1883.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



71 



twigs, walls or timbers ; but those species 

 that liave an incmnphie luctamopliois roam 

 abroad, and feed the same as tliey do in thuir 

 larval periods, and are only distinguislial>le by 

 their rudimtnital wings. The term aurelia is 

 also sometiiui'S apitlied to this stage of insect 

 development, and especially to those species 

 which exhibit glistening spots, of a golden hue, 

 the name being derived from auriim theLatin 

 for gold ; and for the same reason, the term 

 chriiaidis is used in this connection, being de- 

 rived from chrH.ios the Greek for gold. The 

 mythological term ni/iiipli is also sometimes 

 used, especially as to those species which pass 

 their pupal periods in ponds and streams of 

 water in which it does not seem inappropriate. 

 But, whichever of these terms may be used in 

 descriptive entomology, we may know, from 

 what has been said, that it refers to the third, 

 or state intermediate between tlie larva and 

 the imayo. 



The fourth period of insect development is 

 the perfectly matured, or imago state. This 

 is a name given to insects after they have 

 completed their metamorphoses, because they 

 are then in the image of the parents who de- 

 posited the eggs. No true insect is capable 

 of fertilization, oviposition and procreation 

 until it has obtained tlie imago state, .so that 

 it is impossible for caterpillars, slugs, grubs, 

 maggots, or any other insect larvpe to multiply. 

 By whatever process they may have first been 

 brought into existence, it is entirely consistent 

 with scientific experience that they are now 

 only reproduced through the medium of oia. 

 After its evolution from the pupcv., and its 

 assumption of the imago, it acquires no in- 

 crease in size, no new beauty, and no addi- 

 tional instinct ; for, like Minerva fi'om the 

 brain of Jupiter, it issues forth fully developed 

 in all that relates to its perfect insect-hood. 

 The idea therefore of old and young insects, 

 based upon a dillerence in size merely, is a 

 falacy. They cannot, in this respect, be com- 

 pared with adult vertebrates, for many of 

 these wax fat ; but the external integument — 

 or rather skeleton — of insects is too rigid to 

 allow any distention, as a rule, except a 

 limited elongation of the abdominal division 

 among the females. In the imago state, the 

 true hexapodal character becomes developed 

 with a very few rudimeutal exceptions to the 

 number Six, and these few have/')«i- — confined 

 to the order Lepidoptkka ; including butter- 

 flies, etc. There is, however, a marked dif- 

 ferentiality among insects in relation to the 

 number of their wings, as well as in the struc- 

 ture of these organs. None have more than 

 four wings, but some have only two, and 

 others are entirely wingless. In som^ in- 

 stances this wingless characteristic is confined 

 to the females, whilst in others it pervades 

 the whole order, both male and female. In 

 the order Coleoptera, the anterior wings 

 are replaced by rigid chjlrcp,, or wing covers, 

 which are of little or no use in flight. The 

 divisisn of the Class Insecta into orders is 

 mainly based upon the character and number 

 of their wings. The term Coleoptera is a 

 Greek compound, which, according to accept- 

 ed authority means "sheath-winged," but 

 according to my notion, "shield-winged" 

 would be more appropriate; because the 

 wing covers do really shield the wings when 

 they are in repose ; moreover, the elytrons' 



when separated fromths insect, and suturally 

 united in the greater number of cases, have 

 the form of a miniature sliicld. The term 

 Hemipteka is from a Greek compound, 

 which means "halt-winged," because the 

 basil portion of the anterior wings are coria- 

 ceou.s or leathery, and tlie apical portions are 

 membranaceous. 



The order IIomoptera is so called from 

 two Greek words meaning "same-winged," 

 because the wings are all of the same form 

 and structure, and in many instances of the 

 same size — homogeneous. Tlui seventeen- 

 year ciccw^j, popularly miscalled "Locust," is 

 a conspicuous illustration of the insects be- 

 longing to this order. Orthoptera is also a 

 Greek compound and means "!^traiglit-wing- 

 ed" — the wings fold up in straight corruga- 

 tions like a fan — thi.s is at least the character 

 of the posterior, or underwings. The com- 

 mon "Grasshopper," or true "Locust," is a 

 typical illustration of this order. Hymenop- 

 teka is derived from the two Greek words 

 umen, a membrane, and pteron, a wing, be- 

 cause the insects belonging to this order are 

 characterized by four membranous wings. 

 Neuroptera, means nervcd-wings, because 

 the wings of the insects belonging to this 

 order are ramified by a net-work of uervures ; 

 they are represented by the dragon-tlies, the 

 lace-wiugs and the white ants; and the im- 

 mediately preceding order by the bees, wasps 

 and common ants. Lbpidoptera, comes 

 from lepis a scale, and pteron, a wing, mean- 

 ing scale-winged insects, and is represented 

 by the butterflies and moths. Diptera, 

 means two-winged, and includes the various 

 two-winged flies, of which the housefly is the 

 most common example. There are also 

 minor orders, including a few species, which 

 cannot be properly classified with any of the 

 preceding orders, ami/ug whicli are the "Cad- 

 dice flies," the Bee slylopsand the "Earwigs." 

 This latter name has been popularly and erro- 

 neously applied to insects that are supposed 

 to enter the human ear, but this is a mistake. 

 The insects are shy and avoid the liglit, and 

 under certain circumstances might enter the 

 human ear for the same reason that any other 

 small insect, of similar habits might —namely, 

 to hide itself. There is reason, however, to 

 believe that the term Earioig is a corruption 

 or contraction of "Ear-wing," because the ex- 

 jianded posterior wings of these insects re- 

 semble the human ear. To all the foregoing 

 definitions there .are exceptions, modifications 

 and variations, too numerous to point out 

 here, but which becomes apparent to the stu- 

 dent in entomology, as he advances in his 

 practical studies; but, from all this, it must 

 become impressively manifest, that many 

 animals popularly classed with insects, have 

 no structural affinity with them, as for in- 

 stance, spiders, scorpions, ticks, crab.s, lob- 

 sters, centipedes, millipedes and many others. 

 In feet, they difl'er numerically, from eight to 

 one hundred and more, and also in the divi- 

 sions of the body. In the first five named, the 

 head and thorax are confluent; in spiders, 

 etc., named cephalathorax; in crabs and lob- 

 sters, carapace. 



There is really no just ground to fear an 

 arbitrary redundancy of the insect world — 

 their rapid increase, periodically and locally, 

 is subject to the laws of cause and effect in 



nature, and their presence in the general econ- 

 omy of nature is just as essential to the har- 

 mony of the whole, as that of any other clij^ 

 of animals. It would be far easier to prove 

 that the destruction of our forests has a much 

 greater infiuence upon the increase and the 

 alimentary habits of !/i.scr(.v, than it has upon 

 the mete.irology of the country. Insects are 

 gastronomically progressive.* When the wild 

 Hawthorns were all cut away or destroyed, 

 then the Sajurdn biviltala; or "striped borers," 

 betook themselves to the appletrees, and in 

 the degree that an apple is superior io a haw- 

 thorn, in that degree did the partialities of 

 the "borer" for the apple develop itself. So 

 also the "Colorado potato beetle" (Doryphora 

 \Q-lineata) which erst was content with a wild 

 species of llocky Mountain solanium, until it 

 had an opportunity to make a comparison 

 between its native food and the cultivated 

 potato, when it abandoned the former and 

 adopted the latter ; and, not only this, but 

 instead of remaining local, it became migra- 

 tory in order to gratify its newly acquired 

 penchant. When I .say acquired I do not 

 mean to say that the insect has been educated 

 or endowed with a new instinct which it did 

 not originally possess, but merely that circum- 

 stances had called into exercise that function 

 of self-preservation, which is so eminently a 

 characteristic of the whole animal world, but 

 which may remain latent until brought out 

 by local surroundings. The tobacco plant 

 has now some twenty conspicuous insect ene- 

 mies; 'their partialities for this plant being 

 entirely based upon gastronomical gratifica- 

 tion — indeed, I am not sure, but this insect- 

 like for " the weed," may be governed mainly 

 by quantity rather than qwditij. Tobacco in 

 its green state is so much more succulent than 

 ordinary vegetation, that it is not to be won- 

 dered at that insects should prefer it as food, 

 especially since it has become such an object 

 of careful culture, and so improved in quan- 

 tity and quality. 



The multiplicty and destructivity of in- 

 sects, I am inclined to think, will always run 

 parallel with the productiveness and improved 

 (piality of donu'stic vegetation. A " house- 



*To ilhistnitf bow animals of cvi'n Iho lowesl orders 

 soiiU'timi'M u«iiipt llieinsclves to !-urroim(iinjf circtim- 

 s[:im-fs. I will Vflute ml early oxpurifm-e in rej^rd to 

 till- t^fiius h'tind, or fommoii "Fros." I ri'iiieinlwjr dig. 

 tinclly \^■h4■n Tici cnlinary use was made of the frog in 

 tile cuiiiiiiiiliity wiierc I resided, and eonse<nlentIy this 

 reptile "as exei-edinyi.v ahiindant in the .'^ils<iuehanna 

 and ill the ponds, marshes and walereourses etnitiKOolis 

 to that rix'er. Al length a hotel-keeper setth'd in the 

 Iioruii;ih of Marietta, who piireiiased and provided 

 fronts tor Iiis eity ^:iiests,and as soon as they were found 

 fo Iia\ o a money value, it was not lony Ix-fore they be- 

 eame an olijeet of "bailie," and were sought not only 

 for thi- fUdeftation of the quests of the "Cross-Keys," 

 hut also for the Kastrononiii-al use of many of the eiti- 

 zeiis of tin- town. .\t tirst the froj~ were readily taken 

 hy a hit of red llannel allixeilto a book, hut they soon 

 learned to ayoid this deviee. I'bey were then taken hy 

 the use of a sort of ".Soekdoloj^er," whether they "hit" 

 voluiilaril.v or not. .\Kain they learned to keep just 

 beyond the lenirth of the pole to which this tra|i was 

 attaehed; and if one, two or three feet w:us adiled to 

 the leniilb of llie pole, it would be found that the frog 

 had moved just a little beyond aj^aiu. Then resort was 

 had to powiier and shot, but the fi\>K soon learned to 

 "ilodpe" if only a stiek the size of a Kun was pointed at 

 him. Now wliy did the froffs bite at sueh an unsavory 

 bait as rtit Jl'iiincl '' I eannot tell ; they seemed to he in- 

 tliieneed by the (s.lorations; and we boys thought we 

 inid been the original <liseoverers of that /«c/. and it was 

 made in this wise: On ^tnc occasion a boy haiiied 

 Sheets, pushed a small red Cork on his line up to within 

 two or tlirce inches of the end of his rott. iiitendiii;^ to 

 lisli without a eork. We observed that wlienever( the 

 end of the rod wius lowered, so that the dantflin^ eork 

 was brontibt near the surface of the water, a fro^j would 

 sprins; from his cover aiul attempt to seize it. This led 

 us to ini]»rovise a red flannel bait, a hook and a link 

 altaelietl to the cud of a fishin^j rod. and. for a time the 

 fro^ seenicil to blimlly fall victims to tin- brilliant de- 

 coy : but. as 1 have already iiulicat<-tJ. they soon learned 

 to" avoid it. Subsequently we were informed that 

 mackerel ami trout were eaujjht with a similar bait, 

 Iiut I do not think we knew it at the timejof our tir^ ex- 

 perience with tlie frogs. 



