The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-07-14
RAYMOND W. PULLMAN,
Times Washington Bureau. Metropolis.
tan Bank Building.

! Times Washington Bureau, Metropolis
tan Bank Building
WASHINGTON. JULY -li-"Mos'
| quitoes. beware or the praying
mautis' will get
Praying Mantis you" Whether the
as Mosquito Foe. members of this
large family oil
summer insect pests have system
OF communication Is not known, but
IL is quite sure that IL they have a
note OF warning something like the
above message has gone out advising
one another of the presence In this
country OF the praying mantis a
big Chinese bug which was imported
TO this country by accident, and
which thrives upon mosquitoes as an
article OF diet The mantis came -
the United States as stowaway
while hidden on some Chinese plants
imported for a Pennsylvania nursery.
Government entomologists In the
Department of Agriculture. those eX-
perts who study the life and habits
of insects. are watching with interc 81
the progress of an anti-mosquito cam
paign which has been started in Phil
adelphia. in which the praying man.
it's plays the leading part of chief
eNterminator City Entomologist
Hornig of the Pennsylvania metro
polls believes that the mantis, which
is member of the grasshopper FAM
lily, but which grows TO length or
three 10 six inches, can be made to
do woman service in Kidding his city,
and in time many other infected sec
tons OF mosquitoes. The praying
mantis" is so called because its long
front legs are folded under as though
IL were in an attitude OF prayer. The
Chinese hugs cannot be depended up
on TO kill off all OF the mosquitoes,
but il is intended 10 use the insect
immigrant as an auxiliary force along
with work 10 eliminate all pools OF
stagnant water where the pests breed.
Dr. l.. O. Howard chief of the bu-
reau OF entomology Of the Department
, Of Agriculture says that there Is one
serious drawback to the effective use
of the mantis in an anti-mosquitc
! campaign. and that is the huge Chin
csc bug Is as fond of other insects
! as 1t is OF the mosquito, and that
/ there is danger that its appetite viii
/ be more often satisfied with other in
sects than with the mosquitoes on
whose trail II is supposed to camp
! Besides. the hantis is cannibalistic
and when yoNng the bugs eat one
another A single nest matches out
/ about 300 young. however. and ii Is
expected that apough OF them will
/ grow mp 70 form a more or less ef
! fcient fighting fokce of the anti-mos
/ quito campaign
Or. Howard tellA of other natural
enemies of the mosquito which have
been introduced TO free communities
of the pest Among these are sala
manders. predaceous mosquitoes and
fish These foes have been used 20
destroy the mosquito larvae. the in
sect in its early stage Fish used
for this purpose have been quite sue
cessful in many places. but the breed
Of predatory mosquitoes introduced
10 kill off their fellows we're found
10 he voracious biters and dangerous
carriers OF disease germs making il
necessary 10 abandon their use.
Objections are frequently made to
the issuance by the government OF
statistics which on
Tardy Issue their face are
OF Statistics. many years out OF
date An instance
Of this kind is in the recent pubica
tion OF the report Of the automobile
industry for 1909. Today these four