St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-03
THE DEADLY CURRENT
It Claims It's Millions Of Vic
tins in Animal
Life.
Bugs, Beetles and Birds Which
Persist in Being Electro
cuted.
Their Vain Fluttering Around
the Dazzling, Enticing
Lights.
rhe Destruction Of Birds by
the Goddess Of Liberty
Beacon.

Inere is no cOntrlVance Ol HUueIH Ill
eention so destructive as the electric
apparatus as it is now used in the great
variety of ways. The electric light
ranks first as destroyer of animal life,
and accurate statistics would show the
most appalling figures of death TO
multitude of species of animals. from
the insect form to man. When aperson
meets death from contact with an cleo
trio current the news is heralded far
and near, but of the millions of the low
er forms of animal life which are daily
sacrificed, we rarely hear word.
The employe of the electric light COM
panv who goes about supplying the
lamps with fresh carbon sticks each
morning learns more of the damage to
animal life than is even dreamed or Dy
others, but he is not an entomologlst
generally, and only cares to trim the
lamps and remove the accumulation or
dead insects which are found in every
globe in the summer months. He carries
a brush, with which he quickly Whlsks
put from gill to pint of charred bod
les and singed wings. Now and then a
struggling insect is found in the mass,
minus wing, a pair of legs or so, and
occasionally lace wing or moth takes
wing and escapes from the generally
dead collection. As these fall to the
ground they are scattered to the points
of the compass, and in half an hour not
avestige of a bug or fly can be found,
so quickly are the light bodies blown
about, or ground into the road by pass
ing men and teams.
In round made with the carbon
supplyer in the month of July or August.
. = fn
found in each globe visited, and some
times as high as 1,5OO, but, of course, an
accurate estimate cannot be made. as
many bodies, wings and legs are sadly
mixed in the mass. This collection
includes members of all the orders of
insect life, and about every well-known
fly and beetle may be collected during
mornings search. and many rare ones,
seldom found in other situations, are
taken.
Even grasshoppers, tree crickets,
waSpS and bees are in the accumulation,
and though the large majority of the lot
is composed of the smaller insects, es
pecially two-winged species, as the flies.
gnats and mosquitoes, still numbers of
larger insects are seen, and even the
largest moths. as the luna. cecropia
and pOlyphemus, are not rarely
taken, sometimes alive and perfect,
more generally III badly demoralized
condition. The smaller moths are in
great abundance. and it is not unusual
to find twenty or more varieties in
mornings search, From one globe in
The heart of the city were taken
eighteen five-spotted sphinges, ali dead.
This hawk-moth, or sphinx, the
mature form or adult of the common
tomato caterpillar, is four inches in
extent, with five yellow spot on its
sides. Butterflies of several indS are
occasion ally found, though tsese, like
The grasshoppers, undoubtedly wander
into the globe during the day.
Of the beetles. the well-known pinch
bug and the yellow, black-spotted June
bug are among the most common, while
The handsome goldsmith and snap bee.
Hes are not rare. There are, too,
couple of dozens of nondeScripts.
Plenty of pretty green katydids lie
mixed up with the gauzy lace wings,
while dragon flies, and even potato bugs
and spiders are found. All these insects
fly into the globe at It's top opening, and,
of course, hundreds fall through the
lower opening and escape. more or less
slnged. After a time the opening below
the light in the globe gets clogged with
bodies, and afterward all the insects
came in, from above. Many undoubt-
edly do escape, but they more often fly
about within the globe till they come in
contact with the combustion OF carbon
points, when they fall.
On favorable night, when it is very
dark, and there is no wind to drive the
giddy insects away from their death at
traction, great many may be seen flying
close TO the globe, where their ranks are
often invaded by shadow-like bats. who
dash dangerously near the globe in
chasing their prey. The bats are never
injured by the lights and avoid it most
adroitly in their evolutions.
No one who is an observer has failed
to note the change about our residences
in the summer evenings. Once the
rooms were filled with several varieties
of moths, bugs (sO-called) and beetles,
and If windows were lowered to prevent
their entrance. numbers Of them could
be heard humping against the panes
and hummipg about. All of this is now
done away with, for if the electric light
is burning near your home, the bugs
and moths visit it and leave you in
peace. The difference in the persecu-
tons of the mosquitoes is favorable
theme for discussion, and all are will
ing to give the electric light the credit
However, If we are SO free to ignore
the destruction of the insects we are
constrained to resent the devastation
upon our birds, tor there are fortunately
very few who are possessed of so little
sentiment as to abide i'll to our feath-
cred friends. 1t is impossible to secure
statistics on the extent OF the damage.
but enough is known to convince ali
that elevated lights of any kind are asad
menace to the birds during migration.
Some years ago the government inves-
tigated in relation to the destruction by
light houses, and the damage was found
to be very heavy, and list OF 100
species was received, many being
valued game birds and nearly all others
well known insect deStroyerS.
Thousands of birds are killed each
season by the light in the Goddess of
Liberty in New York harbor, as they
migrate to or from the North. and all
tower lights throughout the country are
more or less destructive. according to
their location. But these greater dan
gers in few cases are as nothing COM
pared to the generally dispersed, CON-
bined lesser dangers of the innumerable
city electric lights.
Ordinarily we do not have the de-
struction brought to our notice, as it is
of slight importance to most persons,
and the comparatively few dead OF
wounded birds found during the spring
flight are barely considered by those
who do not think deeply, although in
the aggregate it means vast destruction.
1t is only occasionally, when the dead
and fluttering birds lie thickly, that a
newspaper notice brings the people to a
momentary realization of the severity.