Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1901-08-08
XII OR BE KILLED
FHis SEEMS THE RULE IN THe
INSECT WORLD.

INSECT WORLD.
.EArH AND DESTRUCTION
Axlpssrver Tells of Some of the
Rranks and Peculiarities of the
o'k OF Many Feet-Their Life
one constant Struggle Against
rs nenliss In Their Own World.
j On This mundane sphere will
k'sF gotdeh age come to pass. A
lmHe into the insect world is
enon& to convince one of the hope
lessness of imagining such a thing.
Hunt o. you win be hunted, kill or
xQu - be- killed, eat or you will be
eatep are i1pmutable laws among the
* and eight footed folk. Nature is
Fh&r to them than she is to man.
He fmust4 learn tricks of warfare.
Ihe% 3<<er the manner of Minerva,
!. leSp into Sxistence fully equipped rs
4. 3Etro1ers. Material Instinct places
y the helpless egg where the youngling
may begin It's spreying the instant it is
BATE BED KQuick as the shell is
RQEen< IL commences to destroy life
apd is as dangerous as it is in later
stages when it skips, hops or flies on
It's own account.
Nature is full of resources and a
marvellous mother OF invention.
When warfare is not carried on by
1.-The use of weapons means are pro-
vided fer eluding the enemy, throw
ng dust in his eyes or frightening
him Out Of his tactics. Call to mind
q few of the common means of de-
Tense and protection. Here is the
great June beetle, glittering in a coat
OF mail, as iridescent as mother CT
pearl Man has invented no armor
plate combining lightness, toughness
and protective qualities equal to the
June beetles coat. These outer
wing covers or elytra of the beetle
are impervious to rain, lay like
sheath oyer the delicate membranous
wings and form rare combination of
beauty and utility. The mouth of
beetle is enough to scare the wits
aawy from an ordinary hunting insect
or timid bird out in search of meal.
Its mouth parts are formed for biting,
and when it bites it bites with will
Live on Juices.
Tree hoppers or brownies bugs
are innocent little creatures that
spend their time tipping on lie
juices of plants. Other insects must
find them delicacies. Dainty in their
ways, reared on a vegetarian diet,
one would naturally expect them >
have fine flavor. Ants have founl
out the habit of species excreting
honey dew, and it is only anotae'
evidence of ant wisdom that III ;
honeydew tree hopper is corralled
and MIXED by these lovers of sweets.
Innocent young ants that have not
grasped their Inherited instincts must
be fearfully terrified at the first sight
of these tree hoppers-their faces are
so grotesque and their little pop eyes
leer in a distracting fashion. 1t nay
be that in secret they lament hat
Mother Nature fashioned them like
scarecrows. but if they knew they
they would be thankful and enjoy the
blessings afforded them without
& question as to looks.
Birds know certain poisonous 'l-
sects by instinct. just as some of us
know the edible mushroom from the
<noxious, and know it to certainty
without being able to tell the reason
why. In order to give the insect a
chdnce nature has dressed few of
tho harmless ones in exactly the
same. attire worn by the poisono is
ones. Some of the ugliest clter-
pillars are the most harmless.
Those ingenuous-appearing crawl
ers moving about in an unobtrusive
way are confidence men in caterpillar
dom and yertiable snakes in the
grass. Beware of them. Yet the
foolish birds are all a-futter al
! anxiety when a gorgeously striped
caterpillar with orange-tipped no ms
and ebony black brushes sticking M
over its back. crawls across tn e'r
. path.
"a scientific friend confessed that
!. after severe self-discipline he was
Aable to taste caterpillars withop
repugnance. If the birds were so
greedy for them surely they must be
good to eat He gathered his cater
pillars and labeled the different
species and proceeded to taste them
after watching the conduct of spar
rows and robins and catbirds in re
gard to them. A hairy caterpillar
striped and arrayed in a coat OF
many colors as if out on a mas
ouarade was the cause of chatterlng
on the part Of the sparrows, tail flap
ping az comment from the robins
and excitement and sarcastic LOOK
from the caebi-ds. At night time
! the scientist tasted the caterpiller 70
find out If it was as bitter ana
bad lQd him