MAN’S INSECT ENEMIES

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6801, 3 January 1929, Page 12

MAN’S INSECT ENEMIES

Mr. Harry Britten, F.E.S., in a lecture at thy Manchester Museum, gave an interesting account of the many insects which had accompanied man in his migrations from the time lie iirst clothed himself in furs and used wood for weapons and implements or in the construction of his habitation and furniture and formed stores of grain and fruits for his sustenance (states the Guardian).

The lecturer dealt with many of these insects in the order in which they are arranged by zoologists, from the lowliest upwards to the most highly specialised, illustrating his remarks with a series of specially-prepared lantern slides. He spoke of the silverfish, which love tha fireside and show a decided preference for all kiuds of starchy xireparations, such as paste used for binding or as a glaze for the highly-polished surfaces of papers; the book louse, so often seen on our bookshelves, where it nibbles the leaves and covers of our books, and is one of tho insects which produce a tickling sound known as the “death watch” and has been the cause of so much superstitious dread in the past; the many species of beetles which live in his furniture and amongst his stores of foodstuffs; tho flies which pass on disease either by injecting the germs into the blood or by walking over food and carrying infection on their feet and bodies; the various clothes moths which attack household treasures, whether in the form of choice carpets or clothes or even the hammers of the grand piano, and others living amongst stores of grain and dried fruits.

Several insects were described as following their various insect hosts into the houses, which provido excellent hunting grounds and an easy means of getting a livelihood, and also a few specialised insects which live parasitically on one or other of tho many species of household insects.