440 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 

 MIMUS CAROLINENSIS.— Ca< bird. 



ECONOMIC EELATIONS. 



It is thus seen that cut-worms and other injurious larvae form by far the 

 largest proportion of the young cat-bird's food ; that the equally injurious 

 moths are eaten to a certain extent, as is also true of grasshoppers ; that 

 injurious beetles form a small proportion of the food, as do the Ephemera or 

 May flies. 



But these results also show that insects which in the present state of 

 economic entomologv are considered beneficial are eaten. The Liiellulidm or 

 dragon flies formed a' small proportion of the food of the second bird. Before 

 recording this fact against the birds, however, justice demands a more thorough 

 knowledge of the food habits of the Neuroptera than we at present possess. 

 Possibly the dragon flies are not as beneficial as they have sometimes been 

 thought to be. Probably their food consists of two winged flies which are as 

 likely to be beneficial as injurious, as is also true of the four winged 

 Hymenoiiterous insects which they probably also devour. The same doubt 

 exists as to the spiders found in some of the stomachs examined. May it not 

 be probable that the benefits of spiders have been overestimated? 



With the Carahid beetles we can, thanks to Prof. Forbes's recent investiga- 

 tions, be more certain of what we assert. Prof. Forbes has found that the 

 beetles of this family, which are most largely eaten by adult birds, are very 

 largely vegetable feeders. If this is true of the adult birds, there is every 

 reason to believe that it is equally true of the nestlings. 



