ALL ABOUT INSECTS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 661, 14 January 1933, Page 18 (Supplement)

ALL ABOUT INSECTS.

What is an Insect? A creature with six legs and a body divided into three segments—the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. How Many Kinds of Insects are There? It is probable that there are over two million species. Nearly half a million have been described. Has an Insect Bones? Insects are invertebrates, and their bodies are held together by an outer framework of hardened skin called chitin. What is Chitin? A Hard material covering the body of an insect; it resembles the horn of our finger nails. How Many Kinds of Insects ar There? Some, like house-flies, have only two; others, like butterflies, have four. Some have no wings at all. What are the Elytra? The hard, homy, front wings of beetles which form a case or sheath protecting the pair of wings with which they fly. How Does an Insect See? It as two kinds of eyes, a pair of compound eyes with thousands of facets, and two or three simple eyes (or ocelli) on the front of the head. What are the Antennae? A pair of organs attached to the front of the insect’s head, usually just iaiaiiiiiiiiiiiassisi

below the inner edges of the compound eyes. Antennae vary very much in form and length. What are the Antennae For? They are very important organs of sense, their bristles responding to touch, other parts possibly serving the sense of smell. How Dots An Insect Breathe? A network of fine tubes extends throughout the body and limbs of an insect. Some of these tubes open to the air by spiracles, or tiny holes, along the sides of the body. Muscular action sucks pure air into and squeezes impure air out of these tubes. What is the Metamorphosis of an Insect? A change in form occurring in many large groups of insects during their growth and development. The perfect female insect lays an egg. From the egg emerges a larva, often called a grub, or maggot, or caterpillar. This changes into a pupa or chrysalis, from which emerges the perfect insect. What is a Caterpillar? The larva of a butterfly or moth. What is a Larva? The immature form in which the majority of insects emerge from the egg. It is the active fleshy grub of flies, butterflies, moths, and which feeds and grows, moulting its skin as it does so. When fully grown a larva usually changes into a pupa. What is a Chrysalis? " * The pupa of a butterfly; the stage in which the creature changes from a caterpillar into a perfect insect. What is a Pups? The resting stage in the life of an insect. Within a horny case, which is sometimes protected by a cocoon of silk, the creature changes from a larva into a perfect insect. What is the Imago? The final perfect stage reached by an insect in its metamorphosis. Only in this stage can it reproduce its species. 3®®@®@@®@@@®@®®®®@®[*ii

Do All Insects Lay Eggs? No. Plant lice and certain parasite flies give birth to young in an advanced stage of development. Can an Insect Live in Water? Some species of the bugs and beetles live all their lives in ponds and rivers. Also larval stages of some of the ghats and dragonflies are spent under water. Does any Insect Live at Sea? Yes. The bugs of the genus of the pond-skaters known as Halobates are found on the sea, sometimes in midocean. Has an Insect Great Strength? In proportion to their size most insects are exceedingly powerful. A flea can leap about 200 times its own length. Which is the Largest Insect? A New Guinea butterfly, Troides alexandrae, whose wing-spread is about 12 inches wide and 10 inches deep. Which is the Smallest Insect? A beetle known as Nanosella fungi, which is one-hundredth of an inch long. Do Insects Help Man? They help him in many ways. The honey stored by bees is a useful food. Insects carry pollen and fertilise flowers of fruit and other plants. The cochineal insect is the source of a dye. How Old are They? Insects flourished abundantly during the Carboniferous Age when the coal measures were being laid down, and it is generally believed that they existed before that.

HSggHHHffiBffISSHffIBHBEIEISB Are Insects Social? Very. Among insects exist the most elaborately organised communities within the range of living creatures. The bees, the wasps, the ants, and the termites have evolved perfect systems of social life.