CHAPTER VI 

 ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 



SECTION XXIX INSECTS IN GENERAL 



The farmer who has fought "bugs " on crop after crop 

 needs no argument to convince him that insects are serious 

 enemies to agriculture. Yet even he may be surprised to 



learn that the damage 

 done by them, as esti- 

 mated by good author- 

 ity, is as high as four 

 hundred million dollars 

 yearly for the United 

 States and Canada. 



Every one thinks he 

 knows what an insect is. 

 If, however, we are 

 willing in this matter to 

 make our notion agree 

 with that of the people 



who have studied insects 

 FIG. 1 06. ANTS 



most and know them 



best, we must include among the true insects only such air- 

 breathing animals as have six legs, no more, and have the 

 body divided into three parts, head, thorax, and abdomen. 

 These parts are clearly shown in Fig. 106, which represents 



118 



