so. 7 I'KOTI'.CTIVI-: ADAPTATIONS McATEE 45 



I mcnt that " \''cry few l)ir(ls prey n])on it because of its rc])ulsive smell 

 I and taste. It is questionable whether any of them are fond of it." 

 , (Garnian, 1 1., Ihdl. 74. Ky. Ai,m-. l^.xp. Sta., p. 56, May, 1898.) In the 

 series of Heteroptera comijosint,^ the ("oreidae and tlie groups aggre- 

 gated as the Pentatomidae f)r I'entatomoidea, we have the typically 

 stinking 1)ugs. Practically all of them have powerfully scented secre- 

 tions usually of a character obnoxious to nian, but it is not evident 

 that they are equally so to birds. Some of our Coreids (Thasus) arc 

 too large for most of our lairds to ])rey upon, but those of the next 

 j rank in size arc more or less freely taken, as Acanihoccphala by 12 

 species, in numbers as high as 14-22 by Franklin's gull ; and the 

 various species of Leptoglossus by j6, 10-15 indivirluals at a meal by 

 the same gull ; Alydinae, nearly as large and e(|ually smelly, are preyed 

 n]X)n I)y 21 kinds of birds. All Pcntatomids are eaten so freely that 

 it is difficult to pick the most representative examples. However, to 

 begin, let us consider Podisus, a predacious, but nevertheless highly 

 scented genus; it has been found in the .stomachs of 29 species f)f 

 birds, the nio.st remarkable record being for a bird not included in 

 these tabulations, namely a black duck collected in Maine, which had 

 I in its gullet alone 525 specimens of Podisus sereivcntris. 

 i One of the largest and most highly scented stink bugs of our fauna 



I (Acroslcniuui hilar is) wds found in the stomachs of 37 species of 

 birds, in number up to 26 in one instance (purple martin), while for 

 uur typical and most abundant genus ( Euschistus) 62 avian predators 

 I are known. The number of specimens found in a stomach exceeded 

 10 in a number of cases, and in r)ne, that of a hVanklin's gull, 

 reached 175. The little Thyreocoridae, polished black with touches 

 of yellow on the costa, were found in the .stomachs of 65 kinds of 

 birds, and the Scutelleridae in 60. 



K. A. D'Abreu in his rc])ort on " Some insect prey of l)ir<ls in the 

 Central Provinces" |of India] ( Rei). I'roc. Third l'".nt. ATeeting, Pusa, 

 1919, Vol. iii, p. 866, 1920) says " Pcntatomids seem a favorite diet 

 with birds." PTe gives notes also on bird enemies of 16 other families 

 of Rhynchota. 



The only rejtort on the food liabits of birds in the American Tropics, 

 namely, the " Piirds of Porto Pico" (lUill. 326, U. .S. Dep. Agr., 

 1916), by Alexander WetuKjre, in the accounts of the s]iecies through- 

 out shows 1 lemi])tera to be taken in due proportion. 



The Cicadidae are chiefly large insects, a factor which to some 

 extent must limit the number of their bird enemies; however the list 

 here drawn uj)on shows 87 s])ecies and there are four records for one 

 of our smallest birds, the house wren. Some of the larger birds 



