Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-07-24
FACTS ABOUT BUlG S
Expert Says cockroach Can Live
for Five Years.
David Fairchiid Writes About the
Rip Van Wrinkles, the Jsl<yiis and
hydss, and the Asronauts Of
the Insect World.

Washington. Tho Rip Van Wrinkles.
The Jekylls and Hydes. the aristocrats,
the philosophers and the "hoboes" OF
the insect world are described In .
Communication to the National Geo
graphic society. by David Fairchild,
the plant explorer. who has secured
the world for plants OF economic value
and introduced them into the United
States.
In describing the peculiar habits and
remarkable achievements OF insects,
he says the champion aeronaut is the
king grasshopper, which has the abtl-
ity to jump 100 times its length. It
can also sail for 1000 miles before
the wind. These grasshoppers some
times 60 in such numbers that they
make q cloud 1000 square miles IN
extent.
Its great front lip hides a pair
OF Jaws a. effective as q haychopper.
and 1t has an appetite as voracious 40
that OF . hippopotamus." writes MI.
Fairchild. "A young chick finds itself
shut inside the egg-shell and must
work its way out alone. but the young
grasshoppers find themselves-the
whole nestful-shut In . hardened
case in the ground made BY their
mother, and it takes q half dozen OF
them working together to dislodse the
lip which shuts them In.
"The carrying power OF the song
OF the cricket Is extraordinary; there
are. species whose strident notes can
b heard for q mile, although their lit
Tie bodies are scarcely more than an
inch in length. The males alone are
musical, and it Is reasonable to sup
pose, since the females have ears In
their forelegs, that the males are sing
ing to their mates and not to man
kind. AS one listens to their friend
" song 1t 10 hard to appreciate what
lighters they are among themselves,
the larger ones even turning canni-
halls when food IL scarce.
.Of Ill creatures Of our / ,uses, the
'eoekroach IL the most detested.
Housewives may be surprised to learn
that Q cockroach can live ave years,
and that it takes year to develop
10 maturity. The female lays her eggs
IN horny capsule like . spectacle
case, which she carries about with
'hsr until she IL ready to deposit it in
q suitable place. Later she returns
10 help her baby cockroaches out Of
their shells"
The insects known a. moth-slayers,
which have been brought here from
other lands to aid In the work Of ex-
termination, are said to be slaughter
ing the moths by Wholesale and thriv-
lng at their sanguinary task
One Of the most noteworthy Of the
alien insects, and one which has been
most active In the slaughter, is a
green beetle. a veritable tiger in the
moth world!
Here is terrible creature indeed,
. creature Of intrepid ferocity and
magnificent voracity. Beside him the
hog is q beast Of most delicate appe-
lite. The green beetle would devour
ten times his weight In gypsy moth
caterpillars In q single day, and be
ready to duplicate this performance
on the morrow.
His nominal two seasons Of active
life are a wild orgy Of staying and
feasting. His span of mortality In
eludes q mere fortnight Of larval life
and two brief summers of adult exist
ence, representing less than five
months of activity altogether; but
during this time he will normally de-
your nearly $50 gipsy moth caterpil-
lars or pupae - big - himself.
A single pair have been observed
70 eat 1000 caterpillars within eight
weeks. gluttony almost beyond be-
lief. 49,. .~ 2ts-ss
An interesting circular on Flame
Standards In Photometry" has Just
..&1 been published by
Flame Standards the bureau Of
IN Photometry. stan s .. depart
Although an agreement has been
reached regarding the relative values
Of the units Of light in use IN differ
ent countries. no one primary photo
metric standard has been generally
adopted by the various governments.
In Germany preference II given to
the Hefner lamp. in England to the
pentane lamp, and In France to the
Carcel lamp. Each Of these serves in
III own country both as the primary