Daily camera., 1901-09-25
GATHER LADY BUGS.
For Shipmsnt to South Africa to b
Ussd q Crop Savers.
Twenty FAeasanA oa the lasssta
Being Hunted Fer ~ ChilAPsn
oG West StoekbsiA0s, Aass.,
ter TAls PuRDoss.

What will happen TO the crops OF
New England II 10000 lady bugs are
taken from the Bsrkshires and
shipped to South Africa?
Prof. Lounsbury. the odacial snto-
mologist of South Africa, has ordered
. supply to kill certain injurious In
sect which abounds near Cape Town.
r. C. Tobey. OF West Stockbridgs,
'Nass.. has engaged 100 children to nll
the order, reports che New York
World. The little red-dotted beetles
are being scoopsd up In great numbers
The Berkshire farmers are beginning
to protest Ths lady bug IL estimated
70 be worth any day ten times her
weight In gold.
She comes Of . family which has
good many black sheep In 1t, a. black
sheep 20 in <hs insect world. but the
lady bug 10 lady "for - that"
OF all the myriad insects In the
world this little reddish beetle 10 the
most useful 70 man. 1ts value Is be-
yond all price. 1t saves more crops
the universe over year after year than
any other agent.
Its whole life 10 . warfare against
other insects that dsstroy the farm
sr's substance.
French children long ago named
1t bette . bon Dieu Che insect Of the
good God). and In English we have the
gentle and a6ectionate rhyme:
Lady bug. ,ady bug. ny away home"
The lady bug is found in every coun-
try on the globe. although the specie.
In some localities are more useful than
those in other localities.
1t mas . round body only about one.
eighth Of An inch in diameter and Is
unobtrusivs both IN looks and man.
nsr. Its long suit Is It's appetite. II
Il always hungry. 1t feeds entirely
upon the eggs of other insects and
upon the insects themselves II they are
small enough TO be swallowed BY .
specimen 20 diminusivs - the hdy bug
itself.
Tho lady bug lays . string Of tiny
yellow eggs. She = cunning enough
always to lay these amid . colony OF
plant lice. A. soon - the larvae
hatch out, looking like miniature ALI.
gators. they begin TO sst. and being
carnivorous they fall upon the tiny
insects around them. In the Ave or
ak weeks that they are growing up
they destroy . whole plAns-liee set
Element Then they roll up -
eocoons and hang suspsndsdl head
downward in nearly any available
nook. They came out Of the shsu
full-grown lady bsSs and keep on
their carnivorous eArSer.
Curiously enough. the lady bug "
self has few enemies. Its only means
OF defense is . pungent liquid which
is not poisonous. u not really of .
bad odor and probably frightens none
Of its haphAxard foeA When IL 10
frightened IL draws its feet up close
under its body and sticks tightly to
the under side Of leaf. Presently.
il nothing alarming happens. II
spreads Its small wings and Aies
away. all the time watching sharply
ont OF its brilliant black eyes
The lady bug really has two psirs
Of wings. although it seldom gets
credit for them. The front pair fold
over and form part Of the hard she'll
that incases its body. The hind
wings are used for short flights.
Nearly every insect which Destroy
the crops is the prey Of tie lady bug.
Many Of these sro the Lady bug's
cousins. such as blister beetles.
squash bugs. cabbage bugs. wsevils,
bsrk-boring beetles. -four beetles,
beat beetles and cotton bugs. 2n Of
which belong 10 the coleoptsra order.
Tho lady bugs greatest service.
perhaps, is In the devouring Of ths
deadly aphs. These plant Nee. little
green insects NO bigger than . Nny
pinhesd. are the most prolific Of In
sects. They infest all plsnts and are
particularly injurious 70 cotton crops.
Too small and frail to eat the leaves,
they suck out the juices.
But the lady bug pouncss upon the
plant lice. II II were not for this
warfare scarcely any small crop or
any flowers could BE- grown.
In California few yoars ago .
particularly large LADY bug wss In
troduced from Austrshs. II wss
found to b the only agent which
could cops with the sphis which
caused the eottony cushion scale on
grapes. In two years the work OF the
lady bug nsttsd profit of 100000
to the state. 1t has now practically
h{s anee{al aoaln fraect