INSECTS. 



INSECTS. 



in the earth. When bare spots are seen on 

 meadows, we may be pretty sure that the larvse 

 of some species of melolontha are there carry- 

 ing on their work of destruction. The sub-turf 

 plough disturbs the operations of these vermin; 

 the crows devour them. * 



IX. Insects injurious to cultivated Vegetables 

 Are also numerous, and highly injurious to the 

 gardener's crops. The flea-beetles (Haltica) 

 are great pests to the gardener : they attack 

 and devour, during the summer months, various 

 members of the cabbage tribe, such as the cab- 

 bage, cauliflower, and colewort, the turnip, the 

 radish, common and water cress : they also 

 prey upon flax, hops, sainfoin, &c. (See FLT 

 ix Tuuyips.) The mole cricket (Gryllotalpa) 

 is often peculiarly injurious to the German 

 cultivators. It does not confine its ravages to 

 the garden crops, but injures very materially 

 those of the meadow and corn-fields. It mea- 

 sures, when full-grown, about two inches in 

 length. The plant-lice (Aphis) chiefly haunt 

 the cabbage, peas, and beans. They are de- 

 voured in great numbers by several of the lady- 

 birds (Coccimlla) and fly tribes. 



X. Insects which injure Green-house Plants. 

 Of these I need only mention the orange scale 

 insect (Coccus hesperidum') ; the pine-apple scale 

 insect (Coccus bromelia) ; the mealy bug (Coccus 

 A<1<,nidum) ; the oleander scale insect (Aspidio- 

 tus AVii), abounding on oleanders, acacias, 

 aloes, palms, &c. ; the rose scale (A. ro*), 

 found in old rose stems and twigs ; the cactus 

 scale (A. echinocacti'), on the cacti ; the sweet- 

 bay scale (A. luuri), on the sweet bay; the rose- 

 moth (Tinea (Or nix) rhodophagclla) ; and the 

 plant-mite or red spider (Acarius telarius). 



XI. Insects which attack Fruit Trees. The 

 number of insects which live either partially 

 or entirely upon fruit trees, is very considera- 

 ble. I can hardly do more in this work than 

 give the names of the most formidable of these 

 little depredators. 



XII. In&rrts injurious to Forest Trees. These 

 are divided by M. Kollar into two classes: 



1. Tlm.se which attack deciduous trees; and, 



2. Those which are injurious to the evergreens. 



XIII. Insects which attack the Fir and Pine 

 Tribe These often injure very seriously the 

 leaves, bark, and young shoots of some of the 

 Pi n us tribe. 



Such, riien, is a very brief glance at that im- 

 mense and important class of animals which 

 are included in the science of entomology. It 

 must be considered, to use the words of Mr. 

 Swain son, only as suggestions and stimulants 

 to further inquiry. The review, however, can- 

 not but fill us with astonishment; for, although 

 we see only a very limited portion of the insect 

 world, yet that view, limited as it is, is fraught 

 with instruction to the cultivator. It will lead 

 him, perhaps, to a clearer understanding of the 

 often-repeated truth, that nothing is created in 

 vain. It may suggest to him also the means, 

 in some cases, of arresting their ravages, when, 

 by their excessive numbers, they become a 

 nuisance ; and it may perhaps be instrumental 

 in saving from destruction many a useful bird, 

 when the sportsman is made aware of the num- 

 ber of predatory insects which they so unceas- 

 ingly destroy. The astonishing number, habits, 



md instincts of the insect tribe, too, are equally 

 instructive, and can only be explained in one 

 way. These phenomena did not escape the 

 notice of the great Paley. Thus he observes, 

 " Moths and butterflies deposit their eggs in the 

 precise substance (that of a cabbage, for in- 

 stance) from which not the butterfly herself, 

 but the caterpillar which is to issue from her 

 eggs, draws its appropriate food. The butterfly 

 cannot taste the cabbage ; cabbage is no food 

 for her ; yet in the cabbage, not by chance, but 

 studiously and electively, she lays her eggs." 

 And when referring to this imiuiiicc mass of 

 animal life, he says, in another place, ' To this 

 great variety in organized life the D<_xty has 

 given, or perhaps there arises out of it, a cor- 

 responding variety of animal appetites. For the 

 final cause of this we have not far to seek. Did 

 all animals covet the same element, retreat, or 

 food, it is evident how much fewer could be 

 supplied and accommodated than what at pre- 

 sent live conveniently together, and find a plen- 

 tiful subsistence. What one nature rejects, 

 another delights in. Food which is nauseous 

 to one tribe of animals, becomes, by that very 

 property which makes it nauseous, an alluring 

 dainty to another tribe. Carrion is a treat to 

 dogs, ravens, vultures, fish. The exhalations 

 of corrupted substances attract flies by crowds. 

 Maggots revel in putrefaction." Neither ran 

 the astonishing changes of some of the insect 

 tribe be regarded by a rational being without 

 very considerable interest. " The wonderful 

 metamorphosis undergone by the order Lepi- 

 doptera," says Swainson, " would be almost 

 incredible, were it not familiarized to us from 

 early childhood, that a crawling worm, rave- 

 nous of grass food, should voluntarily seek a 

 retreat in the earth, or spin its own shroud; 

 that such a change should come over it, so 

 complete, as that not a lineament of its first 

 form was retained; that in thi? state, after re- 

 maining a misshapen lump, tc all appearance 

 inanimate, it should suddenly burst forth, full 

 of life and joy, and, with many -coloured wings, 

 ascend into mid-air, and derive its only suste- 

 nance from the nectar of flowers; all this, we 

 say, is one of those miracles of nature, which, 

 were it told of an insect that had never yet 

 been seen, the world would not believe." 



The admirable treatise of Dr. Harris on 

 "Insects Injurious to Vegetation," has been re- 

 cently published by Dr. C. L. Flint, with illus- 

 trations drawn from nature under the super- 

 vision of Agassiz. See also the communica- 

 tions, with illustrations, by S. S. Rathvon, and 

 Townend Glover, in the Agricultural Reports 

 of U. S. Patent-Office for 1861-1862, 1863. 



Plate 16 of this Encyclopaedia represents a 

 few of our American destructive insects, with 

 those which prey upon them. 



1. Elaphidion putator, oak pruner. See Bo- 

 rers, p. 205. 



2. Clytus flexuosus, locust tree borer. Sea 

 BORERS, p. 206. 



3. Criociris trilineatei. Potato-vine bug. 



4. Haltica striolata, cucumber flea (magru 

 fied), p. 371. 



5. Phyllophaga qucrcina, p. 172, 173. 



6. Hylobius pales, which is very destructive 

 to the pine forests of the south. The plum 



667 



