80 



is not available, uncooked oatmeal is suitable. The 

 food should be placed in a small pan or saucer. The 

 production of 100 crickets will require about 2 pounds 

 of mash. A quart fruit-Jar drinking fountain of the 

 type used for baby chicks is used to provide water. 

 Cotton should be placed in the pan to keep the young 

 crickets from drowning. 



A garbage can should be stocked with 30 adult 

 crickets, half m.ales and half females. A female can 

 be distinguished by the long egg-laying tube at the 

 rear end of the abdomen. The can should be kept at a 

 temperature of 80° to 90° F. because crickets grow 

 faster at that temperature. A light bulb suspended 

 into the can will help maintain the temperature during 

 the cold weather. A can 24 inches in diameter can 

 produce 400 crickets in 3 months. Crickets will not 

 lay eggs until they have become adults. The adults 

 can be recognized by the presence of wings; the young 

 are wingless. 



All dead crickets should be removed from the can, 

 as they may be diseased or parasitized. The floor 

 around the can should be dusted with insect powder to 

 keep out ants, which kill crickets. Care must betaken 

 to keep the dust from getting into the can. If the 

 crickets are kept in an open building, the can must be 

 screened to keep out parasites and spiders. 



After one or two crops of crickets have been raised 

 in a can, it should be thoroughly cleaned for a new 

 start. This extra work will result in larger crops. 



LEECHES AND INSECT LARVAE 



Leeches 



Leeches are predatory or parasitic annelid worms 

 with terminal suckers serving for attachment and loco- 

 motion. They abound in ditches, pools, ponds, and 

 lakes; and a few species occur in swift, cold streams. 

 In small lakes of our northern borders, leeches fairly 

 swarm. Some leeches are predatory hunters, and others 

 are scavengers, but many change from one mode of feed- 

 ing to another. 



Leeches can becollected in traps baited with fresh 

 coagulated blood. They may be taken by searching 

 locations or by stirring the mud with one's bare feet 

 and removing them from the skin as they become attached. 



