2 OUR HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



of immunity from the intrusion of representatives of this 

 immense horde of living creatures. 



That some of this vast host should have special re- 

 lations to mankind is not to be wondered at, when we 

 remember that two of the chief functions of insect life 

 in the world seem to be the repression of superabundant 

 vegetation, and the removal of effete and waste matters ; 

 for while man in his agricultural capacity bids mother 

 earth bring forth the "herb yielding seed after his 

 kind " more and more abundantly, he often finds a 

 serious ch,eck to his efforts in the mighty hosts of 

 insects which the very success of his agricultural opera- 

 tions has been the means of vastly increasing; and, 

 again, while in his constructive and manufacturing 

 capacity he is busily engaged in converting natural 

 products of the animal and vegetable worlds into 

 things suitable for his own use, he thereby attracts 

 the scavenger hosts, who, evidently regarding his ac- 

 cumulations of manufactured articles as so much lumber 

 to be got rid of as quickly as may be, set to work on 

 his cherished hoards with right good will, and tax all 

 his ingenuity to save them from ruin. So it comes to 

 pass that there are many species of insects that more 

 .or less permanently take up their abode with us, either 

 actually in our houses and outbuildings, or in our culti- 

 vated lands, and depend in large degree upon us and our 

 belongings for their support. It is only with the former 

 of these groups that we propose to deal, but we shall 

 find in them good representatives of insect life in 

 general ; and any one may obtain excellent material for 

 the practical study of entomology and the examination 

 of insect structure without going beyond the four walls 

 of an ordinary dwelling-house. 



As there are some animal pests found in houses 



