THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 26 August 1908, Page 76

THE NATURALIST.

Insect Mysteries You Cannot { Solre. Naturalists have classified) insects, divided them into hundreds of families and tens of • thousands of kinds; they have examined , ;+.hom under microscopes, made pictures of j (them^ and -given tjiem \ long.. Latin names, , ; And ye£_ tfyer© ar© scofee of simple facjts' ;'in the" insect world which, are complete ; mysteries even' to' tHe" most 'learned of the i human race, and many other phenomena j t the! reasons of which to are only just be■j ginning to understand,'" ' i- ' " ' As an 1- instance- of' i the' l inseci; ! mystery, 1 take the.-'odmmon earwig." ' *Why are its great pinoere- fastened on to the hind end of its body? • « Fjpm, our- point of view, life would be infinitely easier for the earwig if his pincers 'were, like those of the crab or 1 lobster, in front. 'Ac it is, the unlucky insect is ohliged\to back up to anything- which it wanite to get hold 1 of, and its eyes being at the other end of its body, it cannot see the object which it is going to tackle. . "Why doies-a^mcsquito bito? .Well, the object is 'evidently to, suck blood, amd the ■■poison' whicEie forced uflider the skin has .the effect of liquefying the bloodl 40 that 'the insect* can suck it more- easily. But here comes a mystery. Not one mosquito -m many millions can eve* have the opportunity of tasting blood, whether human or animal. Why then their horrid passion for gore? j -t •=• —- A Secondary? Function."^ Asked" why- a : bee was" provided' iwith' a ebingvnyobt WK*ald'«a6tib^e6S- E 'jlinWer' 'thpl'.^t 'yrss for purposes of self-defenc'el '"" B Miy ' ; s \¥?B*we- 'hear that this is only a { secondary function of the sting. * The poison of a bee is nearly puro formic aoid. Formic aoid is a most perfect preservative, and the sting is really an exquisite little syringe ..with, which the bee mjeots wi+o each" filled honey cell a small portion of preservative. It is the. formio acid which gives to pure honey its singularly delicious 1 flavour. The. common house fly has fire. eyes. Two of theni are gigantic compound eyes, each provided with something like four thousand I tenses. The other ""three, know* as- 6fmple ! eyes, are on top of • the head.'" "EHey ate. J so extremely small that they can, hardly be j seen, with the naked eye ; yet, 60 far as we • can tell, these tiny organs are. far mor© r-ecessaTy _to their owner than tho larger compound eyes. They have apparently great magnifying power, and with them, the insect is 'able to examine closely objects near at hand. j Speaking of eye 6, there is a queer little j beetle which you may notice any fine sum- ! mer evening whirling up and down over j the shallows of a roadside pool, and' known from its strange gyrations as the whirligig beetle. • This beetle, as well as another known as the anablepe, or stargazer, has each of its eye© divided into an upper and lower portion by a horizontal line." This is another of those marvellous provisions of Nature which most beautifully fulfil their purpose. Swimming half in the water and half out of it, the beetles are enabled to keep watch foiv food and ward •against enemies above and below the surface simultaneously.