Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-08-20

they are just as likely to take the Iarva
of the tiger beetle and lady beetle as
they are the May beetle or that OF the
elm-leaf pest. In fact some of our
most destructive pests possess such re-
pulsive properties that birds will not
touch them. The great and widely
distributed family of blister beetles and
the well-known Colorado potato beetle,
as we'll as the hundreds of species of
the true bugs. are seldom preyed upon
by birds under any circumstances,
while some of the less offensive kinds
are eaten only when more agreeable
food is very scarce. Many of the most
destructive farm and garden insects
are seldom molested by birds; conse-
quently the latter can not have anything
to do with the increase or decrease of
the former, but we must seek the cause
OF the fluctuations in numbers else
where. Food is probably the one thing
that has more influence than anything
else in regulating the increase and
decrease of any spec. es OF insect. This
has been clearly shown in the wide d s.
trIbut;on and multiplication of the
Colorado potato beetle. This insect is
a native of the plains and valleys adj
jacent and within the Rocky Mountain
range, where it has doubtless lived and
propao ated its kind for many past CEN
turtles. but it was l mited in numbers
because linn ted in food. for the few
plants of the species OF solanum upon
which it fed were widely scattered and
usually of a rather stunted growth. on
account of the dryness OF the climate;
consequently a single plant would not
furnish food enough to supply the
progeny OF one pair of beetles during
the short summer in those regions, and
as a result there could be no great n
crease in numbers of this pest, no
matter how many centuries they re-
NAMED there undisturbed in the +
native habtats. The plants that were
eaten up by this pest could not. of
course, produce seed, and if the beetles
were abundant IN any locality one
year it would wholly destroy or
greatly lessen the supply of food
of those that might appear the
next, and the number of insects that
could possibly reach matur ty would be
limited accordingly. But when this
pest gained adm ttance to fields of the
cultivated solanum, or potato, it found
not only great abundance of food
within easy access, but kind which
nished by the wild plants OF the plains.
The result OF this change is well known.
and we now know that if this insect is
left to itself and its natural enemies no
potato plantat on, however extensive,
VII long escape total destruction.
The codling moth is another we'll
known and widely d strIbuted pest
whose muitiplicat on as well as distri-
button depends almost entirely upon
the abundance or scare tY of apples. 1t
abounds in apple-growing regions, be-
cause the apple is its favor.te food. 1t
will breed in the wild crab apple, but
much prefers the cult waited varieties.
because of their superior quality and
texture, and the increase or de-
crease of birds has Little influence
on this pest of our orchards. The same
is true of our canker worm. which
much prefers the leaves of the apple
tree to those of any other, and while it
can. and does. live upon other kinds of
food. it will multiply ten times as fast
in apple orchards as elsewhere. Apple
trees planted on newly-cleared lands,
surrounded with forests which shelter
wild birds in innumerable numbers, are
not exempt from the ravages of the
canker worm. for the very good reason
that with such nutritious and agreea-
BILE food as the leaf of the apple tree
they can and do multiply much more
rapidly than their natural enemies.
TIE imported elm-leaf beetle, which
has during the past few years been so
destructive to certain species of elms in
our Eastern States, is as abundant
where the birds are numerous and pro-
tected as elsewhere. This pest exhibits
very discriminating taste; -, attacking a,, e
preference to the American. although
it will feed upon the latter if the
former is not sufficiently abundant to
furn sh full supply of food.-M. Y.
Sun.