422 MICIIKJAN lURD LIFE. 



or under the various objects lying on the surface; or sucli as Hve in tlie (hnig of domestic 

 animals, in decaying vegetable or animal matter, or underground. * * * The almost 

 complete absence of the numerous arboreal insects of all orders * * * indicates that 

 the birds when sitting or resting on trees do not ])ick up insects. 



"The almost constant presence of coprophagous (dung-cat inu) insects in the stomachs 

 indicates that Crows preferably frequent dry pasture l.-imls, (hv meadows, or very open 

 woods, where cattle or horses are grazing. In many instances tlie presence of certain 

 species of Chlcenius, water beetles, or an occasional aquatic hemi|)ter or a Gryllotalpa or 

 Corydalus, etc., shows that the birds frequent the margins of ponds or streams. 



"The insect food of the Crow consists only of large or medium-sized insects; small species 

 are only rarely, if ever, picked up. The smallest insects found are certain species of 

 Aphodius (dung-beetles). Ants form a marked exception to this rule, as small or very 

 small species are frequently found in many stomachs [doubtless taken with carrion]. 



"The Crow appears to prefer insects with a hard covering to the more soft bodied ones 

 * * * no soft-bodied imagos (a few Diptera excepted) seem to be eaten * * * 

 Ci'ows derive a great deal of their food from the insects living in dung-heaps and dead 

 animals, where dipterous and other larva; abound, still these are but rarely met with in 

 the stomachs. A marked exception to this rule is the freqvient occurrence of spiders, and 

 more especially of the family Lycosidse or ground spiders. [These are neutral — neither 

 harmful nor beneficial]. 



" Crows seem to have a predilection for insects possessing a pungent or otherwise strong 

 taste or odor. This is exemplified by the prevalence of Carabidse (among them the often 

 recurring genus Chloenius, possessing a peculiar odor), copropliilous or necrophagous 

 coleoptera (Silphidse, Histeridte and ScarabceidiE Laparosticti) , ants, and more especially 

 by the almost constant occurrence of certain species of the heteropterous family Penta- 

 tomidse (stink-bugs and spice-bugs). 



"The following groups of insects representing the principal (insect) food supply of the 

 Crow are arranged according to their relative importance, but this sequence might undergo 

 some changes if an equal number of stomachs from all parts of the country were available 

 for examination : 



"1. Grasshoppers. During the months of May and June * * * grasshoppers, 

 mostly of the genus Tettix, occur in the vast majority of stomachs, but with few exceptions 

 in moderate numbers only. * * * Toward the end of June specimens of the typical 

 locusts (grasshoppers, Melanoplus and allied genera) increase in nvmiber imtil in the month 

 of August and throughout the fall they constitute by far the greatest part of the insect 

 food, often occurring in astonishing numbers, and often forming the only insect food. 



"2. Dung beetles. A larger or smaller number of dung-beetles, and more especially 

 of the genera Silpha, Hister, Copris, Onthophagus, Aphodius and Stnphylimis, occur in most 

 of the stomachs from all localities and throughout the whole year, and in many instances 

 comprise the greater bulk of the insect food. 



"3. Ground beetles (Carabidse). These occur likewise in the vast majority of stomachs 

 from all localities and throughout the year, and the list of the species thus foimd is a very 

 extended one. However, none of these species is ever represented by any considerable 

 number of specimens in a single stomach. 



"4. May beetles (Lachnosterna). During a short period of the year, commencing, in 

 the latitude of Washington, D. C. at the end of April, and in Maine and Michigan about 

 a fortnight later, and extending toward the end of June, these beetles furnish, as regards 

 bulk, number of specimens, and frequency of occurrence, the principal insect food of the 

 Crow. * * * Freijuently lai'ge numbers are found in a single stomach and this often 

 to the exclusion of other insect food. This habit prevails throughout the whole region 

 antl would occupy the foremost rank in this enumeration but for the fact that it is restricted 

 to two months of the year. * * * The principal but by no means exclusive insect 

 food of the nestlings may be said to consist of these May-beetles. 



"5. Ground spiders (Lycosidse). The only soft-bodied insects that occur in a very 

 large numl)er of stomachs from all localities and throughout the warmer seasons. * * * 

 Often repn^sented in considerable numbers in the stomachs, occasionally forming the greater 

 bulk of the insect food. 



"t). Weevils (Rliynclio])hora). Two species of weevils, Epicoerui^ itiihn'cains and 

 Phylonomvs putictatii's. botii often referred to in economic entomology, occui- ahunchmtly 

 in a large numt)er of stomachs. They would play a very prominent role in the food su])i)ly 

 of tli(! CroAv but for the fact that they are locally restricted. Epicoerus inihricalus does 

 not extend into the northern and northwestern states, and the clover weevil (Fhytonomus) 

 is a comparatively recent importation from Em-oi)e [First noteil in Michigan in 1892, 

 but now abundant and injm-ious]. 



"7. Cutworms (larvae of Noctuida;). Considering the enormous numl)er of cutworms 

 that occur, especially in sjjring and the earlier jjart of sunnncr. in ))astures, dry meadows. 



