Judge — July 22, 1916 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Some Doings in Bugland" This is a satirical illustration titled "Some Doings in Bugland," depicting an anthropomorphized insect community engaged in various human activities and social behaviors. The cartoon uses insects as stand-ins for human society, a common Victorian-era satirical device. The dense, chaotic scene shows bugs engaged in multiple simultaneous activities—what appears to be commerce, entertainment, labor, and socializing. Various speech bubbles contain dialogue, though most are difficult to read clearly in this reproduction. The satire likely comments on human society's complexity, absurdity, or social hierarchies by portraying them through insects. This approach allowed Judge magazine to critique contemporary social conditions indirectly. Without clearer text, the specific targets of satire remain unclear, but the overall effect mocks human pretension and social organization.