Insect Foods (1959)

of the animal kdom over one million known species exist today there are more kinds of insects than all other forms of animal life combined a large part of every in life is spent in eating and this is why they are so important to man their silent and often times unnoticed search for food is important to everyone all living things plants and animals alike provide food for insects some insects can eat their own weight in food in only two hours a grasshopper is such an insect multiply this appetite countless millions of times concentrate it all in a farm area and the grasshopper becomes a competitor with man for his food supply in this film we're going to see a few examples of both harmful artificial insects we'll see what and how they eat the Katy did is an insect that eats different parts of many plants it feeds at night and is seldom seen its color and form make it appear deceptively like the plants upon which it feeds this insect eats often and fast and normally it eats almost any type of plant its mouth parts are well adapted to its food getting requirements fortunately for us this insect is seldom a problem for in all stages of life it's controlled by other inss birds and other small animals here's an insect that is a problem this is the larel or immature stage of a beetle this insect feeds only on grain and feeds mostly during this larel stage modern man stores his grain huge PES of and so a situation has been created in which these Beatles become pests they spend their entire lives in the stored grain burrowing down and eating this basic food of man when the larv are full grown they enter the pupil stage now they're alive but dormant notice how much they look like the Grain in this most defenseless period of life eventually adult Beatles emerge from the PE they feed and reproduce and will continue to exist here for many generations until the food supply is exhausted the polyus moth larva is an interesting insect feeder this colorful caterpillar is a determined Diner its diet isct to the leaves of certain trees the polyus feeds only in this the larel stage of Life the feeding period is a short one perhaps no more than 60 days so the caterpillar must eat now continuously and without delay like so many insects this one's body is especially adapted for feeding in a particular habitat the polyus best supports its heavy weight by hanging upside down by its efficient little suction like feet notice too how this slow moving insect is protected by its resemblance to its surrounding even the side markings resemble the veins and the leaves upon it feeds when the polyus caterpillar is through feeding never to eat again it spins a cocoon using this previously eaten food as stored energy to make silk this it does with the same determination it displayed earlier in life the finished cocoon is a hard leathery sack it affords good protection to the developing adult within a window cut in this cocoon exposes the dormant pupil insect which no longer resembles the feeding larva is slowly undergoing complex chemical changes that will eventually produce this beautiful month the adult never feeds in fact the adult the pupa the Cocoon the complex changes in structure everything is a result of the feeding this insect did for a short period in its life this imposter looks like something that it isn't it resembles a wasp but it's actually a moth it's called a wasp moth the adult lays her eggs in the crevice of a tree stem the eggs hatch and the lar feed by Boring within the living tree the lar pupate inside the tree stem emerging as adults all that are the empty pupil skins the tree is either weakened or killed as a result of providing food for this destructive mon numerous holes in this piece of dead wood show that it has provided food for other boring insects these inss found mostly in Forest areas in the branches and Trunks of Fallen trees the insects are termites a group that eats only dead wood the termite has a bad reputation because it often eats the wood in people's houses but these termites are engaged in useful work helping to decompose a dead tree were it not for termites and other insects that feed upon dead wood the world would be cluttered with Fallen trees and while the termite eats dead plant material dead animal material is eaten by other insects these are the larve of a carpet beetle they feed EX on dead insects and other forms of animal life they're often pests because they eat the dead animal material with which people make their rugs and clothing but here they are doing useful work within a few weeks this dead butterfly is reduced to dust and the dust will enrich the soil and so help support the plant and animal life yet to come the clothes moth has a bad and welld deserved reputation the adult insect however is not destructive it's in the larel stage when damage is done clothes moth lar are sometimes found on live sheep eating the animals matted hair but here they are dining on dead wool made by man into a piece of the larby build tunnels in which they live during this immature stage of Life the tunnels are made of wool and digested food eventually this will be all tunnels and no cloth animal fleas are often present in rugs as well as on animals adult fle spend most of their lives on and annoying a warm blooded animal they are parasites living on the blood of the host animal but the adult fleas drop their eggs off the host and so a more interesting story is often found here the eggs hatch into tiny maggot like lar in this stage of Life fleas are scavengers for they feed on dead hair another animal tissue found in the rug also present in the rug are the dormant flea py after this stage the adult fleas emerge when the opportunity presents itself they crawl or jump onto the host animal who will provide them with blood for food to complete the cycle of Life the praying maned is an insect eater it will eat almost any insect providing it's alive and not too large watch closely as the maned captures its prey because of its predacious feeding habits the praying maned is considered a beneficial in although it sometimes eats useful insects such as bees it just as often D on harmful ones such as houses notice the man's front legs they're of no use at all in walking but are highly developed for another purpose the job of procuring food some insects lead a fantastic life this one in its larel stage is called an Anton notice the powerful jaws seen microscopically the Jaws reveal hollow tubes running their entire length they are used to drain the life juices out of a victim the ant lion spends its time in the ground at the bottom of a pit the pit is constructed by flipping out sand until the walls are steep pitched so highly engineered is the finished job that no small insect can craw up the once it has fallen in the ant lion Waits at the bottom of its pit its jaws outstretched an ant is often the victim once the Jaws close the prey is helpless the victim of one of the most specialized and ingenious insect feeders the way insects obtain their food is a NeverEnding Story for insects are most adaptable little animals new species are discovered each year new ways of obtaining food are gradually developed and this is often of great importance to man because every plant and every animal in the entire world provides food for some kind of insect [Music]