The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-01-10
The Strength Of Insects.

The Strength Of Insects.
It is said that he is philosodher who
can accept the inevitable without re-
pining. There are times in our lives
when the most unpleasant things are
forced upon our attention, and we fail
with our best efforts to rid ourselves of
them. As warm weather advances, we
need no argument to convince US that
the insects which destroy our vegeta-
ton, offend us with their presence,
and even without permission cause our
own blood to course their veins, are
among the inevitables. To accept
these without complaint or repining
would surely give us undisputed title to
the name of philosophers; and if we
could find any thing Of pleasure instead
of annoyance in our involuntary con-
temptation of them, we would eEloub-
ly worthy of the appellation. THAT
they all serve some useful purpose, can
not be denied; and if we knew their
whole history we should doubtless be
fully convinced of this. Some of our
greatest pests, as flies and mosquitoes,
have already been shown quite clearly
to be our friends rather than our enc
mics.
Besides their practical benefit, there
is no little interest in noticing the great
physical force which they exert. We
call man, a horse, q lion or an ele-
phant strong; but it is very easy to see
that, proportionally, insects are the
strongest animals that live. They man
ifest their strength in running, leaping,
flying, and sometimes in other ways.
Some insects have been known to run
SO rapidly that, if a man of ordinary
size should make as good time, proper
tionally, he would run more than twen-
ty miles per minute, or sixty times the
ordinary rate Of railroad train. A To-
Gust with the aid of its wings win leap
200 times its own length; to equal which
man would need to leap nearly quar-
ter of mile. A flea, without wings,
will leap the same relative distance; !;
and it has been estimated that, if q
horse should jump as far in proportion
to its weight, in would scale the Rocky
Mountains in a single leap. Most
insects jump by means of their hind
legs and latter part of the hind body !;
but one family of beetles elateride or
spring beetles-leap vertically when on
their backs, by use of spine on the
hinder part of the thorax which fits into
cavity behind it, and which, when
forcibly closed and acting like spring
throws the beetle several inches into the
air. While in the very act of writing
this, one of this family pays me visit,
and shows its power by making several
springs of at least sixiinches in height,
which is about twelve times it own
length. Some dragon flies are among
the stongest on the wing. They can be
seen flying about pools of water after
smaller insects for hours at a time,
turning, wheeling, going sideways,
and in nearly every conceivable direc-
ton, and never seem to think Of being
tired. And, what is very remarkable,
they have the power Of changing at
right angles the direction of their fight,
and SO suddenly that one can hardly
ever be quick enough to hit or capture
them. The chronological Magasine
speaks of one of these that flew on q
vessel at sea when the nearest land was
the coast Of Africa, 500 miles away. A
humble bee has been seen to follow a
rail car going twenty miles per
hour, against strong wind, for a
considerable distance; and it even went
faster than the car, as it flew to and fro
and in various zigzags around the We
hicle. Some beetles have fight
swifter, considering their size, than
ov,ry 1sr1. or1 sV.r..,,xo vv,o,.%so,~S n H,St
terfy that sometimes travels more than
hundred miles on the wing at one
fight; he also says that an elephant hav-
ing the force of horn beetle would be
able to move q mountain. All have
doubtless seen beetle move a candle
stick or lamp in his efforts to es-
cape from underdeath it; and he
has been compared to . pris-
oner in Newgate shaking the build
ing with his back. Pliny said, long
ago, that, if we compare the loads Of
ants with the size of their bodies, 1T
must be allowed that no other animal
is endowed with such strength in pro-
portion.
Some interesting and ingenious ex-
periments for measuring the strength OF
insects have lately been made by Bel
gian naturalist named Platean. He
first tested their power of raising
weights while walking on q level sur
face. His novel method Of doing this
was to harness the insect by . horizon
tai thread running over an easily NOV
ing pulley, at the other end Of which
was attached q scale pan for holding
sand. To keep the insect in . straight
direction, he fenced It in between two
parallel strips of glass; and to keep i
from slipping, he covered its track with
coarse muslin. As the insect moved
forward, it pulled the thread ever the