An Elementary Study of Insects

Elementary Study of Insects, by Leonard Haseman

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Title: An Elementary Study of Insects
Author: Leonard Haseman
Release Date: November 10, 2007 [EBook #23434]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: The Toad may be rough and warty in appearance but worth its weight in gold as a destroyer of insect pests. Note the expression of satisfaction after a successful night of foraging for cutworms and June-beetles.]

AN ELEMENTARY STUDY OF INSECTS
By
LEONARD HASEMAN
Professor of Entomology in the University of Missouri

Columbia, Missouri MISSOURI BOOK COMPANY 1923

CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I
INSECTS: (1) What they are. (2) Their principal characteristics. (3) Their methods of developing. (4) The principal orders. (5) Their habits. (6) Their role in agriculture.
CHAPTER II
COLLECTING INSECTS: (1) Directions for collecting. (2) Pinning and preserving a collection. (3) Rearing and observing them while alive.
CHAPTER III
THE GRASSHOPPER: (1) Brief discussion of the grasshopper. (2) Field studies. (3) Breeding cage observations. (4) Study of specimen.
CHAPTER IV
THE HOUSE FLY OR TYPHOID FLY: (1) Discussion of the life cycle of the fly, its habits, danger from it and how it can be stamped out. (2) Study of the fly and its work.
CHAPTER V
THE MOSQUITO: (1) Brief discussion of the life habits and stages of the mosquito. (2) Observations and study.
CHAPTER VI
THE CABBAGE MILLER: (1) Brief discussion of the caterpillar, the chrysalis, the butterfly, and its work. (2) Observations and study. (3) Breeding work.
CHAPTER VII
THE APPLE WORM: (1) Brief discussion of the different stages of the pest, its work and remedies for its control. (2) Observations and breeding work.
CHAPTER VIII
THE TOMATO OR TOBACCO WORM: (1) Brief discussion of stages, work and habits. (2) Study and observation.
CHAPTER IX
THE FIREFLY: (1) Brief discussion of the insect. (2) Observations and studies.
CHAPTER X
THE WHITE GRUB OR JUNE-BUG: (1) Discussion of the insect as a pest and its habits and stages. (2) Observations and studies.
CHAPTER XI
THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE: (1) Brief discussion of the pest. (2) Observations and studies.
CHAPTER XII
THE LADY-BEETLE: (1) Brief discussion of habits and appearance of the lady-beetles, and their value as friends. (2) Observations and studies.
CHAPTER XIII
THE DRAGON-FLY: (1) Discussion of life and habits of insect. (2) Observations and field studies.
CHAPTER XIV
THE SQUASH BUG: (1) Discussion of habits, injury and control of pest. (2) Observations and field studies.
CHAPTER XV
THE PLANT-LOUSE: (1) Discussion of habits, injury and control of pest. (2) Observations and field studies.
CHAPTER XVI
THE HONEY BEE: (1) Discussion of the honey bee as to habits in its home and outdoors, its value to man and the colony as a village. (2) Observations and studies.
CHAPTER XVII
THE ANT: (1) Discussion of ant life and behavior, the colony as a unit, its work and remarkable instincts. (2) Studies and observations.

INTRODUCTION
In the preparation of a book of this nature, to be used in the grade schools, we realize that the one fundamental thing to keep in mind is the economic importance of the insect, be it good or bad. The child wants to know what is good and what is bad and how he can make use of the good and how he can get rid of the bad. And yet there is something more associated with the life, work and development of each tiny insect. There is a story--a story of growth, not unlike that of the developing child, a story of courage, strife and ultimate success or failure, which is as interesting and of greater value to the child than many of the stories of adventure and of historical facts. Snatches of these stories will appear in the following chapters along with the studies on insects and their economic importance.
In the development of our grade school system, especially in the rural districts, there is a growing demand for some practical work along with the regular cultural studies. To the child in the rural schools, practical knowledge naturally tends toward agriculture. Many of these boys and girls do not have a chance to pursue studies beyond the grades and it therefore becomes necessary to introduce some elementary agriculture into the grades to supply the natural craving of this vast assemblage of children in the rural schools of our land.
In the search for a study which will give unlimited scope for independent thought and observation and which will lead the child to understand better the forces of nature that affect agriculture, nothing is so readily available and attractive to the child as nature study, an elementary study of the natural sciences.