, 1901-09-26
KILL OR BE KILLED.
THE LAW IN THE ~BOUNOLEsS IN
SECT WORLD.
The lchneumon Fly Is the Butteriy's
Hereditary Enemy and Carries Out .
PitifuI Tragedy-Lsws Of Destructoln
Among Insects Are Immutable.

1t is said that the law of the insect
world is kill or be killed" 1t is a
vengeful law bat were one acquainted
with insect life he might see the force
OF the statement. 1t seems that ma
ture is somewhat partial to the IN
sect world when we compare Its exis-
tence to that Of ours. Man has to learn
all the methods of sustaining life In
order that he may fight for an ex-
istence in this tumultuous world.
whereas the insect appear to spring
into existence ike Jason's tooth-born
warrior. fully armed and prepared to
battle for the safety Of its cupidity,
and a livelihood gained by preying on
Its weake brethren. After the mother
has deposited the egg in a most ad-
v~antageous place and the young insect
has broker its shell. even in its most
fncipient stages of development it
manifests its heredity and begins its
work as a destroyer. Nature Is full OF
resources and a marvellous mother o.
invention. II all insects are destroy
ers. 1t is just as true that some are
much less able to protect themselves
than others, consequently, nature has
to provide some means by which they
are enabled to escape the clutches OF
their stronger brethren. Some insects
which could not successfully hold their
own In combat are given swiftness oil
wing by which means they generally
are able to elude their pursuers.
Others, instead Of possessing either
swiftness of wing or the ability of hold
ing their own, are given a foreclosures
Of appearance which. in the case
Of insects, in most cases Is an effectual
protection against marauders. What Is
known as the tree hopper or brownie
bug Is a queer Insect. Its harmless
ness is in sharp contrast to its intimi-
dating appearance. 1t gains its live
lihood by extracting juices from plants.
1t is therefore a toothsome bit for
preying insects. The ant evidences its
proverbial wisdom in the capture of
the hopper from which 1t takes honey.
Birds presumably know certain poison
GUS insects by instinct. At the sight
Of some caterpllars one would be re-
PEELED and naturally think Of these OBJ
noxious insects as most poisonous.
There is where one is mistaken, for,
as a general rule. this f%erocious ap-
pearance is simply for the purpose Of
throwing dust" in the eyes Of their
preying brethren. The birds, however.
as soon as they sight one of these gor-
geously-attired c%aterpillars. are all a
nutter. and eagerly bouncing upon
him. they forthwith devour him with
avtdity. AS soon as he Is Matched,
sometimes before. the caterpillar has
enemies lying in wait for him. While
the butterfly is depositing her eggs.
another insect comes along and as soon
as the former gets out Of sight the lat
ter proceeds to lay her eggs among
those of the butterfly. This insects
young are similar to human parasites.
and rapidly developing, they hatch
before their unfortunate neighbors and
as the butterly's young appear they
are speedily devoured. 1t is pitiful to
note the tragedy that occurs when
the handsome butterfly's hereditary
enemy, the ichneumon fly, discovers
them. This winged economist lays her
eggs on the back Of the caterpillar. just
previous to the latter's going into Sc
clusion. preparatory to metamorphos-
ing into a butterfly. After the cater
pillar has pun Its cocoon and costly
ensconced itself in its shell, the 1y's
eggs hatch and the young insect preys
on the poor caterpillar until strong
enough. when 1t eats its way into the
outer world. there to still further pur-
sue its work Of destruction. Thus 1t
may be demonstrated hat an insect
must kill or be killed." for the laws
OF destruction among insects are i'm
mutable.