FIELD WORK ON INSECTS. 



47 



opened while the investigator "waits for a bite." In the 

 excursion which leads anywhere near trees, be on the 

 lookout for cocoons hung on leaves or twigs. Cut these 

 off and bring them home. In the garden there may be 

 caterpillars, and what they are eating should be noticed, 

 so as to bring in for study the caterpillar and its food also. 



The work fails of part of its mission if it does not 

 teach lessons of humanity. All insects, even the injurious 

 ones, should be killed as quickly as possible; there is 

 never any excuse for taking life "lightly or with unneces- 

 sary cruelty. Life is a thing of like powers, whether it is 

 bound up in the body of a grasshopper, a butterfly, or a 

 human being; all are God's creatures, and all deserve 

 consideration at the hands of God's highest creatures, 

 men and women, girls and boys. 



The work may be made clearer and more likely to be 

 remembered if it is made to emphasize at first the com- 

 mon orders of insects, so that the element of familiarity 

 may be used to build the unfamiHar upon. Each insect 

 selected should be a typical insect of its kind, the better 

 to illustrate the physical differences. The bug should 

 be as big a bug as possible. The beetle should be a big 

 fellow and have hard, homy wing covers. The fly ought 

 to be a horse fly, if possible, as the house fly is small. 

 No exceptional forms, nor forms of doubtful structure 

 which cannot be located with certainty, should be chosen 

 for study; they will come all right after a while, never 

 fear; they are to be found everywhere, along with the 

 insects that are well known! One of the preliminaries 

 is, to get together enough knowledge of the different 

 orders to know representative forms of them when they 

 are seen. Hence the physical appearance of each should 

 be studied so as to know the mandibles of beetles and 



