INDIRECT BENEFITS DERIVED FROM INSECTS. 287 



these things, the Rev. R. Sheppard, that the Geotrupes 

 and Melolonthce are good baits for chub a . But to be an 

 adept in fly-fishing, which requires the most skill and 

 furnishes the best diversion, the angler ought to be con- 

 versant in Entomology, at least sufficiently so to distin- 

 guish the different species of Phryganea and other 7H- 

 choptera, and to know the time of their appearance. 

 The angler is not only indebted to insects for some of 

 his best baits, but also for the best material to fasten his 

 hooks to, and even for making his lines for smaller fish 

 the Indian grass or gut as it is called, (termed in 

 France (Cheveux de Florence,) which is said to be pre- 

 pared in China from the matter contained in the silk 

 reservoirs of the silk- worm, but according to Latreille is 

 the silk vessel itself when dried 5 . 



One of the most important ends for which insects were 

 gifted with such powers of multiplication, giving birth to 

 myriads of myriads of individuals, was to furnish the 

 feathered part of the creation with a sufficient supply of 

 food. The number of birds that derive the whole or a 

 principal part of their subsistence from insects is, as is 

 universally known, very great, and includes species of 

 almost every order. 



a In Col. Venable's Experienced Angler, a vast number of insects 

 are enumerated as good baits for fish, under the names of Sob, Cad- 

 bait, Cankers, Caterpillars, Palmers, Gentles, Bark-worms, Oak-worms, 

 Colewort-worms, Flag-worms, Green-flies, Ant-flies, Butterflies, Wasps, 

 Hornets, Bees, Humble-bees, Grasshoppers, Dors, Beetles, a great 

 broum fly that lives upon the oak like a Scarabee (Melolontha vul-> 

 garis or Amphimatta solstitialis?) andjtfaVs (i. e. may-flies) of various 

 sorts. 



b Anderson's Recreations in Agricult. fyc., iv. 478. Latr. Hist. Nat. 

 xiv. 154. 



