The evening times., 1900-07-26
INSECTS IN THE WINTER
PrOdigaI Millions Who Take No
Noe Of the Future.
Flies Have 10 Necessity to Look
Far Ahead, as Their Longevity
LASTS Only for TWenty-fOur Hours
The Thrifty Ant EntitIed TO Re
spect-Spider and butterfly Indus
triOus.


Many flies live but a day The excitement
Of escaping determination and rearing
their young grounds out an existence Of
twenty-fOur hours. Nature, In appreeia-
ton OF their short career, has provided
them with compound eyes, which see about
on all sides, a maryelously acute scent,
and facility OF fight which is the aggra-
yation Of him who dozes at MONDAY and
who tries to catch that one fly. When
autumn comes the deathkneH OF millions
CT dies has sounded. They make no prep
araJiOn for winter. The majority die, and
their insignificant bodies are blown away
- the Passing breeze. few hardy sur
Yivors inger in cracks in the walls, creep
under the door frames, or in creyices in
the woodwork. 1t is probable that eggs
are laid. larvae hatched and other flies
creep from the metamorphosed maggOts
during the winter. But some naturalisJs
assert tnat the few lingering flies are the
parents OF the multitude that appear in
the warm days Of June The eggs they
lay are numberless.
Katydids. grasshopperS, Iocusts, walking
STICKS" crickets, and beetles are killed by
the frost The eggs hidden in the ground
or concealed in the bark OF trees furnish
the supply FOR the next year. The cold re-
tards the development OF the egg which
matches in the warm days of spring. Some
times 4 unusually cold winter plays havoc
with the dormant insect life. but the cum
ming Of nature strengthens the frail egg
shell against the power OF heat and cold
alike, until the secret alchemy Of the sun
stiTs the budding life and bids II come
forth.
Beetles exhibit a wonderful instinct in
caring for their helpless young. Among
certain species the eggs are rolled IN balls
Of material suitable for food. The balls are
packed away in nest 10 await the yoTa-
ciCus appetite of the infant beetle th1t
must eat its way out The buTyIrg or
sexton beetles deposit their eggs in the
bodies OF dead birds or field mice. They
then set 10 work and perform the proper
rites Of burial. heapiag the earth over tie
body OF the dead. The young b, etle
hatChed from the egg Hnds a store OF food
awaiting him on his arrival IN the world
Butterflies and moths are victims OF cold
weather, though in some Instances il las
been proved that they have great powers
Of endurance Both butterflies and moths
live in tn region Of glaciers iD the high
Alps, and certain species is found hu-ter-
ing about on the summit Of Mount Wash
IlgjOE and amid eternal snow. These but
JeTiiies and moths are intimately assOciat-
ed with the scutians and other flowers be
longing TO these lofty attitudes, and act
as aids in cross fertilization.
Our temperate zone boasts ~ one or two
winter butterflies warmly clothed in micro
scopic feathers And on Ckeerless Febru-
airy and March days these blithes0ue her
aids Of spri g sport about like animated
sUnbeams aid living prophecies OF spring
time. But what has become Of the butter
flies and moths Of the vanished summer
tide. They are gay and thrifty folk IN
looking out for the future OF their race.
Search the garden and cocoons and crysa-
lids are found in sll sorts OF shapes AID
conditions. Angular and OyOid, short and
thick long and thin. suspended by the
head. or by the tail. head downward, hung
horizontally In a curled leaf like the Garl-
ling baby in the treetop; tucked away under
a soft web cOverlet on the sheltered side
OF the gate post or under the edge Of the
sidewalk: within the warm corner OF
knot hole. or a crack in the boards under
the bark Of the trees. in coy crotch OF
the twigs and even buried IN the ground
The delicate yet firm silEen threads bind
them TO Tie topmost branches. where ex-
posed TO sleet snow, and rain, whirIed
about by every bowling blast they DEFY
tie winter.
The butterfly and moth lay eggs in
suitable feeding ground during the carly
summer. The hatched larva or caterpillar
/ eats Voract3Usly. gorging Itself until 4
. can eat 10 more Or. If too fat Tor further
I eXert1on. IL spins a cocoon and makes
ready for winter. During the winter IL ap-
parently slumbers in It's snug quarters.
EOUrshed by the plentiful supply Of Eat It
accumulated during the caterpillar stage.
and AT the proper time emerges a full
grown moth or butterfly. gorgeoUsly attiIed
and bent on holiday making.
The spiders. so far as / can learn. store
away no food supply in winter quarters
Quantities Of eggs are laid and carefully
sheltered in velvety cObw6b sacks imper-
vious to the weather. These sacks NIX be
found swinging by silken ropes from the
golden rod and milkWaed and hidden away
in crevices and corners OF board fences
and stone walls. The little spiders creep
from the luxurious sleeping bags provided
by the sOlicitOus care Of their wise mother
/ and if they escape the c2nnibalistic pro-
( pensities of their brothers and sisters or
| ter at once on a career Of trapping and
/ hunting
/ The old saying, Go to the ant. thou
J sluggard," and the quaint fable of the
/ foolish, shivering grasshOpper and the wise
/ and thrifty ant would lead Us TO believe
/ that wisdom dwelt in the halls Of The ant
| hill along with the forethought so common
I TO the beehive The bees and wasps do
/ lay up stores for winter. The wasps do
not provision quite so wisely as the bees
I but in the centre of the cone-shaped nest
/ of the PAPER making wasps may be found a
SoOdly store Of honey. All bees do rot
! store as literally as does the hive bee
/ and the mortality among bees is wide
spread. While thousands die few sur
! vive, and OF these few it is generally the
/ females that show the greatest tenaci.y
I 70 life and serve as mothers OF the race
/ for the next summer. Hive bees receive
1 such fostering care from man that they
| can hardly be counted among our wild
, friends who must shift for themselves
The thrifty ant deserves much sympathy
/ in that il is the favorite prey OF spiders
| cTickets. beetles. and other insect hunters
1 In spite of vicissitudes il is devoted to its
/ community life The care OF fits young
/ the management of its slaves. and captured
/ aphides from which the honeydew is
/ MIXED, furnish incidents for tale as in
| teresting as the customs OF any wandering
| tribe of the desert or any lost nation OF
! Central Africa. few ants may survive
| and feed on accumulated stores during the
I winter, but it is chiefly the eggs and CO.
I coons hidden away in the security of the
/ underground chambers OF the ant hill that
furnish the ant population of a succeeding
| summer.-Chicago Post.