I3S 



THE MUSEUM. 



scientific research this summer in the 

 waters off the coast of Southeastern 

 Alaska, returning in September. Ac- 

 companying Major A. B. Alevander, 

 the fishery e.xpert, this year, are H. 

 C. Fassett and E. M. Chamberlain. 

 The last is a young studant just from 

 Washington City. Previous to com- 

 ing to the sound these three members 

 of the scientific corps have been pros- 

 ecuting their work along the Pacific 

 coast between San Diego and Cape 

 Flattery. 



Useful Insects. 



Nearly all the lace-wings, which in- 

 clude the ant-lions, aphia-lions, drag- 

 on-flies, etc., are a benefit, living 

 wholly on other insects, and so help 

 preserve our crops. Most of the locust 

 order are destructive, yet even here 

 we find the curious preying mantis, 

 common at the South, with its jaw- 

 like anterior legs, one of the first of 

 predaceous insects. True, it attacks 

 bees also, though it certainly does 

 much more good than harm. Several 

 bugs, like the great wheel bug and the 

 soldier bug, feed e.xclusively on other 

 insects. 



Of the beetles the beautifully spot- 

 ted lady-bird beetle, the black, long- 

 legged ground beetles, the quick, fierce 

 tiger beetles and a few others are val- 

 uable aids in holding our insect pests 

 in check. One may repeatedly see 

 the grubs of the ground beetles eating 

 cut worms. The good work of the 

 pretty lady-bird beetles in destroying 

 the pestiferous plant lice can hardly 

 be too much appreciated. Of the 

 two-winged flies we have the tachina 

 flies, which are internal parasites on 

 other insects; they resemble in form 

 and color the house flies to which 

 they are closely related. These also 

 prey upon cut worms, laying their eggs 

 on the caterpillars, and as these eggs 

 hatch, the maggots eat into their host 

 and destroy its life. 



Two other families of two-winged 

 flies do much good in eating other in- 



sects. The robber flies are so fierce 

 and strong they destroy even the 

 honey bee, while the conical maggot 

 of the pretty yellow-banded syrphus 

 flies feed upon the plant lice to an ex- 

 tent surpassed by few other insects; 

 they are nearly or quite equal to the 

 lady-bird beetles as aphis destroyers. 

 Among the highest order of insects 

 the one that includes the bees and 

 wasps — we have the ichnuemon flies 

 and the chalcids — wasp-like insects 

 that are parasites and do incompar- 

 able good. They are of all sizes and 

 prey upon almost all kinds of insects. 

 They are far more helpful to the farm- 

 er than the tachina flies. They saved 

 the wheat crop m Ohio, Michigan and 

 Indiana in 1889. The wasps also be- 

 long to this order and do much good; 

 indeed, we think we may say that the 

 wasps are only our friends. They are 

 dreaded needlessly, for unmolested, 

 they rarely, if ever sting. We have 

 seen wasps carry off slugs and tent 

 caterpillars in great numbers. Every 

 farmer should become acquainted with 

 these friends and learn their habits 

 that he may help — not hinder — their 

 good work. 



The Gold-fish in America. 



The gold-fish or golden-carp (Cj- 

 priiius auratus) belong to the same 

 family as the carp, which like them 

 are fresh water fish. Some people 

 claim they were introduced into Amer- 

 ica in the summer of 1697. This 

 seems quite improbable, because au- 

 thorities state they were not introduc- 

 ed into Europe until the last of the 

 seventeenth or the beginning of the 

 eighteenth century. Previous to this 

 time they were only found in China, 

 where they are also said to have been 

 originally confined to a small lake 

 near the mountain Tsien-king in the 

 province of The-King. But at the 

 present day they have been introduc- 

 ed into nearly all the countries of the 

 world where it breeds in fresh water 

 brooks and ponds. 



