THE LADYBIRD, 131 



is the most valuable of all insects to man. The bee fur- 

 nishes him with wax and honey, the silkworm with a fabric 

 for the adornment of his female kind, the cochineal insect 

 with a dye, the locust with a food, this being, however, 

 but a poor return for its destruction of vegetation. The 

 worm acts as a subsoil plough, takes down dead leaves and 

 herbage, and brings fresh soil to the surface ; many beetles 

 work as scavengers, the Spanish fly provides us with blisters, 

 and, indeed, it may be accepted that the great majority of 

 insects are, in one way or another, directly or indirectly of 

 benefit to man. But it may be doubted if any, save only 

 the ichneumon, can vie with the ladybird in this respect. 

 Its life is spent in the pursuit and destruction of the aphis, 

 which, were it not for its vigilance, would so increase that it 

 would become, in temperate climates, as great a scourge as 

 is the locust in the localities it inhabits. Not only does 

 the ladybird as a perfect insect live upon the aphis, but in 

 its earlier, though less known, stage it is equally destructive 

 to them, and from the time when it issues from the egg to 

 its death its whole life is passed in the destruction of these 

 pests of the farmer and gardener. In its labours this way 

 it is ably assisted by the larvae of the Hemerobius, which, 

 in its perfect state, is a brilliant four-winged fly ; and by those 

 of the Syrphidae, which transfix and devour their thousands 

 on their trident-like mandibles. But these creatures, useful 

 as they are, are far less common than the ladybirds, which 

 are to be found on every plant, and, being amongst the 

 earliest insects to make their appearance in the spring, are 

 ready to meet the first invasion of the aphis. It may 

 frankly be admitted that the ladybird is not, in this work of 

 destruction, animated solely by a desire to benefit man, and 



