192 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



fear that but a very slight case can be made out in his favor. Of fruit he 

 is a thief of the worst kind, stealing early and late, from the time of 

 strawberries until the last grapes are gathered ; not content to eat entirely 

 the fruit he attacks, but biting a piece out here and there from the finest 

 specimens, and thus destroying a far greater quantity than would suffice 

 to fill him to his utmost capacity. At the time of writing, flocks of the 

 most pertinacious specimens are destroying the best of my grapes, while 

 alongside is a patch of cabbages almost eaten up with the larvae of the 

 cabbage butterfly — nice, fat, smooth grubs, easily swallowed, but no such 

 thing will Mr. Robin look at as long as good fruit can be had. His tastes 

 are so expensive that to gratify them is to deprive the fruit grower of a 

 large portion of his profits, hence the sooner the robin ceases to be pro- 

 tected by legislation the better it will be for all lovers of fruit. 



The insect world is composed of myriads of specimens which from 

 their varied structure and habits admit of being classified into families, 

 each distinct and usually easily recognizable to the practiced eye of the 

 Entomologist. A large portion of this innumerable host is appointed to 

 prey upon and devour the other portions, and thus it appears to me that 

 apart from any consideration of insectivorous birds, that the insect world 

 would and does to a large extent take care of itself, and when an injurious 

 species increases beyond its normal limits, its natural insect enemies hav- 

 ing an unusual amount of material to work on, soon become sufficiently 

 numerous to reduce the number of the injurious insect to its normal pro- 

 portions again. As an illustration take the now common cabbage butter- 

 fly, Pieris rapce. This insect was in some way brought from Europe to 

 Quebec a few years ago. From Quebec it has since spread over an 

 immense area extending now from Alabama to the waters of Lake 

 Superior, eastward to the Atlantic, and westward many hundreds of miles, 

 and over all this district it has done immense damage to the cabbage 

 crop. Throughout this area insectivorous birds of all sorts prevail ; the 

 butterfly is conspicuous, not very strong in flight, and during the day 

 almost constantly on the wing ; the larva feeds in exposed situations, is 

 of that smooth character which birds are said to prefer, and although 

 similar in color to its food plant, is not difficult to detect. Here, then, is 

 an instance where a comparatively feeble insect, particularly vulnerable 

 to attack, has rapidly spread over a large portion of this continent with 

 little or no opposition from insectivorous birds. Indeed I have never yet 

 found or known to be found a- single example either of the butterfly or 



