Marvels of insect life; a popular account of structure and habit (1916) (14757328936)

Head of Prionus: This beetle, with many jointed antennae of remarkable form, spends the earlier part of its life as a grub feeding in the wood of trees. Jn some parts of the world these and other fine fat grubs serve as human food.
Identifier: marvelsofinsectl00steps (find matches)
Title: Marvels of insect life ; a popular account of structure and habit
Year: 1916 (1910s)
Authors: Step, Edward, 1855-1931
Subjects: Insects Animal behavior
Publisher: New York : R. M. McBride
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries



Text Appearing Before Image:
h at tlie base of the tree, you will see some hundredsof larvse and pup?e in all stages of development, arranged in abroad, even band all round tlie trunk, and lightly coveredafterl^inJlSbrafimSs with earth. The ants object to their being uncnvwrd, anrl will;howi\inXXtograph^ immediately set to work to re-cover them, and il \ou persist is esteemed by the Chinese,who sell it in bundles aswe sell asparagus. One-thirdless than the actual size. Photo by) (E. Slep, F.L.S VegetableCaterpillar. ^ Lecanium hcsjirridinin. Tariicu.s tliconhrastus. Insect s as H uman Food. they will remove all the ehrysalids and burv them lower down. When thebutterflv is ready to emerge, which is in about six or seven davs, it is tenderhassisted to disengage itself from the sliell. In some parts of India this ant is esteemed as a curry ; and elsewhere it isused as smelling salts ! The ants being crushed in the hands, the pungent odoursfrom their bodies are inhaled, and said to relieve a headache or cold at once.
Text Appearing After Image:
l^lioio by\ Head of Prioxus. •Ji. SI,-p. IJ... T!ii^ bcitlr, with many jointed antennje of rcmarkablf form, spends the earlier part of its !ifi as a grub feeding in the wood oftrees. Jn some parts of the world these and other tine fat grubs serve as human food. Insects as Human Food. A \isitor from oik^ of tlu^ otiier planets would probably be surprised to learnthat though the civilized races of the earth indul^t^ in the eating of live oystersand some other strangle foods, tliey abstain as a rule from the eating of Insects.Whv it should be so is rather dilficult to understand, when one considers thethings we do eat, and the fact that uncivili/ed and semi-ci\ilized peoples retainthe ))rimitive habit. Tlie abstention from Insects as food has been broughtabout, no doubt, bv fashion, for that it is not merely culture and civilization thatproduce an abhorrence of such food is ))r()\-ed b\- the fact that the cultured Greeksand Romans found nothing disgusting in it. flu \- ate their cossus