THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



331 



fortnight enough of these worms to fill completely a railway 

 train of thirty-two carriages. 



In the United States, the insect pests whose ravages have 

 of late years been most heavily felt are perhaps the potato 

 bug and the army worm. 



Some insects, even those of the smallest size, devastate 



153. Common May-Bug: Melolontha vulgaris, Male, Female, Larva, and Nymph. A most 



terrible destroyer of plantations. 



and devour our crops of all kinds ; wherever they appear no 

 human power can stay their ravages. According to M. 

 Guerin-Meneville, they annually consume a large portion of 

 the harvests of France, sometimes as much as a fourth, 

 which means that they cause destruction to the value of 

 500 millions of francs (20,000,0CQ). 



The frightful rapidity with which some insects multiply, 



