The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-12-13
BEETLES

The way to tell a beetle from
| other insects is to look at the wings;
J If the front pair is horny and folds
| back over a membranous pair, the in
| sect is a beetle. Only the mem bran
Gus pair are used as wings IN flight;
the horny pair serves to steer and
balance the body.
There are about 100000 species of
beetles, including some of the most
destructive and a few of the most
beneficial insects known to man. The
Colorado beetle potato bug), the
June bug and the boil weevil do more
than 100000 900 damage to cotton,
potatoes and other growing crops In
this country every spring.
Sacred beetles and ladybird beetles
are beneficial. Sacred beetles are
| what the ancient Egyptians called
scarabs and what we call tumble
bugs or dung beetles. They are barn
these beetles rolling balls from the
barnyard to their holes. Usually the
ball is pushed by single beetle, in
which case it walks backward on it's
forelegs and pushes the ball along
with it's hindlegs.
A peculiar sense of direction guides
it, for its head being on the ground
behind the ball 1t cannot see where
it is going. Encountering obstruc-
lions, it pushes patiently to the right
and left, trying different experiments
until the ball goes over. When try
ing to surmount small hill, the
tumble bugs patience is seen at its
best. Time and again, the ball al
most reaches the top, then rolls back
to the bottom. In the end 1T sue
ceeds, not only by engineering
ability, but by straightaway pushing.
When two tumble bugs are seen
rolling the same ball, it used to be
hot hA
The contrary. however, has been
definitely established. The helping
beetle, which always walks on its
hindlegs ahead of the ball and pulls
with it's foerfeet, is a brigand. Among
beetles. brigandage seems to be re-
| garded as legitimate. Whenever an
| empty-handed tumble bug sees an
other rolling ball, 1t unceremoni-
ously takes up a position in front of
the ball, and while the owner, push
ing head downward, cannot see what
it is going on, attempts to guide the
discovers that something is wrong
and investigates. Discovering the
brigand, it shows fight, but the
| brigand Immediately mounts upon
! the ball and, as the owner advances,
bowls him over. Sometimes the own
er gets the better of the brigand, and
, sometimes, instead of driving the
| advantage of its help. Usually,
fight to the finish "a clumsy clashins
| of armor), occurs when the ball Is
brought to standstill at the hole.
Tumble bugs possess a little COM
mon sense. which can be proved by
pinning down the ball with the tooth
pick. After pushing for time and
finding that the ball does not bulge,
the insect explores around the ball
and finally discovers the peg. Then,
slipping under the ball, 1t raises 1t
over the peg, provided the peg is not
too long. and proceeds on It's journey.
Contrary to popular opinion, the
ball contains no egg. have opened
dozens and have never found an egg.
The ball Is simply the beetles own
! food. Another ball (pear- shaped in
stead of round) Is later on built
] around tho egg but the building of
this ball takes place in the tumble
! food material Is used. so that as soon
as the egg matches the larva may
| feed.
Still more interesting than the
tumble bug Is a ladybird popularity
called the ladybug. This beetle was
Intentionally imported Into the
United States by the government to
counteract tire ravages of the scale
pest, which was destroying tho citrus
fruit orchards OF California. The
scale Insects were accldently brought
into California from Australia. and n
few years later the orange crop
dropped from 5000 TO 5000 carloads.
The orange growers were In dismay
The agricultural department sent
Mr., Koeble. an expert ornithologist,
to Australia to learn what kind of In
sects preyed upon the ravaging scale
Insects, He found ladybirds living
upon the scale insects and brought
over several thousands and liberated
them In tho orange groves. Since
that time the scale pest has been
practically extermlnated. without
the iadybird beetles II would be USE
less to attempt TO raise oranges. or
any other kind Of citrus fruit in
California.
The potato bug Ia native 70 Colo
RADIO, Originally 1t fed on wild po-
tatoes. but when the domestic vari-
eties were planted, IL left the poorer
for the better plant and has since
spread over all potato regions In
North America,
The beetles belonging to the great
Coieeptsra family of insects eensti-
tuts the largest group of species in
the entire animal kingdom,