THE ANIMAL LIFE OF THE GROUP. 403 



manner as to exclude the li^lit. In this hidden yvay they do a ^reat many 

 thousand dollars' worth of damage to houses in Hawaii every vear. In some 

 cases the heart of the timbers that formed the building have been so badly 

 eaten that in time the structure has actually fallen in pieces, leaving only a 

 sad heap of ruins as a ni(Minmont to 1lio silent industry of ihoso dcslriu'tiv*' 

 creatures. 



SiLVERFISH. 



►Silveriish, lish-moths, or bristletails '■"' are everywhert' houschohl ]>esls, 

 and Hawaii is not an exception. The small, flat, silvery object without wings 

 that scurries out of sight in the dresser drawer or on the book-shelf is sure to 

 be one of these evildoers that cannot I'esist the taste of starch, ji<> iiuilter 

 whether it be in clothing, book-bindings or wall-paper. In structure the silver- 

 fish represents the simplest type of insects, and is peculiar for the reason tliat 

 it does not go through any marked changes ''" as it develops. It is therefore 

 placed by entomologists in the loAvest, meaning the oldest and most simjile. 

 order '^^ of insects. 



Ants. 



As types of the highest development and specialization in the insect world, 

 the ants, bees and wasps are placed together in a great oi-dei- ''^ at the opposite 

 end of the scale from that occupied by the silverfish. The ants, the bees and 

 the wasps each furnish the housewife one or more pests to annoy her. Of 

 these, the ant family ^'^^ furnish a number, the most troublesome l)eing the 

 cosmopolitan big-headed ant^'" that invades every nook and coi-ticr of tlie 

 house and considers the food-safe and iee-box as institutions especially pi-o- 

 vided for its comfort and convenience. They will not cross AAatei-. however, 

 so the experienced housewife i)laces the legs of the ice-box in slmllow eui)s 

 filled with water and takes pains to keep the box clear of the wall. 'I'he table, 

 safe and sideboard can be equally well protected for months at a time by tying 

 about each leg a narrow strip of woolen cloth, which has been soaked with 

 ''ant poison," a preparation sold by the druggist for the purpose. Tlie anjs 

 respect the poisoned string as a dead-line and rarely ])ass beyond it. .Vnotliei- 

 common species is the big brown ant '"- observed swarming on warm, still 

 nights, when all forms issue in great inunl)ers. 



Carpenter-Bees. 



Of the bees, the blue-black carpenter-bee,^*'-^ which resendiles the Itnmhle- 

 bee in size and somewhat in appearance, is eonspicuons and ti-oublesome in 

 Hawaii by reason of its liabit of building its cells in the solid wood of trees, 

 po}-ch posts, fence posts, telephone ]ioles and the like. 11 often excavates a 

 tunnel a foot or tAvo in length in which it lays its eggs. I-lach egg is contained 



^^ Lepisma sacchaiiiin. "" Metamorplinsis. ^^ Tlij/sdiiiird. "" UyiiuiKiptmi. »»» /■'ori/iici'iin. 



'^"'^ Pheidole megacepJxiiUi. ^'>- Camponotiig maridaiiis, var. hawiiiii'nsis. ''■"^ Xylocopa brasilianorum. 



