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Show rtTlOST people believe that allin- g' "X J) caflffi&3rZ WttM ZMV&K IVnWf V sects are very small; and in f 1 i jf2 ( '-T-j a certain sense this is true, f . Yf f i tLVJJ for the largest known insect ! 5?tI fa V. appears diminutive when con- iltsiF " v trasted with the vast bulk of such a JX. .'(A )) VX 1 creature as a whale or an elephant. But 1 c'v t "esa J-b ffg! this is hardly a fair comparison, he- 3SV?v 'ifttfi. -nSi A 2? f tft cause insects are in every way dis- fik kt f, similar to vertebrate animals, having M i V &P&iT developed along entirely different S XfM ' L lines. In place of physical hugeness ' M i iSSiSX&B;a2s we find amazing delicacy of structure jtfa Vf?, ilW X ?V T and adjustment; and if we liken the II llTl 1 A X r vertebrate to a locomotive engine, the Jj " 1 I y insect must be represented by a lady's m U vf H I ' watch to complete the metaphor. In B-l fl I V fine, multum in parvo has been the i? V 1 jj L I f watchword of insect evolution. Never- a $. f g w theless, when judged in their own B XV H h " J sphere, insects display a remarkable 1 vlT f -r A t -t range of size. L ? - T Take, for example, the beetles. The m3FX&"Jmi&l-wmri)fWBSli largest living representatives of the f "If H1 VZWOM clan are the Goliaths of Africa and the J (1H Megasomas of tropical South America. I W I tne wasp itself. For theBe "dwarfs" A fair-sized male specimen of the lat- A of the Insect world are by no meani ter measures four and a half inches j y weaklings, but on the contrary, possesi from the tip of the horn to the ex- f f marvelous muscular force and what tremlty of the abdomen. The male of SmrmWi-3ICOJVWm mKfflrf certainly is a well-nigh inexhaustible the Hercules beetle, also of South M-CSUXD "h-JCOiio- fund of energy. I OST people believe that all in-sects in-sects are very small; and In '-T-j a certain sense this is true, tLVJJ for the largest known insect appears diminutive when contrasted con-trasted with the vast bulk of such a creature as a whale or an elephant. But this is hardly a fair comparison, he-cause he-cause insects are in every way dissimilar dis-similar to vertebrate animals, having developed along entirely different lines. In place of physical hugeness we find amazing delicacy of structure and adjustment; and if we liken the vertebrate to a locomotive engine, the insect must be represented by a lady's watch to complete the metaphor. In fine, multum in parvo has been the w-atchword of insect evolution. Nevertheless, Never-theless, when judged in their own sphere, insects display a remarkable range of size. Take, for example, the beetles. The largest living representatives of the clan are the Goliaths of Africa and the Megasomas of tropical South America. A fair-sized male specimen of the latter lat-ter measures four and a half inches from the tip of the horn to the extremity ex-tremity of the abdomen. The male of the Hercules beetle, also of South America, may he two inches or more longer, but wellnigh half its length is made up by the great hornlike process proc-ess which springs from its thorax. A good Idea of these beetles' huge proportions pro-portions may be gained by placing one of them side by side with a common com-mon two-spot ladybird. Yet the ladybird lady-bird is by no means a small beetle as beetles, go. Comparisons no less striking may be made among the moths. The largest British moth is the "Death's Head" a truly noble insect with a wing expanse of four and a half Inches. But its proportions are sadly dwarfed when we contrast them with the huge Owl moth the Noctua strix of science which is not uncommon in many parts of South America. It may measure ten inches or more across. Then there Is the giant Atlas moth, from India, which may measure as much as a foot from tip to tip of the fore-wings. For the sake of familiarity fa-miliarity we may place the little clothes moth of our wardrobes at the other end of the scale though It Is not by any means the smallest of ita kind. The Atlas and the Owl moths mentioned men-tioned above have larger wings than any other living insects, so far as is known; but they are not the largest flying insects on record, for some of the extinct dragon flies of the carboniferous car-boniferous period measured two feet across the wings. The largest British dragon fly, with a wing expanse of four Inches, is a pygmy, contrasted size for size with one of its gigantic prehistoric prehis-toric ancestors. Among the largest existing insects must be reckoned the giant water-bugs, water-bugs, some of which attain a length of nearly five Inches. In the United States these insects are known popularly popu-larly as "electric light bugs," because they have the habit at night of leaving leav-ing the pools and lakes, where they get their living, and flying around arc lamps, especially when these are mounted upon high buildings. The British water scorpion is a well-known denizen of ponds and sluggish Btreams. It belongs to the same family fam-ily as the giant bugs, besides which It may fairly be termed a dwarf. The longest of living insects are found among the phasmids, or "walking "walk-ing sticks." Some attain nine Inches from head to tail, while if the out--jtretched legs are included the measurement meas-urement is much greater. Two of these strange insects are in marked contrast with a Stag beetle the largest British beetle, by the way. Clearly these phasmids are "long drawn out"' in a very literal sense of the phrase; but a few of the species are much heavier in build. This is the case with the very remarkable creature crea-ture known as Eurycantha horrida from Australia. It is not only long, but bulky, and what with its hard armor ar-mor plate integument and formid- able array of prickles, it looks a de-' cidedly dangerous customer. One is relieved to learn that its tastes are exclusively vegetarian. The vast majority of the hymenop-tera hymenop-tera (the ants, bees, wasps and their relatives) are comparatively small insects, in-sects, but among the solitary spider-killing wasps (Pompilidae) we find some notable exceptions. Some of these giants measure two inches or more from head to tail, and withal are exceptionally strong and vigorous insects. The largest species are found in South America, where they deal death and destruction to the spider population. Even the formidable bird-eating spider a grim and hairy monster with fearsome fangB is attacked at-tacked and destroyed. It should be noted that these wasps do not themselves them-selves eat the spiders that they kill, but store them away In cunningly contrived con-trived nests for the benefit of their young. Our little Pompilus viaticus (unfortunately it has no popular name) behaves in precisely the same way, but naturally chooses spiders proportionate to Its own size. Even In this Instance, howevej, the spider is usually several times heavier than the wasp itself. For theBe "dwarfs" of the Insect world are by no meani weaklings, but on the contrary, possesi marvelous muscular force and what certainly is a well-nigh Inexhaustible fund of energy. Probably most insects are stronger, and more enduring, in proportion to their size, than any of the higher animals. ani-mals. They are always active, and apparently quite beyond the reach ol fatigue while life lasts. But ceaseless, rapid movement imposes a serious tax upon the machinery. Consequently we find that the insect is almost alway short-lived. It is said that the worker hive bee literally wears herself out and dies, after a few weeks of toil for the benefit of the commonwealth in which she plays this brief part |