Good Done by Birds

Good done by birds. These studies of the food of birds show that they help man in three ways: (1) by eating injurious insects; (2) by eating weed seeds; and (8) by eating mice and other rodents. Another way of minor importance in which the birds are use­ful is in acting as scavengers.

Harm done by insects. Among insects are found some of man's most common foes. In almost every walk of life, man has to contend with insects. The mosquito and fly carry diseases and thus cause thousands of cases of sickness and death every year.

The gardener, the fruit-grower, and the farmer are constantly fighting the insects that prey upon their crops. In the vegetable garden, the cabbage-worm attacks the cabbage; the cucumber-beetle, the vine crops; the potato-beetle, the potatoes. In the fruit­garden, the codling moth damages the apple; the currant-worm, the currant; the white grub, the strawberry. On the farm the army-worm destroys the wheat, and the root-aphis attacks the corn.

The elm-beetle and tussock-moth attack shade-trees, and the forest tent-caterpillar destroys forest-trees. Nearly all crops have a great variety of different kinds of insects that may prey upon them. One hundred and seventy-six kinds have been found preying on the apple tree alone and four hundred kinds on the oak.

The following table prepared by the United States Bureau of Entomology gives an estimate of the annual loss caused by insects in the United States: ­

Besides the tremendous loss caused directly by the insects in destroying the crops, man spends an­nually millions of dollars for spraying outfits and other means of controlling these pests. H to this be added the loss in sickness and death caused by mosquitoes and flies, the total annual toll that in­sects collect from man in the United States is about one billion dollars.

birds insects - Yahoo! News Search Results
birds insects - Yahoo! News Search Results

No end in sight to the warm winter
Forecasters are perplexed by the mild weather across the U.S., and they expect more of the same. Many residents are delighted, but ski areas and other season-oriented businesses are struggling. Birds were singing. Insects were buzzing. And a large skunk suddenly appeared in the road in front of meteorologist Paul Pastelok as he drove to work in rural Pennsylvania.
Backyard bird count tallies feathered friends
Where, oh where are all the birds this mild winter?
Insects Top Latest Inventory Of Newly Discovered Species
Annual ?State of Observed Species? report released by International Institute for Species Exploration More than half of the 19,232 species newly known to science in 2009, the most recent calendar year of compilation, were insects ? 9,738 or 50.6 percent ? according to the 2011 State of Observed Species (SOS) report released Jan. 18 by the International Institute for Species Exploration at ...
Birds go wild for thickets, tangles
Birds go wild for thickets, tangles San Antonio Express-News Copyright 2012 San Antonio Express-News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 05:31 p.m., Tuesday, January 3, 2012 The most attractive landscape to the widest selection of birds is one that offers thickets and tangles. A landscape that has a diversity of plants ...
Insects dominate count of new species
PHOENIX, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- More than half the 19,232 species newly known to science in 2009, the most recent calendar year compiled, were insects, a report by U.S. researchers said.
Gail Compton: Spending time at the birdfeeder
If you're a bird-feeder watcher who only admires specific birds, you can exclude some seed eaters by putting out containers designed for specific birds and filled with seeds that target those birds. Me? I'm a "come one, come all" feeder watcher.
At the birdfeeder
If you're a bird-feeder watcher who only admires specific birds, you can exclude some seed eaters by putting out containers designed for specific birds and filled with seeds that target those birds. Me? I'm a "come one, come all" feeder watcher.
Are garden birds leaving home?
Blue tits, greenfinches, chaffinches and house sparrows - are there fewer in towns and cities this year?
Birds falling victim to Siberian chill
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Summit County: Birds of winter
?Extremophile? rosy finches thrive where other birds perish *Editor?s note: Have a bird question? Send it our way or leave it in the comment box and we?ll try and get it answered for you. By Max Wood SUMMIT COUNTY ? Birding in the winter in Summit County, Colorado may fail to puff up your year [...]