Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1892-10-20
THE ELECTRIC DESTROYER
All Glasses of Insects Attracted to Their |
Fate by the Brilliant Snarks IS.

All Classes of Insects Attracted to Their
Fate by the Brilliant Sparks. 5@s
mere is no continuance of modern
invention 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
ana accurate statistics would shoW.the
most appalling figures of death to q null
utude OF species of animals, from the
ltsect form to man. When a person
meets death from contact with an cleo
trio current the news is heralded tar
and near, but of the millions of the
lower forms OF animal life which are
aaliy sacrificed, we rarely hear word.
gun, 1t may prove in the course of
tlme, In the justly balanced economy of
nature, that some evil may result from
this unvarylng, wholesale defamation.
Let us examine the death-trap, and
view the mighty havoc produced bv
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 Accommodations 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 pint OF charred bodies
and slnged wings. Now and than
struggling insect is to be found in the
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 bug or a fly can
be found, SO quickly are the light bodies
blown about, or ground into the road
by passing men and teams.
In 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 OF course an
accurate estimate cannot be made, as
many bodies, wings and legs are sadly
mixed in the mass. This collection in.
cludes members Of all the orders of in
sect lie, 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 badly demoralized con-
dition. The smaller moths are in great
abundance, and it is not unusual to find
twenty or more varieties in a mornings
search. From one globe in the heart of
the city | took eighteen tive-spotted
sphinxes, all dead. This hawk-moth or
sphinx, the mature form or adult of the
common tomato caterpillar, is four
inches in extent with five yellow spots
on it's sides. Butterflies ofseveral kinds
are occasionally found. though these,
like the grasshoppers, undoubtedly
wander into the globe trap during the
day.
Ofthe beetles, the well-known pinch
bug and the yellow, bleck-spotted June
bug are among the most common,
while the handsome goldsmith ni.snap
beetles are not rare. There are, too,
couple of dozens of noDdescripts, any
of which Michigan housekeeper
would swear were the protean, much
dreaded carpet bugs.
Plenty of pretty, green katydlds lie
mixed up with the gauzy lace wings,
while dragon flies and even potato
bugs and spiders are found. All these
insects f1v into the globe at it's 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
Au ant oc
from above. Many undoubtedly do
escape, but they more often fly about
within the globe till they come in con-
tact with the combustion Of carbon
points. when they tall.
On a favorable night, when 1t IS very
dark, and there is no wind to drive the
piddv insects away from their death at
traction. q great many may be seen ly-
ing close to the globe, where their
ranks are often invaded by shadoW-llke
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. &c
insects. call them pests or allies as you
will the record OF month will be gwen
from one locality. My home in a small
CITY is a fair standard for estimate. we
have here $50 lights, which average
about twenty nights during the month.
Allowing 500 insects killed each s"d o6 night,
we have grand total Of ,ooo,ooO 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 be-
low the light. This destruction IN IN
doubtedly lasts for fully four months,
October, we may call it five months Non lbs
which would bring the total to ',oOoo'oooooo
in one small locality; Allowing io,uuo
h;ned destruction from this source
alone would be about halfa billion lin in
S Mo h;oan. If we carry the figures still
further and for the whole country, the
results appalling. 80 nc IN