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NEW FACTS ABOUT BOGS' LIVESLAND LOVES 1 2 . 3 i 4 5 6 7 K 8 L ‘ 9 ( v K x-Y" W S r A J *< *' -- -> m 4a . f a o .... -Wk w oH '' CJ ?r' t < w fWlh ily ' w ■' .. The Tragic Honeymoons of the Praying Mantis, the Sixth Sense of the Moth, the Misunderstood Cigale THE stories of the intelligence shown by the ant and the bee, their complex social hab its and the evidences of a real Insect civilization, make up one of ;ha un st marvelous chapters of nature. But the ant and the bee are not al no in the insect world in their possession of what seems to be the By Dr. J. H. Fabre (From 'Social Life in the Insect World”} -topyrlsbud b, th. Century Ccnp..,,. Sew ton.' FAME is the daughter of legend Whj is taere tiiat doesn't know the legend of the cl eaie. who went begging for food to Cite ant, and was told: “You san- The Love Tragedy of the Scorpions. I A I—-The Scorpion. Meet Each Other and. Claws Clasped, Per form This Solemn Dance to Celebrate Their Engagement. 2 2 i hei for Several Hour* They ‘Hold Hand»” in 1 his Manner, Gazing Into Each Other’s Eyes. 3 3—-1 he Female Scorpion Then Lead* Her New Mate to His Rest. 4 , Aft- Mr r < ( 4 A.ter the Honeymoon the Scorpion Bride Sets Upon •er Bridegroom and De vours Him. AKfWf w r fC I B7 j I l\ . . < t \ jp S—lhe Scorpion Mother Playing Lik«- B Cat and '.littens with Her Brood. (Photographs by Dr J H Fabre. I T KJ"■ ru — 11 ■ ■■■ . t *vT’Tt r V» , h> _!”L — —.—..... '” . - ——-»-» . ii -i ■ 7 ' higher reason, as well as at, least one ether sense which man does not possess. Dr. J. H. Fabre, the great est student of insect life in tne world, French scientist and a phil osopher. has just written it book which has given him the title of The Homer of the Insect.” A few extracts fron it are printed on this page. nil Summer. Now dance all Winter, and keep warm.” Let us seek to re habilitate the songstress so calum niated by the fable. At no time does the cigale plead starvation at the doors of the ant hills; the ant. on the contrary, harassed by drought, begs of the songstress! logs, do I say? Borrowing and re paying are no part of the manners of this landpirate. She exploits the cigale; shfl impudently robs her l et us consider this theft; a curi ous point of insect history as yet un known. In July during the stifling nours of the afternoon, when the Insect peoples frantic with drought, wan der hitler and thither vainlv seek ing to quench their thirst, the cigale makes light of the genera) aridity fS ° n V’ e ,wlg of a «nltab>e shrub she perforates the rind dis • tended by the sap which the sun has matured. Paging her pro boßcis into the bung hole she drinks. B There are many W thirsty creatures £ wandering hither and thither, and at lasi they discovered the cigale and the private well, betray ed by the oozing sap upon the brink. [ have seen crowded around 1 the honeyed per foration, wasps flies. earwigs, M sphinx - moths, pompilidae, rose chasers, and, above all, anta, r have seen them nibbling the ends of the cigale's claws; I caught them tugging at ihe ends of her wings, climbing on her back’ i ickling her antennae. One audacious indj. vidual so far forgot her self. under my eyes, as to seize her proboscis, endeavoring to abstract it from the well. So we st- reality completely reverses the action described by the fable. The shameless beggar. who doesn’t hesitate at theft Is the ant The industrious worker who will ingly shares her goods with the suffering, is the cigale. Yet another detail, and the re versal of the fable is further em phasized. After five or Rix weeks of gaiety the songstress falls from the tree exhausted by the fever of dfe. A bandit in search of booty, the ant, discovers the remains. She divides the rich find and cuts it up into tiny fragments, which goes to swell her stock of provisions. It is not uncommon, to see a dying ci gale, whose wings are still tremb ling in the dust, drawn and quartered by a gang of knackers—her body is black with them. After this in stance the truth of the relations of the two insects is obvious. The tragedies of the Insect world! Again the cigale. It is late, and they- are silent. Drowsy with light and heat they have exhausted them selves in producing their symphonies all day long In the thick foliage of the plain-tree there is a sudden sound like a cry of anguish. It is the despairing lamentation of the cigale, surprised in the silence by the green grasshopper, that ardent hunter of the night, which leaps upon her, seizes her by the flank, tears her open, and devours the • c ntents of her stomach. After the orgy of music comes night and assassination. But there Is another creature of this world which is quite as curious and as interesting as the cigaie, but much less famous because it is voiceless. It js called. by the pro vcncals Lou Prego-Dlcu'tbe creature which prays to God. Its official name is the praying mantis Good people, how very astray your childlike simplicity has led you! These attitudes of prayer ar —xorMiraßr iw "t v ‘ nJ&A. k/- XX Bl XX IWMf W (v* _ | X .» •' ** ' r Jr J ’iJlSdfcw 3Kk J 't ■As ■* ■» - - *** ,->■ ■* < I ..•• : ■••■ ■: A• \ ■ Two Mantea Fighting Like Prize Fighters with Their Enormous Claws. conceal the most atrocious habits; ihese supplicating arms are lethal weapons; these lingers tell no rosaries, but help to exterminate the unfortunate passer-by It is the tiger of the peaceful insect peoples: the ogre in ambush which demands a tribute of living flesh! If it only had sufficient strength and size its bloodthirsty appetites and its hor rible perfection of concealment would make it the terror of the countryside. If man and it were in lie proportion of the grasshopper uid the mantis no dragon which -ver infested earth was ever so terrible. The Prcgo-Dicu would be came a satanie vampire. As it fs, I ■ave often been obliged to get a sec •nd person to free me from one of liese tenacious captives. Thanks to a flexible neck, the head can turn to right or left, bow or raise its head in the air. Alone among insects, the mantis is able to direct its gaze; it inspects and ex amines: it has almost a physi ognomy! Its fore-legs and thighs are nothing but combinations of spikes, steely spines and double edged saws. The fore-legs termi nate in strong hooks, the points of which are sharp as the finest needle; a tool which is fluted and has a double blade like a pruning knife. When the mantis is in repose its weapons are folded and pressed against th» thorax and are perfect ly inoffensive in appearance. The insect is apparently praying. But let a victim come within reach and the attitude of prayer is promptly abandoned. Suddenly unfolded, the three long joints of the deadly fore legs shoot out their terminal talons which strike the victim and drag ii backward toward the two saw blades of the thighs- The vise closes with a movement like tha of tire forearm upon the upper arm and all is over; cricket, grass hopper and even more powerful in sects, once seized In this trap are •cat. Their frantic struggles wih never release the hold of this ter rible engine of destruction. At the sight' of o great cricket the mantis suddenly aßßumes a most terrifying posture. The wing covers open and are thrust obliquely aside: the wings spread to their full width, standing up like parallel screens of transparent, gauze, forming a pyra midal prominence which dominates the back; the end of the abdomer I curls upward, then falls and un I bends itself with a sort of swishing E noise, a puff like the sound emitted E by the feathers of a strutting turkey i cock. One is reminded of the puff ■ ing of a startled adder. Motionless E in its weird position, the mantis I surveys the acridian, its gaze fixed I upon it. its head turning gently as I on a pivot as the other changes I place. £ The cricket sees spring up before I it a terrible spectral form with E talons outstretched, ready to fa I . I upon it; it feels itself face to face I with death and fails to flee while E there is time. It is said that young I birds, paralyzed with terror by the i gaping mouth of serpents will allow I: themselves io be snatched from tbe nest. The cricket will often behave in almost the same way. Once within reach of the enchantress, the grappling hooks are thrown, the fangs strike, the double saws close together and hold the victim in a vise. But. we have yet to learn the worst. The customs of the mantis in connection with its own kin are more atrocious even than those of the spiders. The female mantis will always eat her sisters even when her favorite quarry, the cricket, is attainable. And, alas, its poor husband! We are near the end of AugTist. The male mantis, a slender add elegant lover, judges the time to be prepitious. He makes eyes at his powerful companion: he turns his head toward her: he bends his neck. His little pointed face almost seem to wear an expression! For a long time ho stands thus motionless, in contemplation of the desired one. The latter, as if indifferent, doe not stir. He need not despair, she will accept him as her mate be cause she loves him as the choices of game. During the day, or at lat est on the morrow, he is seized by his companion, who first gnaws through the back of tys neck, ac cording to use and wont, and then methodically devours him mouthful by mouthful, leaving only the wings. Here we have no case of jealousy, but simply a depraved taste In the course of two weeks I have seen the same mantis treat seven bus- f 9 \ ' ' -'ST l. ifltuidßWsfcU fin. ■ t \ N v-«B8. JV JHHBb cWaWM^SßiiwMi^ 5 j v\ AW IV< \ ffißjiafc..'- 7 x.: —"Xftw xx,‘Y>»-? ' Wißiwv ' gsy Fi ’ Y -X H 9& JMI MK' ; 35 s ‘|J 1 Bp L\ 2 ■ - Z<LWIW ■■ I - -7 ■w ‘ *T I -i , ♦ww—rl Z z •> ' /X W■ \---v . a . z .. ' i!”.C // > . .» \\ /p V it -*■ iElki i i If the Praying Man as only had suffi cient strength and size it would be the terror of the countryside. If man and it were on the propo 1 of the grasshopper and mantis, no dragon which ever infested earth was ever so terrible. The Preg r > llicu would become a Satanic vampire!” A Little Sun Wor shipper, the African Spider Mother, That Holds the Pellet Containing Its Egg Up to the Sun for Hatching. The Birth of the Butterfly I—Th e Caterpiller Climbs th , cS,?-'"” 1 b ’ "" C -“M H '"‘ d B ’— 3 Th* Body Writhes in Its L»k«, to Attach Itself to the Twig° r 4 Spent with Its Effort. It Hans, Motionless. • 5 A The .u hr S tal,i * Hood E *‘«d« Over the Worm. 6—The Chrystallis 1, Complete 7 A Th L C A‘T f Begins; the Win, bhieids Are Forming. 8— The Butterfly Half Out. 9 The Butterfly Is Bom. bands in this fashion. She acceptt them ail and all pay for her favor with their lives. The sixth sense of the moth! There is a great and beautiful European moth called the Great Peacock or Emperor. One morning a female emerged from a cocoon in my laboratory. I imprisoned her in a wire gauze cage. That night was stormy, the sky heavily clouded, the darkness so profound that out of doors one could not see one's hand before one’s face. Yet between eight and nine o’clock forty courtiers of the captive princess flew into my study seeking her ! The Great Peacock was comparatively rare near my home. Yet every night they flew to ’ter. I caught and marked them. In eight days one hundred and fifty' had visited me. They must have come from at least a radius of a mile and a half. How did they learn what was happening in my study. These agents of information affect the senses at a distance; sight, sound and smell. Sight could guide them once they entered the open window, but how could it keep them out of doors, among unfamiliar sur roundings? One would have to im agine a keenness of vision capable of annihilating leagues of space, able to see through walls. Sight cannot be the guiding sense. Sound is equally out of question. The female is absolutely mute. Does she perhaps limit vibrations of such delicacy or rapidity that only the most sensitive microphone could ap preciate them? The idea is barely possible. Smell remains. Are there effluvia analogous to what we call odor abso lutely imperceptible to us but capa ble of stimulating a sense organ far more sensitive than our own. t simple experiment suggested itsel! T would mask these effluvia, stifle them under a powerful, tenacious odor which would take complete possession of the sense organ and neautralize the less powerful impres sion. I sprinkled napthaleno about, placed a capsule beside the female and used other strong odors. Ve the moths arrivedon time. Furthe: more they care with .. great wind against which no known scent co -I travel! The only time the; not respond was when 1 put the i ‘- male in a hermetically se: le> gl^ s3 jar! What is the sense that drew them so unerringly? Certainly we do not have it.