TO CATCH INSECTS

Southland Times, Issue 23308, 18 September 1937, Page 14

TO CATCH INSECTS

ENGLISH PROFESSOR’S PLAN Professor A. C. Hardy, of University College, Hull (England), is carrying out experiments to determine how insect pests from the Continent arrive in Britain. From his recent investigations Professor Hardy has discovered that swarms of insects are carried hundreds of miles across the sea by low and high winds. The first experiments v/ere carried out at the University College where nets were slung from masts 300 feet high. Millions of insects of various types were caught and examined. When caught they had already been blown over 25 miles of land so Professor Hardy carried his experiments to sea. On the Fisheries Research ship George Bligh, he and Professor P. S. Milne went out into the North Sea. Nets were slung from the ship’s masts and from kites flown at 400 feet. The nets flown from the masts caught more than those hung from the kites, indicating that more insects drifted on the lower and warmer winds. The results of these experiments may be that the Ministry of Agriculture will broadcast the movements of insects to farmers who can take precautionary measures before it is too late.