368 OLR NATIVE lURDS. 



dwarfed into coniparatixe nothingness ])\ the colossal eating 

 powers of some of the carnivcn^oiis larv:e. One of them, for 

 instance, will devonr 200 times its original weight in 24 hours. 



If a cateri)illar eats an ounce of vegetation a day. one can 

 well imagine what a (|uantitv of produce the offspring 

 of a few moths or butterflies would devour in a season, if every 

 e^g was allowed to hatch and the caterpillars permitted to live 

 their allotted s]jan of life. The actual hulk of vegetation de- 

 voured is not the only mischief wrought by insects. Hosts of 

 species of insects pass the first or lar\al stage of their lives under- 

 ground, and feed on the roots, and conse(|uentlv dcstrov the life 

 of the young plant. 



Man with all his weapons of defence could not withstand 

 the onslaught of the insect hosts a single vcar without the aid 

 of the allies which he ignorantly persecutes, in the front rank 

 of which are the birds. Yet. strange to say, man, who claims 

 by reason of his mental superiority to be the lord of the earth, 

 is either directly or indirectly destroying the creatures which the 

 All-wise Creator has ])rovided to help him in his struggle for 

 food and life against the most formidable of his enemies — the 

 insects and their near relations which, although not true insects 

 in a scientific sense, are pojjularly grouped as such. 



Man, who claims to be guided by an educated intellect, de- 

 liberately attacks his allies instead of acting in co-operation with, 

 and safeguarding them in e\ ery way in his power. Lack of the 

 right kind of knowledge is undoubtedly the taj^ root of the evil. 

 Boys and girls leave school knowing little or nothing at all al)out 

 the Natural History of the coimtry in which they dwell. A few 

 pick uj) some knowdedge of the ways and habits of the lower 

 forms of life, but the vast majority go forth to persecute and 

 slay the creatures which are striving to make the lot of man a 

 brighter and hap])ier one; nay. more, which are making it |K)Ssi- 

 ble for him to live and enj(n' the fruits of his toil. In his orchard 

 and garden, man can, to a limited extent, keep the insects in 

 check with \arious insecticides which are. after all, unnatural and 

 ex|)ensi\'e. and often dangerous bA-en with these aids, he is 

 frequently o\'erwhelmed. When his croi^s, his i)asturage. and his 

 forests are invaded by ravening hordes of insects, his offensive 

 collapses and his defences are demolished. I le sits in his home, 

 curses, blames T*rovidence, the riovernment. or thinks the visita- 

 tion a Divine ])unishment for his sins. In thi.s latter surmise he 

 is not far wrong, for it trid\' is n chastisement for his sins and 

 those of his neighbours in allowing his friends and allies, the 

 native birds, to be done to death, or dri\en to seek less dangerous 

 hunting grounds. 



Fn.sects arc attacked b\- parasites, diseases and fungi, and 

 .some kinds pre\ ni)on others, but all these natural checks, with 

 the fight ])Ut up l)v man. are altogether and entirely inadequate 

 to prevent insects from develo])ing into uncountable ravening 

 hosts and sweei)ing all vegetable life from the face of the eartlr! 



Insects are i)reved upon bv some small mammals. l)v lizards, 



