Insects’ Power of Reproduction

Power of reproduction of insects. Insects exist in enormous numbers and have a most remarkable power of increase. It is estimated that if the hop­vine aphis should multiply unchecked and each in­sect should live and find enough food, at the end of one season the number of the last brood would be 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Dr. Hodge has es­timated for the mosquito that if each insect should live, and the female lay the average number of eggs, the number of descendants of a single mosquito at the end of six months would be represented by the figure 2, followed by 39 ciphers. Of course this can never happen, on account of abundance of its ene­mies and lack of food.

Amount of food eaten by insects. Another fact that makes insects so destructive is the enormous amount of food they devour in a short time. Many caterpillars eat each day twice their own weight of leaves. Sometimes a single day's work of an army of insects may be enough to destroy a crop.

Nature's check on insects. The wonderful power of reproduction possessed by insects and the enor­mous amounts of food eaten suggest how important it is that there should be checks constantly at work to keep down their numbers.

Such a constant check are the birds, which constitute one of Nature's most effective means of controlling insects and keeping a proper balance. Parasitic and predaceous insects are another means of keeping the balance. The birds work from sunrise till sunset devouring in­sects during the warmer months of the year when insects are abundant, and some birds during the winter feed on insects' eggs and on the hibernating insects.

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

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