The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-12-30
Edwin Arnold on Black Beetles


black beetles Women, who fear she
mouse, but do not dislike the grace
full, subtle, gliding little animal 6e-est
I cOckroaches and black beetles without
+ being afraid of them. The proof is that
+ ali the ladies in a room viii jump cnt9
chairs If a mouse runs across the foog
/ but viii not want 10 kin t. as would
be the case with the hated insect Ev-
cry kind-hearted woman feels pity for
! the little captive mouse when its bright
/ eyes glitter sadly between the wires Of
( its trap. and the sentence Of death is pro-
/ nounced with some regret on the tiny
captive. But hardly the gentiest hearted
/ Of women entertain any compassion Tor
( black beetles. They co not state for
I a moment 10 turn q hedgehog loose
among them on the kitchen door or TO
/ set for them that insldious trap whIca
( enguifs them in q glass abyss CT 70
place in their path tempting but deadly
4 poisons. The name Of the creature
stands for a mark Of abjectness. Recall
/ for instance. that passage in Mr.. kip
Hng's brilliant sketches entitled, \
/ Fleet in Being" He is speaking OF the
j relations between the highest ana the
/ lowest officers in the British navy, and
+ ne airily says. OF course the Admiral
/ of the fleet knows there are such belnss
/ as midshipmen, just as the Aim ghty
/ knows that there are black beetles
/ Yet those gallant juniors of glorious
+ service-from whom, after ALL the Cap
/ tains and Admirals have 10 come-may
4 discover rather an honor than ds-
! paragement in Mr.. Kipling's smile. For
what has lately happened IS This. as Mr.
/ Herbert GOss tells US in his new vol
Une entitled The Geogra phiCaI An
/ tiquity of Insects" There has beea
found in the Iias at more than one
! spot, amid the majestic remains OF the
/ great fossil reptiles and flying lizards
a cockroach. or the remains Of one.
which is the oldest insect known This
/ immensely venera bic bug stands al the
/ head of the whole insect world. and eX
/ listed when there were few. if any fishes
/ and no birds or mammals whatsoever
/ Man, in presence of this impressive relic
! Of the past. is a mere parVenu. a thing
4 of yesterday, a supplemental idea Of ma
/ ture, Who sixetChed her cockroach and
/ made an eternal type Of its millions Of
/ years before she invented the genus
l homo"
At stroke this discovery places back
/ beetles practically at the head Of crea-
/ ton genealogically, and the wonder is
! that such as we see him today so did
/ nature originally construct him. She
/ at least, was well satisfied from the first
/ with her black beetles. who rise BY this
! announcement of the geolOg.sts 20 a
! higher eminence than Darwins notable
/ little volume gave in one day 60 the
worms. The great naturalist told an
/ ungrateful world how that worms were
/ the chief agTiculturists Of the Garth.
how that they. and they only, manufac-
ture all the mold and loan in which We
grow our crops; and how the planet
would starve but for the vast, silent la
bors Of these strange and lowly beinas
And now science bids rs learn that the
despised black beetle stands in this su-
! peror place in the ancestral tree of life
and was adiudged so perfect in the be-
ginning that not a single point has been
modified Such as we see him scour-
ing the pantry floor for food, or scutt ing
up the larder wall, so did this marauder
of the kitchen pursue his business IN
presence of the mighty prehistoric sau-
rians before man had lighted his first
kitchen fire, as fearlessly as he does to-
day in our midst
Black beetles were not without a Ger
tain classical and scientific dignity be-
| fore this 1t must Se remembered, to
their credit. that they had Aristotle
himself for their godfather It was that
illustrious philosopher who gave to them
and to their kindred insects the Greek
name by which they go of GO eoptera.
I
scribes the peculiar arrangement for fly
ing which characterizes almost the en-
! tire genus. The first beetle, unspeakably
ancient, probably had naked wings But
/ finding that most of his daily business
was done on foot, and that his delicate
pinions of ilmy membrane soon became
damaged, ne and Dame Nature between
them hardened the outer pair into two
chitinous covers STYLED "eIytra which
admirably protect the inner wings Hav-
ing started her upon this excellent idea
Of giving to it comfortable command OF
earth and air, and also indeed OF water.
the divine mother appears to have posi-
lively reveled In multiplying the varia-
tions Of her design
It is bewilderng to study the countless
types of sheath-winged beetles When
they want to live under the bark OF
trees they hatten ike waters: when they
are born to bore holes in trees or timber
they take the shape Of animated gimlets.
when il is desirable for them to be giob-
A., ular or oval, or circular. or stick-like.
or TO initiate a leaf they take such
forms The little soft giow-worm. with
her pale lamp burning under the foliage
Of the thicket, is beetle, and SO Is the
rounded tortoise-iike ladybird with its
scarlet shell spotted with black. and S.
again. IS the soldier bug the cricket. III
weevil and the earWlg Tho scho
boys fav0rite. the chafer. or uaybug
is another example. and being created
with ring TO his abdomen. grove to
mention that Aristophanes tells US in
the Clouds the Greek boys. ike the
English. used to twirl him round end
round on a string, They range 90 size
from tiniest kinds 20 the huge goliath
/ beetle which is much bigger than many
OF the smaller mammals There iseone
extraordinary species called "sclapeta-
RUS" which. OF being pursued. actually
stands fast and discharges at his enemy
wAat seems by smoke ard sound 30 ~
q little side gun. and others as IS the
case wst1 fhe iady5ird itself b mo-
menrs Of difficulty have ways Hks the
American skunk Of rendering themse.pes
offensive and intangible ThIs ~ two
tiger beetles noted hy Bates. on tbs am
AEON, one. a duil-lookng fellow, protect
ed himself by SEEING Just Of THE color
~ the sand, while the ether. gorge Us
and attractive vas too nasty 70 be
toucned
Nor has nature rested content zata
making her beetles rrotesque ~ acrsn-
tr5c. she has iavsaed uDan them ner
treaeures and secrets - decoration Eve
erybody knows how lovely ara thosa
shades q the cantharfdee which are
used Fl Indian ard otber emhro.darv end
10 decorate TIRE rc7es or head5rszsee ~
eastern dancers Eef tEa~e are many
other varieties whlch display rI sarf
and AMAZING com blrafio - loscr ana
some ~ those are
merely ustrcus ard Furnished IN look
e with the makes eye uauiresf sn1er
q microscope 7h mast 8azzErv eFa~tz
- feue1rr There 81 Tr exa~-fa ere
Bras "a r. diamoad heate. rarsrs
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