The History of Pests
By Senior Service Specialist Greg Duquette
(Part 2) Native American Insect of Myth and Legend
Because of the beauty, power of flight, and complete metamorphosis found in butterflies an moths, these insects frequently are found in Native American myths. The beliefs held by the Blackfeet, were dreams are brought to us in sleep by a butterfly. Their sign for a butterfly was a design roughly in the shape of a maltese cross with one arm horizontal and the other verticle. This sign was painted on a lodge to indicate that the style and method of painting the lodge were taught to the lodge owner in a dream. It was also the custom for a Blackfoot woman to embroider the sign of a butterfly on a small peice of buckskin and tie this in her baby’s hair when she wishes it to go to sleep. At the same time, she sings to the child a lulaby in which the butterfly is asked to come flying about and put the child to sleep. Grinnell did not learn why or how the butterfly bring sleep and dreams. However, he did note that the Blackfeet stated that the butterfly is soft and pretty and moves gently and that if you look at it for a long time you will go to sleep.
The butterfly was also a prominent figure in the myth and ritual of the Hopi. This insect occurs frequently on prehistoric pottery, in a ritual “Butterfly Dance“, and a clan in one of the Hopi pueblos was even called the butterfly Clan.
Hopi Butterfly Dance
The spirit of the butterfly is also personified in Hopi kachina figures. Kachinas are the spirit essence of everything in the real world. They represent game, plants, food, birds, insects, and even death itself is given a kachina form. During sacred dances, men who impersonate kachinas present carved replicas of their kachina appearence to women and children. These figures are commonly called “kachina dolls”. Among the various insect kachinas are three of butterfly origin. These are Poli Sio Hemis Kachina (Zuni Hemis Butterfly Kachina), Poli Taka (Butterly Man), and Poli Mana (Butterfly Girl).
Butterfly Kachina
The sheer beauty of many butterflies is explained in a legend of the Papago. According to this myth, the creator felt sorry for the children when he realized that their destiny was to grow old and become wrinkled, fat, blind, weak etc. Hence, he gathered beautiful colors from various sources such as the sunlight, leaves, flowers, and the sky. These colors were put into a magical bag and presented to the children. When the bag was opened by the children, colored butterflies flew out, enchanting the children who had never seen anything so beautiful. Interestingly, the butterflies also sang which further delighted the children. However, songbirds complained to the Creator because they were jealous that butterflies were both so beautiful and could sing like birds. Hence, the Creator withdrew the ability to sing from butterflies. And, hence butterflies are so beautifully colored, but are now silent.
An interesting intertwining of insect behavior and human sexuality is found in the Mothway myth of the Navajo. In the Mothway legend, a bisexual god named Begochidi was leader of the butterfly people and serviced the sexual needs of both male and female butterflies. However, when Begochidi decided to leave the country, the butterfly people decided to commit incest rather than marry outsiders. This made the butterfly people “go wild” which is currently manifested for example, in the tendency of moths to rush into flames. The basis for the Mothway myth is the widespread concern about incest in small, isolated groups. Thus, the Mothway legend is to Navajos an explanation of the prohibition against sibling and clan incest.
Born out of the caterpillar in the chrysalis, butterflies were a symbol of rebirth, regeneration, happiness, and joy to Native Americans in Mexico. In one legend, the powerful plumed serpent god, Quetzalcoatl first enters the world in the shape of a chrysalis, out of which the god painfully emerges into the full light of perfection symbolized by the butterfly. The Obsidian butterfly, Itzpapalotl, is a patron deity in the Aztec calendar. The Aztecs also believed that the happy dead in the form of beautiful butterflies would visit their relatives to assure them that all was well. These butterflies flew around the house and around bouquets of flowers which were carried by Aztec men of social rank. It was considered ill-mannered to smell a bouquet of flowers from the top. It should always be sniffed from the side, for the top was left for the souls to visit, where they could enjoy the fragrance thus reserved especially for them.
Native South Americans also integrated various Lepidoptera into their mythologies. To the Goajiro of Colombia, if a particular large, white moth is found in a bedroom it must not be mistreated for it is the spirit of an ancestor come to visit. If the moth becomes troublesome, it can be removed only with the greatest care or the spirit may take vengeance. Among the Aymara of Bolivia, a certain rare nocturnal moth was thought to be an omen of death.
Numerous other examples of Lepidoptera in the mythology of Native Americans exist beyond those documented in this article. Lepidoptera have also been popular in myths among other aboriginal people around the world. Many of these myths are found in anthropological sources and have yet to be fully brought to the attention of entomologist.
(Part 1) Native American Insect of Myth and Legend
Insects play a prominent role in Native American Indian tribeculture. Most insect perceptions are negative, from biting insects, crop destruction, diseases and just considered to be associated with bad luck too evil witchcraft. On the other hand, some insect legends do symbolize meekness and humility, two positive traits held by Native Americans. Although not insects, spiders also hold great spiritual importance to many Native American, particularly the Osage tribe and the tribes of the American Southwest.
Ants folklore shows up in many cultures and this is one of many Native American folktales.
How Daylight Came To Be: Ant and Bear.
Long, long ago, there was only darkness. In those days, the Ant people worked very hard. But sometimes they would go looking for food, and could not find their way home again.
Sometimes, they would hear heavy footsteps, and a monster would reach into their homes and steal and eat their babies, disappearing into darkness again.
This monster was Tsimox, the Grizzly Bear. Even now, bears will sometimes dig up the nests to eat their larvae.
There was one person, Ant Women, who was smarter than the rest. "If we had light, we could see to work. We could find our way home. We could watch for monster Bear, who steals our children."
Ant Women decided to go to the house of the Creator, and ask for light on behalf of her people. It was a long and dangerous journey. She did not know it, but Bear followed her, to see what she would do.
"Oh, Creator," she said "give my people light, so we can see and work..."
But before she could finish speaking, Bear stepped in front of here, saying, "Don't listen to her! Don't give this little bug person what she wants! I want it to always be dark so I can sleep and be cool!"
The Creator replied, "there will be a contest-a dance contest-and the winner will get his or her desire."
This was the first Powwow, when people came together to compete in dance. Just as now, people came from the four directions to see the dancing. They brought all sorts of food to share with one another.
As soon as the Bear saw all the different types of food, he became very excited and began to eat. But little Ant Woman fasted. She concentrated on praying on behalf of her people. She pulled her belt tight around her waist, so she would not feel hungry. Finally it came time for them to complete. She stood up, and told the people, "I am Ant Women-I dance for light!" And then she did a fast dance, pulling her belt tighter and tighter.
When she had finished, Bear stood up and wiped the crumbs from his lips, saying, "I am Bear-I dance for night". Then he did his slow and lumbering dance. When he had finished, he went back to eating.
For what we now call four days and four nights, they danced against each other. Ant Woman did not eat during this time, continuing to fast and pray. She pulled her belt tighter and tighter.
Bear stood up to dance against her, but he was now so fat and full, he could hardly move. He was so tired and sleepy... "I am Bear... I dance for... and then fell asleep right in the middle of the dance. He began to snore loudly.
"Little ant has won, " said the Creator, "but both the Ant and Bear are my children and I love you both. For that reason I will give them both what they wish for-daylight for the Ant People so they can see and work, and night time for the Bear, so he can sleep and be cool."
And so it is today we have day and night because of the wonderful Ant Woman. And if you see a Ant today, you'll notice she still has a tiny waist, so you know this story is true. In the twana language, the name for ants is "tlatlusid" which means "tied or cinched at the waist"
Lone Star Tick
Being a vegan, I found the Lone Star Tick quite fascinating. This Tick has been identified as the cause of a meat allergies for at least 1,500 people in the United States. The lone Star Tick can actually manipulate the immune system of its victims, causing them to suffer allergic reactions to meat and other animal products.
The Tick specifically cause an allergy to the sugar alpha-gal. Humans don't make this sugar, but it's found naturally in a number of non-primate animals, including cows, sheep, and pigs. Most people have some form of immunity to this sugar, which allows them to eat products like beef and pork. People who have been bitten by the lone star tick lacks this immunity and may suffer serious and potentially fatal allergic reactions.
Allergies caused by the lone star tick may only last for several months to several years, as long as the infected individual is not bitten again.
Like all ticks it can also cause more serious vector borne diseases like monocytotropic ehrlichiosis, granulocytic ehrlichiosis and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI).
The Lone Star Tick, also known as the Northeastern Water tick, or the Turkey Tick, is indigenous to much of the eastern United States and Mexico. The adult Lone Star Tick is sexual dimorphic, named for a silvery-white, star-shaped spot or "Lone Star" near the center of the posterior portion of the adult female shield (scutum). Adult males have varied white streaks or spots around the margins of their shields.
Lone Star Ticks are three-host ticks, feeding on different hosts during the larval, nymphal and adult stages. Attachment is facilitated by the tubular hypostome and a cement or latex-like compound that attaches ("glues") the Tick to the host until feeding is complete. After feeding once in each larval, nymphal and adult stage, the Tick withdrawals the mouthpart and drops to the ground to molt or oviposit.
Ticks come in two verities, soft ticks and hard ticks. Hard ticks have a large and tough shield that they have on their backs. Soft ticks lack the shield and have a leathery skin instead. Hard ticks have their mouth parts on the front of their body, giving the impression of a head, while soft ticks carry their mouth parts on their belly.
Some researchers argue that ticks evolved from mite-like creatures as much as 400 million years ago. These ticks could perhaps parasitized the first amphibians. Other suggest a much later date of around 100 million years ago. It isn't clear whether blood-feeding evolved once, in the common ancestor, or twice, in hard and soft ticks independently.
Enter a third family of ticks, the Nuttalliellidae. The only species of Tick in this family, Nuttalliella namaqua. A strange creature that combines features of both soft and hard ticks. It has a small shield and has its head on the front like a hard ticks do, but also has a leathery skin as soft ticks.
This Tick was last seen in 1981, in South Africa. Daniel de Klerk has been searching for it for almost thirty years. He even lost a finger tip due to a snake bite during one of his expeditions. recently he and other biologists found 30 ticks, including many living ones not far from where this species was first found in 1930.
Since Nuttalliella only occurs in South Africa, it suggests that the origin of ticks also lie in this region, around 270 million years ago.
"Did you know"
Powassan virus is a flavivirus transmitted by ticks, found in North American and in the Russian Far East. It is named after a town of Powassan, Ontario, where it was identified in a young boy who eventually died from it. It can cause encephalitis, an infection of the brain. No vaccine or antiviral drug exists.
