The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-06-22
EXHIBIT OF BENEFICIAL INSECTS MADE BY THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL
 HISTORY IS MOST INTERESTING

The importance of insects in the animal world is too generally over looked. The American Museum of Natural History, by means of inter esting specimens and groups in its Hall of Insect Life, is endeavoring to familiarize the public with some of the more striking aspects of insect life and activities, especially as they affect man. Such knowledge is cer- tainly desirable in view of the fact that of the million and. more species in the animal world, the largest place is held by the insects. Perhaps their significance may be better realized from the fact that the annual loss by insects in the United. States is $800,- 000,000, as compared with an annual fire loss of $143, 500, 900 and that they are directly responsible for 229o of the wheat loss, 209o of the fruit loss and | 1O@o of the animal products loss. As over against 1000 deaths per year due to railroad accident, there are 97,200 deaths each year in this coun- try due to malaria and intestinal dis ease, spread by insect carriers. And
 while in the whole Spanish war only 300 men were killed by Spanish bull lets, 5000 died of fly-borne diseases.
 Yet, in the face of these startling facts, and contrary to popular belief, the great majority of insects are eith- CT harmless or beneficial to men. For the damage by insects is done by less than 19o of the species and large
 number of the remainder spend their lives keeping those in check. Great work in eliminating waste by insects
 has been done and is being done by the State experiment stations, and on
 a larger scale by the National De- partment of Entomology at Washing ton. But while the importance of this
 work and the need for it cannot be
 over estimated, the fact remains that
 we are strong if we take the attitude
 that insects are an unmixed curse.
 Although we are able to determine
 fairly accurately the damage done by insects, it is impossible to calculate the benefits they confer. It is true that certain species destroy $29, ,400,- 900 worth owes it's existence largely to the pollinating of the blossoms by insects. Practically no fruits could
 be formed without the aid of insects and in the production of a harvest insects, especially bees, of course
 dwarf into insignifcance all modern | implements of husbandry. It would
 be impossible to get a single crop of red clover without the aid of insects, and the present scarcity of humble
 bees, who usually perform this ser
 vice, is making itself felt in the small CT crops and lower vitality of the
 clover seed. Their importance in this
 connection was realized in Australia
 and the Philippine Islands, which inn ported humble bees for the sake of
 their clover crops. Figs could not be successfully grown in this country un-
 til fig ollinating insect was import ed from the Mediterranean countries.
 A great majority of the beautiful
 flowers depend on insects for the de- velopment of their seed, only the in conspicuous ones being typically wind-pollinated.
 But perhaps the most valuable ben eficial insects are those which func-
 ton in repressing the harmful insects
 by preying on them. The services of the dragon fly in this capacity are of the greatest interest and importance. This insect has long been the object
 of fear and dislike by human beings,
 owing no doubt to it's fierce appear ance and rapid, darting motions. Children have been terrified by the
 superstition that the dragon fly, or
 devils alarming needle" would pierce , their ears, or sew them shut, Yet the i dro ic nT11I h tO man, but is one of his best friends in
 that he is the deadly enemy of the
 mosquito-that pest that is one of the most numerous, widely distributed , and persistent of the creatures that
 menace the health and comfort of
 man. So much is the dragon fly the
 mosquitoes enemy that he is called the :, , "mosquito- o-hawk"-and anyone who has watched the swift movements and
 cruel aspect of the dragon fly as he
 darts at his prey will agree that the name is well given. As both the mos ; quito and dragon fly are semi-aquatic the warfare between the two begins
 early, the young of the dragon fly
 feeding on the young mosquito, just as the adult dragon fly preys on the full-grown mosquito. As serious blood ? maladies are known to be transmitted
 by the mosquito, the dragon fly's ser. vice to man is no small one. At one s time, in fact, it was undertaken tc breed flies artifcially with the pur. " pose of exterminating the mosquito
 but the plan was found impracticable
 and was abandoned
 Another beneficial insect is the
 variety Of Australian beetle whicT < was used with brilliant success to savt . the orange orchards of the nation The so-called Australian lady beetle ', was pitted against the destructive o scale insect which threatened ruin tt ,, the orange industry. The beetle ex !, terminated the scale. Parasitic wasp 4 attack caterpillars and sting them tC II death, laying eggs in the dead bodie
 of their victims, so that their young
 when matched, may find abundan f and convenient nourishment. Tn, wheat midge, so destructive to tn, 7 grain, is preyed on by several insects ,a Ravenous two-winged flies seize ant
 carry it away to suck out it's juices
 But most powerful of it's insect foe
 are it's parasites-small, black, four
 winged flies somewhat resemblin; u ants. Their young subsist on tn
 larvae and eggs of the midge, and liv
 therein. As the midge increases il
 numbers, it's enemy increases in pro
 portion, for the numbers of the para St site depend on the amount of avail " able nourishment. Eventually tn " parasite overwhelms the midge. Thi ie fod hu ha fo 0f a