Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-03-15
THE FIGHTING DOODLE
BY Frederic j. HaSkin
r r YATTSVILLE, Md, March 9-Interest
II in a little known American sport-the


recently by a Maryland doodle bug fancier,
William H. Anglin. Mr., Anglin plans to raise
and train some of these bugs and stage duels
in the near future.
At his home here, Mr.. Anglin explained to
us his idea of making doodle bug fighting
a national sport.
1--WE are on the way toward a great re-
form of amusements," he explained. Cock
fighting was long ago prohibited. Fighting
between human beings will undoubtedly soon
fall under the ban of things too elemental for
sophisticated a people as we have become.
But in the doodle bug, also known as the
MINIMUM bug, the ant lion and the myrme-
leon, we have an ideal means of sport that
is interesting and yet perhaps not sufficiently
spectacular to attract the reform machinery.
IA doodle bug prize fighter is easily cared
for. All the bug wants is some dry sand to
live in He can go without eating for as long
as six months at time, though he prefers
to eat oftener. He requires little training.
He does most of his fighting by instinct and
he always fights to kill"
How about the Society for the Prevention
Of Cruelty to Animas?" we inquired.
well, you see, explained Mr.. Anglin "the
doodle fights anyway. It's his one social
occupation. Any time he meets another doo-
die anywhere one of those bugs is doomed.
But they enjoy fighting. It's the only ex
element they get, aside from sitting in
sand hole waiting for an ant to fall in for
dinner.
"Besides," he clinched the argument with
telling effect, eff doodle bug combats supplant
the human prize ring, think of the effect on
human beauty. Think of country without
broken noses and cauliflower ears! People
must have amusement and the doodle bug
duel is logical, restful, 100 per cent Ameri
can sport"
The enthusiasm of the Maryland sports
man inspired in us an intense interest in this
remarkable American bug. Consequently we
have spent an entire afternoon in Maryland
studynG specimens of the doodle an en-
cyclopedia according to the be scientific
methods. The conclusions we lay forth here
for your information on this important sub
ject.
The doodle bug lives in the southern states
in dry, sandy places The winged insect which
the doodle becomes Gust like the caterpil-
lar and the butterfly lays her eggs in the
sand.
AS soon as he matches out into a bug the
young doodle starts instinctively on his life
work. Walking backward, all his ances-
tors did, he makes a circle in the sand. Still
walking backward-and we have never seen
doodle walk otherwise-he begins to paw
up little scoops of sand onto his flat head
and throw them outside the circle with
Jerk
The energetic young thing continues to go
round and round in smaller and deeper cir
cles until he has made cone-shaped pit. In
only allowing his two mandibles to stick out
of the sand. These mandibles are sharp,
sichle-shaped jaws. When an ant or some
other wingless insect wanders on the edge
of the crater, the sand begins to slip and the
victim also slides down to the jaws which
squeeze it dry and toss the remains outside.
The doodle bug, as you can see, is cann1-
bal by nature. He, of all creatures, is
being who sits by himself. Any bug, even
doodle who comes within his range either
l. 1vs1J j II ,c1o
his sister or third cousin just as readily
as he would make way with an utter stranger.
His method of fighting has never been
Systematically studied by a competent expert
in bugs and fighters. From our short OBJ
servation the tactics are as follows: The
two doodle bugs clinch and then continue to
clinch until one or the other gets tired and
curls up, after which there is funeral. The
whole basic idea of the doodle bug fighting
system is to seize the enemy in a vital spot,
on the hip, or the heel, or wherever it may
be in the doodle bug anatomy.
The excitement consists in seeing them go
at each other backwards, then in watching
their antics and the expressions on their faces
during the duel. How much enjoyment one
can gain from watching the expressions of
the fighting doodles depends partly-we
would not say Iargely-on ones imagination
and a good magnifying glass. With these &C
cessores it is easily possible to follow COM
bat with the same emotions, slightly diluted,
that one would feel at Madison Square Car
den ring battle.
On first seeing each other the two bugs
ordinarily express surprise. But soon the
wonder at locating another of their kind
changes to anger, possibly, we believe, merely
assumed for purposes of strategy. Anyway
they register anger and glare at each other
from a distance of few inches apart. Then
they come on, headed backwards, as usual,
steering by their eyes, which are conveniently
placed to facilitate rear advance. After the
collision, the contest is, like any other bat
tie merely a question of endurance and
strength, with a few points for technique.
One strange discovery which we have been
able to make by close attendance at doodle
bug duels is the language of the fight. We
have explained that only when he is fighting
or eating does the doodle bug come into con-
tact with other creatures. Naturally, then,
his language is apt to be crude, little more
perhaps than system of grunts, groans and
chuckles. But sure, from our observa-
ton that his speech is organized to this ex
tent at least.
When we understand the language more
fully, we may be able to translate the re-
marks the doodle makes His conversation
is not ineligible to the human ear unass1sr-
ed but with powerful machine which inten-
sites sound, we have been able to catch an
occasional tone which convinces US that the
doodle bug carries on running fire CONVEX
sation while fighting, in order to annoy the
other fellow.
We are not at present prepared to state
what the doodle bug talks with, as he has no
mouth, only a throat 1t is quite possible
:herefore-we would even go so far as to con-
2ede that it is prObable-that this insect OF
the family myrmeleonidae talks with some
part of his body other than the mouth
IN