The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-21
BUGS, WORMS AND BEETLES.
THE GREAT DAMAGE DONE ny
THEN To THE AGRICULTURIST

-'at mem anu see W nat Tan ne
Done TO Lessen Their RavaEes I'm
the Farmers Fields = CrIcketS
Whose Bite Is Fearful and who
Are Very DisagreeabIe COmpnn-
ions.
Rene Bache in the Boston Transcript.
Idaho devils! That is the name by which
they are known In the region which they
infest. They have been making a lot OF
trouble out west recently. and an expert
OF the department OF agriculture has
started from Washington this week with
orders 10 study them. Crickets! That is
all they are. But such crickets! Fellows
as long as ones finger. and they bite In
way that is simply fearful. If that We're
all II would not matter; but they eat the
crops. and thus make themselves serious
ly objectionable from the economical point
Of view
out west these awful bugs are known
as Chinese crickets by some people. They
live in holes in the sand. and are car
nivorous Of habit. They have enormous
heads, and their jaws are so powerful
that they are easily able to bite through
an ordinary glove Cannibals they are.
and other insects nearly related to them
are their favOrite prey. The MeXicans-
INTO whose country they range-beheve
their nip" Is death. But this is mis-
take, doubtless arising in part from their
fierce aspect.
II these were the only crickets to be
Fought against in the northwest the peO-
pie OF that region would be comparatively
happy. Unfortunately, there is a tribe of
insects nearly allied to the devils al
ready described, which have a migratory
propensity. They start on a journey
tnTOuGn he n 81
eating everything in their path, appear
ing suddenly in such enormous numbers
that no measures taken against them are
OF the slightest avail. No obstacle stops
them. Their armies destroy everything be-
fore them that is green, leaving behind
them only a brown desert. Large streams
derect their course, but small creeks they
pass over by jumping in and swimming.
They climb the brooksde willows. and by
their accumulated weight bend over the
branches and so make a bridge.
These are the so-called army crickets.
Just now they are making themselves
terror In ordinary circumstances they are
vegetable feeders, but in straits they be-
come carnivorous. The farmers in regions
infested by them dig bitches, into which
they tumble In vast numbers. For lack of
their usual food, they fall upon one an
other and great is the destruction In
titan the freSh-water gulls eat vast num-
bers OF them. Some tribes of Indians re-
gard their coming as a blessing, collect
immense quantities of them. and store
them as food roasting them. The supply
is plentiful Sometimes a swarm will be
ten miles long and a quarter of a mile
wide
The Idaho devil is powerful singer, but
he has no voice. His chirp is produced
by rubbing his wings together. He lives
in hole with little galleries underground,
and in front of his house he builds
small platform. All day and all night he
sits at the entrance to his home and per-
forms operate selections. The male and
the female live apart, each in its own
house. Squabbles are frequent, and they
hight so fiercely with their hind legs and
powerful jaws armed with serrated teeth.
that the combatants frequently suffer the
most dreadful mutilation. They never go
more than an inch or two away from their
burrows, which they defend with the ut
most ferocity.
In some countries people make a living
by rearing crickets. which are kept in
cages in the nursery or sick room, to
soothe the children and invalids to sleep
with their lulabys. Grass and water are
all they need for food and drink In GER
tain parts of Africa crickets are said to
constitute an article OF commerce, being
reared in confinement and sold. The ma
tives are very fond Of their music, think
Ing that 1t induces sleep. Superstitions
regarding the cricket's chirp are quite va
ried Some believe that it Is om!nous of
sorrow and evil while others consider it
to be a harbinger of JOY.
1t is an interesting fact to consider that
bugs practically rule the world. Man Is
almost helpless against them. 1t is reck-
oned that there are at least 100000 spe-
cies of insects In existence; and will any,
body mention one Of the injurious species
that has been seriously diminished In
numbers by the efforts of human beings?
Well the court surmises not Look at
the mosquito, the cockroach, the moth
which attacks clothes. Where are they
to-day? Just living at our expense. and
suffering the loss of only a few individ-
uals killed. We can't destroy them, we
only defend ourselves feebly
The army worm is doing lots of dannaera
Just at present, and is making itself mar
ticularly obnoxious in Illinois, Iowa In
diana. Kentucky and Missouri This is an
insect native to North America; nowhere
else in the world is 1t particularly destr,lc
tive. 1t Is a naked striped Caterpillar
about an inch and quarter long and dark
in color. In May and June these cater
pillars sometimes make their appearance
in immense numbers devouring wheat
oats and other grains and grasses They
climb up the seed stalks and cut off the
heads. With a favorable succession of
seasons they multiply in geometricaI ra-
ito, and al last become so numerous as to
necesState migration in search of food
Then they travel and feed during both dav
and night, and 1t is at such times that
they do great damage. The adult insect
Is a brown moth. Fortunately. nature
has provided many enemies to keen down
the numbers of the army worms Ordi-
narily, the worms hide in the daytime.
light they are attacked by predatory
ground beetles and the swift breeding Ia
china flies, which quickly reduce their
numbers. Hundreds of thousands of these
flies are commonly seen buzzing about a
field infested by the army worm. and
their presence should be welcome to the
farmer
Just now there is a plague of grasshop-
pers in Ohio and Michigan, where they
are destroying the grain crops Among
the MOrmons, who suffered grievouslV
from this pest, belief was current for
merly that the grasshopper was a cross
between the spider and the buffalo In
South Africa the bushmen collect grass
hoppers by lighting fires in the path of
the flying swarrns, scorching the wings
Of the insects, so that they win fan "a
the ground. They roast them and reduce
them to meal This grasshopper flour
mixed with water, makes excellent SOM
In Russia grasshoppers are smoked. like
red herrings Fried in butter grasshon-
pers taste much like shrfmps The Jews
of Morocco regard the male grasshoppers
as uncIean. They only select the females
which have peculiar markings upon their
bodies. These markings are declared 10
be Hebrew characters, which make If
lawful to deYour the animals bearing
them. Regular grasshopper shops are
maintained in Arabia and Persia
In 1875 the Big and Little Blue rivers