Evening star., 1926-09-19

| little bugs lS bocO cOmlnE an lnCfeas-
ngly important branch of research in
| countries that are at al dependent
on their agricultural resources.
! Whole laboratori"5 are being turned
I nto bug nurseries where rows and
rows of we'll ventilated trays house
hundreds Of varieties of insects that
have been known to prey on other
species that are harmful. Under the
care of Government experts they are
brought up by hand. experimentally
freed in big outdoor cages, and If they
work out successfully in such sur
roundings are taken out into the big
world to do their worst, on such
havoc wreaking aliens on our shores
as the Japanese beetle and the Euro
pean corn borer, to mention only q
couple.
Man has probably been contriving
new devices to rid himself of insect
pests ever since the plague of locusts
descended on the Egyptians and the
Children Of Israel.
Insects that spread disease. destroy
crops and fruit and shade trees. cause
serious discomfort and those that
merely annoy have combined to make
life complicated, comfortah BILE. pain
fu, and costly for untold centuries
Poisonous solutions, oily mixtures
gases and arsenic dust sprinkled from
airplanes are only q few of the de-
vices to which man has had to resort
70 protect himself against this for
midahle army With their enormous
reproductive powers the whole sting
ing. huzznc, crawling horde would
crowd lis off the face Of tho. globe ii
Above to ni4lltiplv unchecked.
Natural Euam;aS Are CbecI,
Such q catastrophe is in G ,lansure
held under control by circunsta noes
Of clinat" and natural enemies ana
that abstract condition known 70
scientists and statesmen a'tke as the
balance of power coca sion&llT. how
ever. something goes wrong; & favor
able Summer will cause a hitherto in.
nocent bug to increase IN p,odigious
numbers. swar,ninc over huge soc
tionS of the map. spreading havoc as
il goes: or anotho" hT~ with an i'm
peccah h'e record at home will slip past
the quara Htine autho'i:'o o' 2 'liffor-
eht country and procure inC"eGihle
quantities Of offspring that run riot
over their adopted land. laav;ng panic
in their wake
When such a wholesale outbreak of
imported bugs occurs, like the Invasion
Of New Fns ind by the hrown-ta!l and
gypsy moth. Government expArts he
gin TO do a little quiet detective work
on the past history of the fea s. to get
an dea Of what sort Of curb will
prove efficaclous.
The most classic example of an
insect crop savior Is the Australian
ladyhirG beetle that sa'Va-ed the
ora rge and lemon groves Of California
from the whtte-f'uted e;"ale shout IS
years ago. The little ladvhirA worked
so we'll fevouring a nd laying her eggs
in The pestilential scale insect that
threatened the whole citrus growing
industry Of thu Coast. that for a long
time since tho good citizens of the
Gcltlen state have thought that all
;hav needed to do when a new pest ap-
neared or the sunshinE horizon was
to cal in IN entomolcgiSt 20 locate
ard import another in%ec, - XIII 1t
Of. Unfortunately. the problem Is
not always go. simple.
Imported insect allies hav" twice
saved the Sugar-rane fields of Hawaii.
L., 1905 parasites of a leafh 1pre". an
o-her native Of Australia, causing an-
nra! losses of millions - dollars we're
sr,l .erted and shipped Back 10 Hawaii.
Er 1907 they had made great gains
on their prey and hy tal5 the LEAF
negligible quantities.
Fly Preys on Wsevii.
parasitic hy from F: i'ish New
Guinea was turned loose On another
menace to Hawaiian sugar. This time
il was lSeevil that tnnneled its long
sweet way up the canes causing them
to fail over and die. invn'ring hu-e
f,nanctai loss tn" fly did its work
we'll. the weevil disappeared and the
sugar cane again stands sii-a SHIT and
tail on Hawaiian plantat 2hs
After 90 wears of experimenting our
ing which over 60 pa sites from Flu
rope and Japan were carefully collect.
ed tranSported across the ocean ana
rear red in experimental iahora tcries III
this country. fy has been found,
which Is. setrlnE oHt fo Sreh death 10
the g,.psy moth and brow 3@ii moth
For wears these foreign invaders hay"
destroyed the foliage Of th" famous
elm and shade trees cf New EnSiSnt
where State and Federal experts along
with the whole population have united
10 check their spread
This Az. which is Of the sort known
to scientists as tachinids. works so
we'll that, not content with attacking
it's natural prey. 1t has extended It's
efforts to % additional species OF IN.
sects. The tachinid has to all ap-
nearances settled down to look upon
New England as its home. according
TO the entomologists of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture, and hehaVes as
IL IL had always lived there.
1t has within the last year given
additional proof Of its usefulness to
it's adopted country. The European
satin moth recently appeared in New
England, and like many insects when