AB.THROPODA ZQI 



important elements in the food supply of animals which prey 

 on them. It is only by their great reproductive power that 

 they can hold their own against their many enemies, — the birds 

 and other insectivorous animals, and the accidents of climate, 

 etc. The Crustacea furnish a large part of the food of fishes. 



From a human point of view they may be the greatest pests 

 or the greatest helpers. In the voracious larval stage they 

 devour waste material as scavengers, strip vegetation, spread 

 disease,, produce silk, and furnish food to the higher animals. 

 In the adult stage they may destroy crops; cross-fertilize 

 flowers in their search for nectar, which they may store for 

 themselves and their young — to be intercepted in the case of 

 the bee by man ; may spread diseases ; may devour stored grain, 

 or by their mere presence become a nuisance to man and the 

 domestic animals. In both mature and immature stages they 

 may be parasites on man and other animals. Few of the arthro- 

 pods are directly useful as food to man, though lobsters, cray- 

 fish, shrimps, etc., are important items in our food supply. 



Many special devices of structure and of instinct have arisen 

 making their continued existence in the presence of their enemies 

 possible. Indeed there is no group of animals in which so 

 many and such interesting adaptations to the special conditions 

 of life are found as among the arthropods. All are provided 

 with some degree of external protective covering. Many are 

 so colored and shaped as to be inconspicuous in their natural 

 environment. Some are endowed with offensive odor and 

 taste, some with stinging organs. Others which are them- 

 selves perfectly harmless are so much like forms which are 

 repulsive or dangerous, as to be protected thereby from their 

 enemies (see Chapter VIII). 



Many insects as ants, bees, and wasps are strikingly social 

 in their habits, and show a high degree of differentiation among 

 themselves. Among the bees a special class of females — the 

 queens — lay the fertilized eggs, the other females — the workers 

 — being sexually immature. In the ants, still further division 

 of labor occurs among the workers. Some individuals act as 

 soldiers for the protection of the ordinary workers. Some 

 species of ants make slaves of other species of ants which do the 



