210 THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF ANIMALS 



tufted red head. The eggs are laid on the bark of shade trees in 

 what looks like masses of foam. (See figure on page 215.) By 

 collecting and burning the egg masses in the fall, we may save 

 many shade trees the following year. 



The larvae of some moths damage the trees by boring into the 

 wood of the tree on which they live. Such are the peach, apple, 

 and other fruit-tree borers common in our orchards. Many beetle 

 larvae also live in trees and kill annually thousands of forest and 

 shade trees. The hickory borer threatens to kill all the hickory, 

 trees in the Eastern states. 



Among the bugs most destructive to trees are the scale insect 

 and the plant lice. The San Jose scale, a native of China, was 

 introduced into the fruit groves of California about 1870 and has 

 spread all over the country. A ladybird beetle, which has also been 

 imported, is the most effective agent in keeping this pest in check. 



Insects of the House or Storehouse.- -Weevils are the greatest 

 pests, frequently ruining tons of stored corn, wheat, and other 

 cereals. Roaches will eat almost anything, even clothing; they 

 are especially fond of all kinds of breadstuff s. The carpet beetle 

 is a recognized foe of the housekeeper, the larvae feeding upon all 

 sorts of woolen material. The larvae of the clothes moth do an 

 immense amount of damage, especially to stored clothing. Fleas, 

 lice, and particularly bedbugs are among man's personal foes. 

 Besides being unpleasant they are believed to be disease carriers 

 and as such should be exterminated. 1 



Food of Starfish. - - Starfish are enormously destructive to young clams 

 and oysters, as the following evidence, collected by Professor A. D. Mead, 

 of Brown University, shows. A single starfish was confined in an aqua- 

 rium with fifty-six young clams. The largest clam was about the length 

 of one arm of the starfish, the smallest about ten millimeters in length. 

 In six days every clam in the aquarium was devoured. Hundreds of 

 thousands of dollars' damage is done annually to the oysters in Connecti- 

 cut alone by the ravages of starfish. During the breeding season of the 

 clam and oyster the boats dredge up tons of starfish which are thrown on 

 shore to die or to be used as fertilizer. 



1 Directions for the treatment of these pests may be found in pamphlets issued 

 bv the U- S. Department of Agriculture, 



