TIM'. ANIMAL I'ooD ( »!•' lilJlhS. 



portant element in the food of many birds, especially tlif 

 thrushes and their allies. These beetles vary mncli in tlicii- 

 habits: some of them — cspLM-ially those b('lon<iiiiL: to the 

 genus Harpalus and others related to it — feed largely upon 

 vegetation of various kinds, while others — particularly those 

 of the genus Calosoma and its allies — an? strictly carnivorous, 

 being excellent examples of predaceous l)ectlcs. Tlie vege- 

 tivorous group enter most largely into 

 the food of birds. Many of the carnivo- 

 rous ones are so i)rotected by offensive 

 taste or odor that they are not eaten at 

 all. Some of the larger ground-beetles 

 are called '- caterpillar hunters," be- 

 cause they prey upon cutworms, canker- 

 worms, and various other caterpillars. 



The lady-beetles, or "lady-birds," of 

 the family CoccineUidce, are extremely 

 useful as destroyers of plant-lice and 

 other insects. Fortunately, they appear 

 to be distasteful to birds, as they are 

 very seldom eaten by them. 



The hard, cylindrical, yellow worms 

 frecfuently found in the soil of meadows 

 and grain fields and commonly calltMl 

 •• wire-worms" are the larvre of the 

 click or snapping l)eetles of the tiimily Klafcrid^ 

 feed upon the roots of i)hnits and sometimes do sei'ious dam- 

 age to young corn and wheat, 'fliey arc exh-emely diflicnlt 

 to combat by artificial means; hence we are glad to know 

 that both the larv;e and adults are \v^\ upon to a considerable 

 extent by various birds. 



In the great fandly (jf leaf-beetles — the ( '/iri/somc/'Hltr — 

 which is said to include more than ten thou.sand described 

 species, we find many insects which are destructive to culti- 

 vated crops. The most notorious American member of the 



>la.-iiiti.-.l. ( / 



