Base Behavior of Butterflies...

[Mike Quinn]

Terms such as "good" and "bad" are usually left to the media, chambers of
commerce and real estate developers. Entomologists however do speak of
varying degrees of insect importance. Insects that transmit disease can be
very important. Various insects of medical importance have altered the
course of human history on nearly every continent in every century at least
since man took up the practice of warfare. Black Death and Black Vomit
(Yellow Fever) come readily to mind.

Insect importance is not just some human construct, mosquitoes have caused
the out right extinction of other whole species. Think avian malaria
introduced into Hawaii.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/biodiversity2000/invaders/img017.GIF

To say that mosquitoes have never killed anyone is like saying that guns
have never killed anyone, it was the bullets after all that did the killing.
Try to explain to this poor chap that "all insects are the same".

http://poetry.rotten.com/stillfried/

No matter how many leps land on a turd, they just don't compare in my mind
to mosquitoes and other insects of medical importance.

Mike Quinn
________________________
         Texas Entomology
http://home.satx.rr.com/txento/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Gatrelle" <gatrelle at tils-ttr.org>
To: <fnkwp at aurora.alaska.edu>; <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 3:22 AM
Subject: Re: Base Behavior of Butterflies...


> Ken, people who are agenda orientated often either do no know the facts or
> conveniently ignore or twist them.  Plenty of Lepidoptera "foul our
food" -
> both in the garden and in the cupboard (the USDA considers Leps as a group
> pests).  A few suck blood as you said (and those that do are just as
> capable of transmitting blood borne disease). And if stinging is a
> qualifying condition to make an insect ignoble, then honey bees should
move
> right to the top of the list.  (Folks die each year from bee stings.)
>
> I say again what I always say in this type of discussion, all insects are
> the same in uniqueness value it is humans that divide them up into bad and
> good ones.  The Endangered Species Act does not say that spiders, roaches
> and mosquitoes are exempt and should all be killed at will.  A rare
> mosquito can have the same degree of protection as that rarest Birdwing or
> allyni Blue.  If Poison Ivy became rare enough it would be listed as an
> Endangered Species.
>
> Ron


 
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