Is That So?
Ignorance begets superstition,
the father of popular fallacies.
The subject of insects is no ex
ception. So now, in midwinter
while most insects have gone to
their reward or are quietly over
wintering, isn't it a fine time to
sneak up with a Fact vs. Fallacy
on insects?
FALLACY: Little flies de
velop into big flies when they
re grown.
FACT: Once an insect emerges
from its pupal stage, it is an
dult and ceases to grow. Very
mall winged flies remain very
small winged flies: big flies were
big flics when ' they emerged.
Neither do moths nor butterflies
grow.
FALLACY: Veins in insects
wings carry blood as do ours.
FACT: Veins in mature in
sects are not veins in the sense
of veins in humans and do not
function as blood vessels.
Although tht; veins of insects'
wings do start out something
like veins in humans, each vein
is a sort of double tube, one tube
carrying air, the other blood for
a very brief time after the in
sect has emerged into adulthood.
In fact, only while its wings are
opening and assuming their final
flatness and rigidity. Then, un
like ours, circulation virtually
ceases, and the venation we see
becomes a dry brittle, structural
framework, giving wings stiff
ness and strength. Some butter
flies you know, travel upwards
of 2,500 miles.
FALLACY: You can trap a
mosquito by holding your breath
when it bites.
FACT: Popular as this myth
may be that if you hold your
breath the mosquito's bill will
become stuck and you can dis
patch it leisurely, it just ain't
so. So don't hold your breath. -
FALLACY: When houseflies
become exceedingly numerous
and bad that is, when they bite
By EUGENE BURNS
Ranger-Njturatist
! it is a sure sign of rain.
I FACT: Houseflies can't bite
its mouth parts are soft and there
is no chewing mechanism. These
"biting'' flies which sometimes
closely resemble houseflies are
really horseflies, deer flies, black
flies, etc. These, particularly the
horseflies, are vicious biters and
given the opportunity will suck
blood for two to five minutes, or
until their abdomens are so
swollen with blood that they
bulge. When they become nu
merous it is really an indication
that the wind has moderated and
the air is heavy but mostly,
that there is a favorable breed
ing place such as rotting vegeta
tion or a manure pile somewhere
in the vicinity, regardless of
whether or not rain is on the
way.
FALLACY: Tolerance to bee
stings can be developed.
FACT: For the time beekeep
ers are working with bees, they
can develop a tolerance but it is
lost in time when they are no
longer exposed to bee stings. In
cidentally, one scientist has esti
mated, after much laboratory
experimentation, that it takes
500 honeybee stings to make a
lethal dose for a grown man, re
ports Dr. Lucy Clausen, author
of Insect Fact and Folklore
(Macmillan, N. Y.). Yet, in Irv
ington, N. Y., a young man died
within 15 minutes after one
sting on the back of his neck.
However there seems to be in
creasing evidence that some per
sons' severe reaction to bee
stings is due to protein hyper
sensitivity and not necessarily
to bee venom itself.
FALLACY: Termites, one of
man's greatest enemies, are in
reality white ants.
FACT: They are not ants, nor
are they actually white. In fact,
they are not even distantly re
lated to ants, having evolved
from roach-like ancestors. A ter
mite can be distinguished readily
from the ant: there is an absence
of construction of "waist" where
abdomen joins thorax.
Although most consider ter
mites destructive because they
attack wooden foundations, ter
mites may be considered of great
economic worth to man since
their chief food is cellulose that
they obtain from dead wood. In
eating dead wood, they help
clear away stumps and fallen
timber that would otherwise
Oregon Staters Top PCC
In Rebounding Statistics
Los Angeles U.PJ Five
schools shared top team statisti
cal honors in the weekly basket
ball figures released today by
the Pacific Coast conference
commission's office.
The only team to lead in two
department was UCLA, top
ranked in total scoring and free
throw percentage for all confer
ence games through Jan. 19.
UCLA has averaged 75.8 points
per game in its first four out
ings and has scared 91 feld goals
and 121 free throws.
The Bruins also have hit 78.6
per cent of their attempts from
the tree-throw line, with their
121 points coming on 154
attempts.
Washington has shot 44 per
cent from the floor with 157
field goals in 357 attempts to
rank first in that rating.
Oregon State's top rebound
ing mark of 58.9 per cent was
achieved on 162 recoveries to
clog the forest and impede new
growth.- In addition, they breaK
down and reconvert these ma
terials thus indirectly enriching
our soil.
(Copyright, 1957, by
Eugene Burns)
(Released by McClure
Newspaper Syndicate)
Free: By special arrangement
with the editors of the Encyclo
pedia Americana, my panel of
judges will award each week to
the reader who sends me the
best true-life nature adventure,
the best nature observation, or
the best question on nature and
wildlife, a complete 30-volume
set of this world-famous refer
ence work in a handsome Seal
craft binding. Each week new
submissions will be considered.
Sorry, I simply can't answer
your many friendly letters.
Please address your letters to:
Is That So! co Medford Mail
Tribune, Box 575, Sausalito,
Calif.
its opponents' 113.
California has allowed oppo
nents but 51.4 points a game in
five contests and Oregon has
held foes to 32.9 per cent on
floor shooting and 72 goals in
219 attempts.
Smart, Back Lead
The state of Washington dom
inated PCC individual standings
with University of Washington
sophomore Doug Smart leading
in field goals and rebounds and
Washington State's Larry Beck
leading in total scoring per
centage. In only one department, free
throw accuracy, did another
school break into the leadership
with Carl Isaacs of Stanford on
top.
Smart has averaged 55.8 per
cent on his floor shots, with 43
field goals in 77 attempts and is
a 19.3 per cent rebounder. The
six-foot, seven-inch player has
x - -
A o '
SIGNING for his first head
coach job is Jim Meyers,
line coach at UCLA. He goes
to Iowa State in the Big
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Oregon Pulp Mill
Dispute Settled
Salem U.R) A six month
strike of millworkers at the Ore
gon Pulp and Paper company
plant here was settled yesterday.
Reopening operations will start
tomorrow.
Settlement of the dispute
which closed the millwork fac
tory last July 31, was made by
E. A. Linden, manager of the
OP&P lumber division; M. L.
Sullivan, the company's indus
trial relations manager, and B.
W. Sleeman, general representa
tive of the Brotherhood of Car
penters. The millworkers were seeking
a 15-cent an hour raise for all
laborers, but details of agree
ment have not been revealed.
Wednesday, January 23, 1S57
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE SEVTJT
Adirondacks Scanned
For Air Force Plane
Rome, N.Y. (U.PJ A
ground search party fanned out
through the Adironacli: foothills
today hunting for a KC97 Air
Force tanker plane missing and
feared to have crashed with
seven crewmen aboard.
A doen members from the
Civil Air Patrol at Utica formed
the search teams at the Alder
Creek state police substation, 15
miles north of here, where nu
merous reports of a plane fly
ing around were received during
snared 98 out of 508 total oppor
tunities. In total scoring Beck has aver
aged 21.2 points in his first five
games on 40 field goals and 26
free throws for a total of 106
points. Bruno Boin of Washing
tn is second with a 19.7 average.
Isaacs hit 88.2 per cent of his
free throws with 15 points in
17 attempts.
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the night
Poor visibility kept Air Force
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The $l.l-million four-engined
tanker disappeared Tuesday
night after making radio con
tact with Griffiss.
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