Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-10-19
THE ELECTRIC DESTROYER.
All Classes of Insects Attracted to Their
Fate by the Brilliant Sparks.

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 null
titude of species of animals, from the
itsecU form to man. When a person
meets death from contact with an cleo
trio current the news IS heralded far
and near, but OF the millions of the
lower forms of animal life which are
daily sacrificed, we rarely hear word.
Still, it NAV prove in the course of
time, in the Justly balanced economy of
nature, that some evil may result from
this unvarying, wholesale defamation.
Let us examine the death-trap, and
view the mighty havoc produced by a
month of electric lighting in our cities.
The employe of the company. who
goes about supplying the lamps with
fresh carbon sticks each morning,
learns more of the damage to animal
life than is even dreamed of by others,
but he is not an entomologist generally,
and only cares to trim the lamps and
remove the accumulations of dead in
sects which are found In every globe In
the summer months. He carries
brush, with which he quickly whisks out
from gill to a pint OF charred bodies
and singed wings. Now and than
mass, minus 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
hour not vestige of a bug or fly can
be found, SO quickly are the light bodies
blown about, or ground into the road
by passing men and teams.
In a round made with the carbon
supplier in the month of July or
August, SAYS a writer IN the Detroit
Free Press, it Is safe to count on 500
insects to be found in each globe visited,
and | have estimated one lot at fully
1900 individuals, but or course an
accurate estimate cannot be made, as
many bodies, wings and legs are sadly
mixed in the mass. This collection in
sect life, and every well-known fly and
beetle may be collected during morn
ing's search, and many rare ones, seldom
found in other situations, are taken.
Even grasshoppers, tree crickets.
wasps ana bees are in the accumulation,
and though the large majority of the lot
is composed of the smaller insects,
especially two-winged species, as the
fes, 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 large and perfect, more
generally in a badly demoralized con-
dition. 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 | took eighteen tive-spotted
sphinxes. all dead. This hawkmoth or
sphinx, the mature form or adult of the
common tomato caterpillar, is four
inches in extent with five yellow spots
on its sides. Butterflies ofseveral kinds
are occasionally found. though these.
like the grasshoppers, undoubtedly
wander into the globe trap during the
day.
OF the beetles, the well-known pinch
bug and the yellow, bleck-spotted June
bug are among the most common,
while the handsome goldsmith and snap
beetles are not rare. There are, too, q
couple of dozens of noDdescripts, any
of which Michigan housekeeper
would swear were the protean, much
dreaded carpet bugs.
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 its top open
ing and of course hundreds fall through
the lower opening and escape unhurt,
or often more or less singed. After
a time the opening below the light in
the globe gets clogged with bodies, and
atterward all the insects which are
caught must fly out as they came in,
from above. Many undoubtedly do
escape, but they more often fly about
tact with the combustion of carbon
points. when they fall.
On a 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 fly
ing close to the globe, where their
ranks are often invaded by shadow-ike
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 evolu-
tons.
AS key to the vast destruction Of
insects, call them pests or allies as you
will, the record OF month will be given
from one locality. My home in a small
city is fair standard for estimate. We
have here $50 lights, which average
about twenty nights during the month.
Allowing 500 insects killed each night,
we have grand total Of l, 800, 900 per
month of twenty days. This is very
low estimate, as we do not enprace the
large number which fly against the out
side of the globe and fall stumped to
the ground, and of the still larger num-
Der which fall through the opening he
low the light. This destruction I'M
doubtedly lasts for fully four months,
and as insects are found from May to
October, we may call it five months
which would bring the total to 7,50O,OO
in one small locality. Allowing 10000
large-sized lights for the state, the com
bined destruction from this source
alone would be about half billion in
Michigan. If we carry the figures still
further and for the whole country, the
result IS appalling.
1t may be that there is no loss to us in
this vast inroad, and perhaps we are
better off for it, but the ultimate result
is yet to appear. No one who is an OBJ
server has failed to note the change
about our residences in the summer
evenings. Once rooms were filled with
several varieties of moths. bugs $50
called and beetles, and ii windows were
lowered to prevent their entrance,
numbers of them could be heard bump