Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1853-06-24
VOL, V.---N0. 4.
Chapter On Entomology

AsTs Though our species Of ans
are harmless. some exo,ics rival III.
scorpion in sing aud bite 10 Guiana
their bills are often 100 feet IN circum
erence. Other nests consist Of at ,eas!
forty stories, each finished in z or 9
hours, containing saloons and galleries.
with vaults supported by bu,tresses AMI
pillars. The mason ants use CLAY; buy
the carpenters build with saw.dust made
into pspler mache. As warriors, ,Aey
exhibit trHe myrmidonian valor; riya.
cities like Rome ard Carthage pou, for,.
their ,nyriads TO decide the fate Of theif
little world. As slave dealers, they
sally forth to pillagc negro formicaries
As darymen. they pasture their milch
kine--the Aphidts- ard milk them by
paltine the abdomen with their an;en-
nu, which are their instruments o!
speech. As emigrants, colonies go frsh
TO se!te. The blacks carrying their mas
ters, aud forming roads By means OF
formic aciti which they eject. as Hann-
bal Gu. the Alps. Their strength is
wonderlul--,wo or three will drag
young snake alive. The males and fe-
males are winged-the neuters tend The
grubs. To one tribe medicine is in
debied for a valuable styp,ic.
WAsPs have their wings folded when
al test. The cells in vespiary some
times number $4,000. peopled with So.-
coo The females found the colonies
workers control domestic affairs. ma.
tive Of Cayenne builds its nest Of il
beautifully polished white pasteboard-
but greyish paper is generally used.
The hive ofTuE SOCIAL BEE is NINA
ture city, divided into streets composed
OF houses for magazines, habitations.
and palaces, constructed on tho most
exact geometric principles, OF matters
al which man cannot produce-myste
res which have puzzled philosophers
frcm Aristo machus 10 Huber. The cells
are hexagonal, with pyramidal base
| formed of three rhomboid plates whose
angles are l09o 2S' and zoe 32'. A mod
crate swarm consists OF IL 900. aud is
laid in two months. 5376 weigh pound.
Ia ptpulous hive. the thermometer
ranges from 92o 10 97o, and at swarm
ing rises at lO4o. Each individual
makes about four excursions daily, and
40 10 100 respira!ions per minute. The
apartments are ventilated BY rapidly
vibrating their wings.
HUMMINo BEES Improperly called
H BILE" live under ground in socle-
ties Of 80 or so, and draw food chiefly
! ftom clover.
GRAssHoPpERs are herbivorous, have
slender appendages, aud do not swarm
like locusts--their wing-covers, when
closed. are roof-like. and :heir musical
powers are such the Spaniards cage them.
A hideous looking species from ths
south OF Eutope and Africa is devoid Of
wings.
1 Oi cRIcKErs, many burrow in the
ground, most are nocturnal, aud few
can ay. The house-cricket is most
noisy in the night, siddling shrill note
BY rubbing the wing-cases against each
other. 1t flies like the weodpecker. -;
The chirping OF the field tribe is sharp
and stridulous. Another species pr,-
seats the structure and habit Of ,hs
mole--lt does great injury to roots, e.
/ peclally those of sugat tcane.
| LocusTs chiefly inhabii Africa and
the south of Asiai what are so called In
America being cicade--they aIe gener
ally Of brown color. about three
inches in length. having head like
horse, two feelers about an inch long.
dark eyes. slrong jaws acting like scis
sors, gteenish cCrslet, and delicate
wings, laying 40 oat-like eggs. and
leaping so feet. An army o. them is IN
evitable fore-runner OF famine--so i'm
mense sometimes as To reach 500 miles.
so compact as 10 eclipse the sun. and
! the rushing OF their wings is like the
sound Of mighty caIaract--being aud
! ible six miles. In the work of destruc-
/ .ion they make noise like flame dFiv-
en- by the wind, and the effect OF their
bite resembles tha. of FIRE. From their
/ purifying caIcasses arises pesiilentia!
death. which. in Italy in 5el. carried
off million of men and beasts. They
are sold as eatables in the bazaar OF
Bagdad.