large coriaceous fore wings which overlap, and longitudinal folded hind wings, both sometimes undeveloped in females. The genera, species, and individuals are numerous, and are found in all parts of the world. Some attain a very large size in the tropics. They are mostly nocturnal, or live in dark places, and most of them are omnivorous. When numerous they cause much annoyance and injury, as in bakeries, granaries, etc. See also cut under Insecta.