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Natural Enimies of Insects

That insects have a host of natural enemies which constantly prey on them is as certainty. If it were not so, and if our pests reached the full limit of their powers of multiplication unchecked, there would shortly be no living plant left on the face of the earth, and no trace of animal life. Insects possess preeminently the ability to multiply rapidly and to spread widely. Therefore it has been computed that the progeny of one plant louse in a single season, if allowed to multiply at the maximum rate and if none suffered accidental death, would make a mass of matter equal in weight to that of the earth.

Among the higher animals that destroy noxious insects birds are entitled undoubtedly to first rank. Few of us appreciate their services. Scores of species depend largely on insects for their food during a part of the year, if not throughout all of it. Among our best friends are the swallows, chickadees, cuckoos, the kingbird, catbird, robin, bluebird, and the woodpeckers; but this list is merely suggestive.

Birds are peculiarly fitted for dealing with outbreaks of injurious insects. Possessed of the power of flight they can flock to places where insect pests that they enjoy are in abundance. At the same time they are not bound to maintain a species at reasonable abundance in order to protect their source of food and keep it from disappearing entirely, as is the case with many insect parasites.

Toads are entitled to prominent rank as destroyers of insects. The number of specimens consumed by them in a season is enormous. Other animals that live on insects to a considerable extent are skunks, moles, and field mice.

Efficient enemies of aquatic insects, or such as spend part of their life beneath the water, are various species of fishes.