NO. 7 PROTECTIVE ADAPTATIONS McATEE 8l 



times by 94; the engraver beetles {Ips \To)nicus'\) 120 times by 24; 

 and the Anthribidae 29 times by 21 species. 



A few of the larger numbers of w^eevils found in single stomachs 

 also may be cited ; thus 109 Dorytomus mucidus were found in one 

 stomach of a downy woodpecker; 153 Calandra oryzae in a barn 

 swallow ; 167 Bary pit lies pcllncidalis in a starling ; 282 Hyperodes sp. 

 in an eared grebe ; and 281 larval and adult alfalfa weevils in a 

 Brewer's blackbird, 300 in a killdeer, and 317 in a valley quail. 



The nearly 20,000 identifications of weevils in birds' stomachs attest 

 to the frequency of their capture, and records such as those just cited 

 to the relish with which they are eaten. 



Though to all weevils are attributed various protective adaptations, 

 weevils of all sorts are preyed upon ; the secret of the whole relation- 

 ship between prey and predator in this as in other cases is distribution 

 of the attack. All available food supplies are sought by predators and 

 the amount of attention the}' receive is in direct proportion to their 

 availability. 



Total numl^er of identifications, of Coleoptera 85.322; percentage 

 of identifications among those of all insects, 44.6899 ; percentage of 

 species in this order among those of all insect species known, 46.2032. 



Other enemies. — It is difficult to summarize what is known regard- 

 ing the predatory foes of so extensive an order as the Coleoptera. 

 Fresh-water fishes prey systematically upon both larvae and adults 

 of the aquatic beetles but secure other forms only incidentally. How- 

 ever it appears that falling into the water or otherwise becoming 

 available as prey for fishes is a more or less frequent happening to 

 terrestrial beetles, since mo.st of the families are represented in tlie 

 food of these animals. (See especially Forbes, papers, bibliography 

 p. 188.) 



Kirkland reports Coleoptera as making up the following percentages 

 of the food of 149 common toads : ground beetles and their allies, 8 per 

 cent ; May beetles and allies, 6 per cent ; wireworms and allies, 5 per 

 cent ; weevils, 5 per cent ; potato beetles and allies, i per cent ; carrion 

 lieetles, i per cent ; and miscellaneous beetles, i per cent. Drake fomid 

 Coleoptera to constitute 33 per cent of the whole number of animals 

 consumed by 209 leopard frogs and 54 per cent of the insects. The 

 number of specimens of various families identified was: Carabidae 

 176, Cicindelidae 44, Hydrophilidae i, Staphylinidae 12, Coccinellidae 

 13, Erotylidae i, Elateridae i, Spondylidae 2, Cerambycidae 4, Chryso- 

 nielidae 2, Tenebrionidae i, and Rhynchophora 146. It is worth noting 

 that this author says of weevils : " The habit of these insects of drop- 

 ping to the ground when disturbed gives the frog a chance to capture 



