INSECT CHECKS AND COUNTERCHECKS. 71 



the Ant-hill, the larvae and pupae improperly called eggs. 

 Our fish fatten on " the Fly " in all its varieties ; and ever 

 our poultry thrive all the better, especially ducks and turkeys, 

 for a sprinkle of Caterpillars, Flies, and Spiders, as a relish 

 with their ordinary food. 



The aid afforded by Bees and other Insects in the propagation 

 of various flowers, by conveying on their hairy backs the pollen 

 of one to the stigma of another, is no secret to the botanist, 

 and gardeners know something, and ought to know still more, 

 of the value of certain tribes of insect-eating Insects as checks 

 upon the vegetable ravagers of their own race. Both the 

 gardener and the hop-grower would find it worth their while 

 to keep up standing armies of Lady-bird red-coats against the 

 Aphis legions which ravage their plantations and parterres. 

 Lace-winged Flies and Syrphus Grubs are worthy of all en- 

 couragement for the same important service, and, as remarked 

 by Southey, the more Spiders in the stable the less would 

 horses suffer from the Flies. 



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