ANIMAL LIFE 



363 



Animals which Aid Man. A great many animals 

 aid man by destroying harmful insects. The toad lives 

 on insects and because of this fact is a valuable animal. 

 It is estimated that a full-grown toad will eat from one 

 hundred to two hundred insects daily. 



Birds are also economically important for the same 

 reason. The diet of our native birds includes many 

 insects which are 

 harmful to useful 

 plants. 



Certain insects 

 do a valuable 

 work in distribut- 

 ing the pollen of 

 plants. 



Animal Pests. 

 -The cotton boll 

 weevil has at- 

 tracted much at- 

 tention in recent 

 years because it 

 has proven so 

 very destructive 

 to a most im- 

 portant crop. It 

 is estimated that 

 if the pest should 

 become generally 

 distributed over 

 the cotton belt, 

 the possible annual loss may easily reach $250,000,000. 



The adult beetles pass the winter in various places in 

 or near the cotton fields. In the spring they attack the 



U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

 FIG. 324. Work of the Cotton Boll Weevil. 



