Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1908-10-10

Az Vuefl " PtUkut VI tue uetbuu
which has been doing great damage
60 wheat In Southern Kansas and
Northern Oklahoma. the government
sent to that region large consignments
OF gnats Of species hostile to the dis.
astrous insect, which will be distribut.
Cd over tine Infected areas.
The gnat, a very minute species. IL
the principal enemy Of the fly. which.
but for Its interference. would prac.
tically anihilate the wheat. growing in.
dustry In this country. 1t IL known
to science as Polygnotus. and operates
In very peculiar fashion. laying Its
eggs In the eggs Of the hessian fly be.
fore the latter IRE hatched This does
not prevent the maggot.like larve Of the
pest from Matching out. and their de-
structive capacity-they. suck the sap
Of the young wheat plants is not
diminished. Hut they do not trans.
form into flies. Instead. gnats emerge
from their bodies. to repeat the per.
Torrance and continue the business OF
6y destruction.
4 New Police system.
The distribution OF gnats for the pro.
lection Of the wheat crop Is In line
with a new plan Of operation by which
friendly bugs are to be systematically
utilized for policing the cultivated
arens Of the country, to regulate the
rogue Insects This plan, II might be
said. was long ago adopted by nature
herself. All that the government Is
trying to do Is to offer intelligent as.
sistance. the idea In view being to aid
the farmers by keeping the whole Unit.
ed States under surveillance. When It
Is found that any destructive pest IL
rapidly increasing In a certain section.
II may often be practicable to fight II,
or perhaps TO ward OF serious out.
break. by the transportation Of insect
enemies from some other region to the
scene Of the trouble.
Friendly Bugs Absolutely Necessary
The question Is not how much the
farmer could raise without the protec.
ton Of friendly insects, but whether
he could raise anything at, all. He
does not realize that these tiny helpers
ar working for him all the time. II
Is not merely when serious outbreaks
threaten that they are useful. but con.
tinlally. To put the matter In other
words, the agriculturist IL deriving a
steady and constant profit from one Of
natures most powerful forces. that Of
parasitism-a force that has probably
been more largely instrumental In
shaping the status Of animal life over
the face Of the globe than we can, with
our present limited knowledge, conf.
prehend.
This 10 the force which the Bureau
Of Insects Ia trying to utilize. In some
instances by transporting friendly bugs
from one place to another In or.
der to give them an opportunity to do
their work where It 10 most wanted.
There seems to be good reason for be-
lieving that certain parasitic hies may
be utilized for fighting grasshoppers,
which even at the present time are
very destructive pest In parts OF tho
West. The cultivation OF the soil has
to great extent destroyed the great
grasshOpper.breeding areas which-thc
eggs OF these Insects being laid In the
ground-formerly supplied such innu.
merable swarms. totally devastating
whole districts. But plaques Of them
still occur Mt intervals.
The flies In IuestIon-one species II
called appropriately enough. Sarco-
phaga-lay their eggs In the bodies OF
the grasshoppers. Once Matched, the
grubs do the rest Under date OF July
10, 1907. correspondent Of the In.
sect Bureau, writing from Coulee City.
IN the State OF Washington, reported
that rrasshoppers in that neighborhood
were dying by millions, and that In the
body OF each was "worm," doubtless
the maggot OF one OF these little flies
Natures Balance.
Nature is trying all the time to pre-
serve a balance, and thus under ordi
nary circumstances there are for every
kind OF insect Of possible pestiferous