The Red Cloud chief., 1878-11-21
The Bussing Insects.-.Some lnterestiMg
Investigations Into Its Canscs-..TWs
Distinct Mounds.

The old naturalis,s thought. generak
", tina, the buzzing III insects was pro-
duccd by the vibrations ~ the wing. but
they had scarcely attempted to analyxc
this phenomenon. and their opinion
was abandoned. when Reaumur showed
that when the wings are cut q blow ~
continues To buzz. Other explanations
II the phenomenon have been advanced
by various haturalists. but none of them
are satisfactory, NJ. Jousset, de Bel.
lesme. has been making some invest.
iions on the subject. and. after proving
that previous theories are uusatisfsc-
tory, he describes the result NJ his own
researches. To avoid confusion. IL
should be distinctly understood what IL
meant by buzxing. In the scientific ac-
ccptatiop IL means to initiate the sound
Of the humble bee, which Is the type of
bulzing insects. But the humble bee
gives out two very different sounds.
which are an octave of each other-A
grave sound when II flies and n sharp
sound when IL alights.
We say, then, that buzxing is the fac
ulty Of insects Ia produce TIVE sounds nj
an octave. This definition limits the
phenomenon To the ny mcnoptera and
he diptera. The coleoptera often pro-
duce in flying a grave and dull sound.
but they are powerlcss Ia emit the sharp
sound, and consequently do not busk.
There ARE two or three ascertained facts
which will serve rs guides In the inter.
probation Of the phenomenon. First IL
Is i~ndiSputable that the grave sound al
ways accompanies the great vibrations
Of the wings which serve for the trans
la,ion Of the insect. IL Il easily seen
that this sound commences rs soon ~
the wings begin Ia movr. and that IL
the wings BE- cut OF 1, disappears en-
tirely. The sharp sound is, never. on
the contrary, produced during flight, IL
Is only observed apart from the great
vibrations of the wings when III. insect
alights. or when IL Is held : % ~ To hin
der its movement, and in that case the
wing Is seen to be animated by n rapid
trembling. II IL also produced when
the wings are cntirely taken away.
From these two remarks We NAV
draw the conclusion tina, the grave
sound belongs properly tn the wings.
that it Is caused by their movements OF
great amplitude. There is here no dif-
ticulty, A. 10 the sharp sound, il il
certainly mo-, produced by the wings.
since IL survives the absence Of these.
Yet the wings participate In II and an
dergo a particular trembling during she
production " this sound. To discover
the cause IL is necessary To 60 back To
the mechanism Of the movement Of the
wing. IL is known that among nearly
all insects the muscles that serve for
flight are not Inserted in the wing i,se,f.
but in the parts of the tborax which
support IL. and that IL Is the movement
of these which acts on the wing and
makes II yibrate. The form u the thor
az changes with each movement of the
wing under the influence Of The CON
traction ~ the thoracic muscles, The
muscular masses intended for flight
being very powerful. this ,ibratory
movement II the thorax Is very intense.
rs may he proved by holding one Of
these insects betweet the fingers. Bot
as the vibrations are produced w ar
three hundred times per second, they
give rise 10 n musical sound. which Is
the sharp note. -Loados Tunes.