Evening star., 1902-08-29
MALIGNING INSECTS
FALSE REPORTS ABOUT MANY
PRETTY SPECIES.
Bugs Seem to Be Under Popular Ban
Stories Circulated by
Children.
From the Baltimore American.

AEoin tne bditimofe american.
1t is about time for some hazily described
insect to begin in some corner of the coun-
try crusade against the life, liberty and
pursuit OF happiness of humanity. Prob
ably the most remarkable of these illu-
Sional pests was the so-called kissing
bug of unlamented memory, which, either
as egg, larva, pupa or adult of its kind,
never had existence outside the happy i'm
agination which produced it. any more
than did the Gold Bug that Poe immor-
taliZed.
Side by side with this absurdity is an
other-that somebody has been 'bitten"
or "stung" by a grasshopper. Somebody
somewhere may believe this, but if there
is such a one he or she stands a sad and
monumental reflection on the boasted intel
ligence of the people of this enlightened
period.
This subject opens, naturally, some con-
sideratfon of the various alleged deadly at
tributes of number of common insects in
our midst. The seeming broad assertion
can at once be made that ninetynine out
of hundred allegations of this kind are
absolutely without foundation, except Of
entirely accidental kind, and that these as
whole are veriest child chatter, pardon
able in children but ridiculous In the ex-
treme IN adults, though children and adults
seem Joint possessors of even the widest
OF these superstitions.
Dread of Insects.
Many Of these breads Of insects can be
traced to the repulsve appearance of them
Spiders, probably the most maligned, and
centipedes, only little less besmirched in
reputation, are, except to {. knowing eye,
terrifying to behold, SO that some uncanny
yarn told of any member Of either Of these
classes mas ready acceptance. Bugs and
insects IN toto seel- to be under popular
ban, and when imagination wearies of con-
cocting folklore of the pernicious traits
belonging to species already In existence,
10, the name of new one is heard in the
land, and new attributes old ones in a
new guise alleged to characterize its be-
havior send shudder through the land It
so happens that, with the. exception of the
moths, the arthrodopae of North America
are we'll known, and these stories of new
insects can be nailed canardS just as
soon as the discoverer or a victim under
takes to accurately describe it's personal ap-
pearance. Ten to one that several thousand
entomologists rise up Immediately who are
familiar enough with the bug or insect to
call it by it's first name, and who promptly
put quietus to stories of its deadliness by
telling truthfuly just how inoffensive
party it is. Or, if the description on the
other hand, is of a species never before
heard of, there is just as deadly a fate
awaiting the stories, for imagined descrip-
tons of non-existent bugs are apt to violate
known chronological laws and the ento-
mologist is again called upon to expose a
hoax.
Aside from imagined creeping, crawling
and flying things, however. there are bugs
that are well known, could be well known
by everybody, much to their personal com
fort, If they share common superstitions,
which, nevertheless. are afflicted with un-
justly applied aSpersions.
Spiders.
There is the spider. There is no doubt
that the spider, at least most of his kind,
Is possessed of poison sack, from which
he can eject the fluid through tiny aper-
ture near the end of his clawlike auxiliary
masticator Some of the larger specimens
might possibly be able to puncture human
flesh, say on the tender parts between the
fingers, and the result would be wound,
producing, with poison Included, about one
half the seriousness of a mosquito bite, if
the New Jersey belligerent is in anything
like good health This is the extent of the
death-dealing possibility of the most des-
perately venomous spiders to be found any
where about here, except in the case of a
stray tarantula that may reach the banana
wharves Here, too, is field for exagger-
alton that has not been overlooked. In
Brazil children are in the habit of digging
a species of tarantula from it's hiding place,
Whereupon they tear off its head, contain
ing the poison gland, then greedily eat the
rest, as II 1t were goober, and pronounce
1T dainty that has sugar candy sour with
envy.
The Humble Centipede.
The epeira vulgaris, or ordinary garden
spider which is most often seen, shares the
antipathy shown its more venomous breth-
rem, despite the fact that for harmfulness
1t is not in the same class with the interest
ing. detested. but non-horrifying pulex ir-
ritans, which, by the way, occupies a class
by itself among the arthropodae for traits
other than those which convinced Mark
Twain of his right to inimitahle fame
No one will ever accomplish the task OF
and children and the humble centipede or
resented by just fifteen pairs or thirty in
all. The exaggeration in the matter of legs
Is In keeping with exaggeration about every
other possession and trait of this crawler
He has poison gland, but the MOSQUITO
and flea can boast more graveyards of
their filling than can the poor, abused
chilopoda. The most venomous of this or
der to be found hereabouts is the cermat TIL
dae, greenish-brown fellow, sometimes in
clining toward purple the body and legs
being striped and banded with green. Aw-
full stories are told of this truly terrifying
goblin and of his brethren Of MANY legs
few of which could be authenticated
So far moths are concerned they are
| absolutely harmless. Bugs and beetles
plead guilty to the same Indictment, and
only the familiar honey bee, yellow Jacket
hornet and humble bee are to be avoided
and these go armed for other than human
foe and are as good-natured folk as can he
found in all the realm Of wings and stings.