Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-11-20
cOMBATS IN THE INSECT WORLD
Accomplished Warriors Have Both
Arms and Ammunition.

Most animals fight when occasion de-
mands and insects are by no means ex-
ceptions to this rule Indeed many in
sects must be regarded as accomplished
warriors equipped with weapons of I'M
common efficacy. and yersed in all the
startegie arts. Those vino have paid at
tention to the warfare of insects are
aware that their contests may usually
be classed under one of the three head
ings: They are either - purely de-
fensive. or 81 an outcome of the court
ship instinct, or 90 definitely aggressive.
Certain insects. however. appear to labor
under the influence of a Veritable mania
for battle. Among these are the we'll
known rear-herses, or mantids. whose
fore legs are SO remarkably modified to
act as raptoral implements. With these
terrible limbs which are hinged and
spiked in such manner as to combine
the attributes Of tile fail and the sharks
teeth sword of the Pacific islanders.
rear-horses capture and hold their prey;
but they are also used as weapons of
offense and defense 1t is said that two
rear horses scarcely ever come face to
face without fighting. Moreover. the
contest is not merely a display of skill.
nut IL uQeI TO N6dttt- foOoi6f OI later one
of the combatants gains a monetary adj
vantage and seizes its opponent This
puts an end to the battle: for the vic
tor never releases his grip. but begins at
once to make a meal of his opponent.
Nor are these affairs confined to the
members OF one sex. The female rear
horse often. if not usually, tires of her
accepted sutton; and when this happens
she rushes upon him with menace. The
male attempts TO defend himself, but as
he is smaller and less robust than his
spouse he is generally defeated. Suisse
quently. the female calmly devours her
quondam mate. Beyond these conflicts
for prey the mantids are harmless.
Among the purely defensive appliances
of insects. none is more interesting than
that possessed by the so-called bonn
barber beetles Of the genus Brachinus.
These insects are carnivorous. and de-
stroy small Arthropeds of various kinds;
But they are themselves preyed upon by
larger beetles OF their own family
When one Of the hereditary enemies
gives chase. the hombardier runs rapidly
away. If speed were its only chance Of
escape, however. it would stand but a
it with a remarkable defensive equip
ment II is able to eject an acid fluid
from glands situated at the tip of it's
abdomen This fluid vaporizes imme-
datey on contact with the air. and
looks like tiny puff of smoke, while at
the same time a distinct report is heard
reminding one of miniature cannon.
The beetle is able to repeat this dis
charge several times in rapid succession
before its store of ammunition becomes
exhausted. I'm this way the little artil-
lery-m is able TO discomfort it's would
be captor, and very often contrlves TO
rush into a Granny, or under Il stone,
where the enemy cannot follow. The
acid discharge Of certain large South
American bnmbafdiers is extremely caus-
tic 1t burns and stains the human skin.
leaving marks which remain for a con-
siderable time
The most formidable weapon possessed
by insects is the poison sting. 1t is on
~ found among the higher Hymenop-
terra Chat is insects of the bee and
wasp kind, and is confined to the fe-
male sex, being in act, a modification
| of the ovipositor or egg-laying appara-
| tus. The sting is not a hollow perforat-
ed needle-like the fang of snake, but
a complex organ made up of several
| parts working in conjunction. There is
| a grooved and pointed shaft, along which
! slide two darts, more or less barbed.
| The shaft is first used to open a wound.
! Then the darts are plunged alternately
! into the tissues, while an acid secre-
| ton flows down from the poison-sac.
| ike bees and wasps some species of
ants are equipped with stings, but offers
| lack these weapons. The poison-sac
serves merely as a reservoir whence
| formic acid is squirted from an orifce
at the tip of the abdomen. These sting
less ants therefore, first bite their enc
my with their Jaws, and then spray
| poison into the wound-a somewhat cum
bersome method involving two separate
and distinct operations, But ants are
very agile, while the extraordinary lex-