Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-17
INSECTS ARE FOES
TO HUMAN FAMILY.
Destroy Thousands Of Lives
and Many Millions Of
= e.
Property.
MUCH-SUNG ANT
ExACTS A HEAVY TOLL
Reaches and Bedbugs Are Among
the Most Industrious Porters
of Disease.

Flies do not have a monopoly OF the
business of spreading disease, according
to DR.. Nelson Du Val Brecht, late as
sistart surgeon Of the United tSates pub
lie health service. who, in the fifth of
subjects, published below. describes some
Of the harmful activities of other MEM
bers Of the insect world.
The house roach, he AYERS, is an IN
sect porter Of typhoid fever, bubonic
plague, and possibly, cancer. Other
household insects are declared To be
conveyers of contagious disease, and II
is suggested that compulsory fumisa-
ton of every dwelling once year
should form a part of the code Of SAM
tary laws OF every municipality.
The article by DR.. Brecht. who, also,
formerly was an anatomlst In the Ch!teu
States Army Medical Museum, points
out the value to the nation OF the STUDY
of entomology and gives VIVID descrip
ton OF many of the insects which scien-
fists have agreed are a menace to man.
DIR. Brecht's article follows:
Science Of Entomology.
Entomology Greek. entomon and
logos, science) is that part OF Zoology
which treats of insects. The term IN
sect" comes from the Latin insectum,
and signifies "cut into" 1t expresses
one of the prime characteristics OF THIS
class Of animals. namely that OF seq
mentation. The body OF an insect 10
divided into thirteen joints and a SUD-
joint, including the head as q JOINT,
and in the adult having six true, JOINT
ed legs, and usually, though not always,
wings. The life Of an insect Is marked
by four distinct stages, VIZ. the egg,
the larva, the pupa and the image An
insect In the final stage has SIX true
legs. Yet, even here many species de-
part from the rule, as there are many
in which the perfect insect, especially
in the female sex Is apodous or WITH
out legs, just as there are other cases
where they are without wings Some
times the legs seem to be reduced In
number by the partial or total atrophy
OF one or the other pair. but in all
these exceptional cases there is no
difficulty in realizing that we have
to deal with true insect. because or
the other characters pertaining to the
class.
Insects are further characterized by
having usually three distinct divisions
OF the body. viz, head, thorax and alb
domen. and by undergoing certain
metarnorphoses or transformations.
Now. while 4 number OF other animals
outside Of the insect world go through
Similar lFduSIOIm4tlOu6s' thOSC III tHC
crustacese. being equally remarkable,
yet, from the ease with which ney are
observed and the completeness Of the
transformations in most insects, the
metamorphoses OF this class have.
from time immemorial. excited the
greatest curiosity. According to DR.. c.
v. Riley there are 100000 species or
varieties OF insects on the globe.
moderately estimated.
Classification Of Insects.
Insects are classified into sixteen orders
as follows: /. T--o-winged flies. ..
Springtails. 3. Stone flies. 4. Earwigs. 5.
Bugs 8. Butterflies and moths. Z. Bees
and wasps. 8. Caddis flies. O. Termites
10, Dragon flies II. May flies. Z, Scor-
pion flies. 10, Locusts and grasshoppers
Il, Fringe wings. Is. Lace wings. 16
Beetles.
Ticks. spiders and other vermi1 may