82 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 85 



them." This is just the habit the selectionists have declared protective. 

 Klugh reports finding 35 Colorado potato beetles and five other 

 Coleoptera in 25 stomachs of the leopard frog. Surface's report shows 

 that other frogs and toads feed extensively upon beetles, the larger 

 families contributing most heavily ; the salamanders also eat a great 

 many beetles, especially aquatic forms. Lizards, snakes, and turtles 

 also feed upon beetles, some of the smaller terrestrial snakes taking a 

 great many of them. Pack reports lizards feeding on beetles of such 

 " protected " groups as Coccinellidae, Erotylidae, Meloidae, and 

 Chrysomelidae. 



Among mammals, moles and shrews prey freely upon beetles, 

 taking Scarabaeidae and their larvae more and wireworms and ground 

 beetles less often. Spermophiles, ]:)rairiedogs. chipmunks, squirrels, 

 grasshopper mice, and other rodents as well as raccoons, foxes, and 

 coyotes prey upon beetles occasionally, and such animals as bats, 

 skunks, and armadillos depend upon them to a much larger extent. 

 There is no reason to believe that the " protected " groups of beetles 

 fare any better with mammalian than with avian predators. However 

 citation of a few instances of the capture of such beetles may be 

 advisable. A series of three armadillo ( Tatu novemcinctum) stomachs 

 from Texas contained Carabidae and Scarabaeidae in profusion, also 

 weevils, Histeridae, Lampyridae, Staphylinidae and Tenebrionidae 

 (including Eleodes). The stomach of a skunk {Mephitis occidentalis) 

 collected at Nelson, Calif., held 60 per cent of pupae of the Colorado 

 potato beetle; two shrews (Sorex vagrans atnoenus) from Crater 

 Lake, Ore., had fed on Silphidae. one to the extent of 50 per cent, the 

 other to 100 per cent of the total food. A prairiedog (Cynouiys 

 gunnisoni) from Magdalena, N. Alex., had nothing but remains of 

 Calosoma triste in its stomach, and a badger (Taxidea taxus) from 

 Ash Meadows, Nev., had eaten no fewer than 150 Calosoma 

 prorninens. 



Passing to the enemies of beetles in the insect kingdom, it is well 

 known that the various predatory tribes make no exception of beetles 

 even though their generally hard integuments would seem to be a bar. 

 Mantids, chrysopids, robber flies, predacious bugs and beetles, wasps, 

 ants, dragonflies, and spiders all feed upon beetles, and every tabula- 

 tion of the species eaten by them shows " protected " forms liberally 

 represented. Beetles are subject to numerous parasites which attack 

 them in all stages from egg to imago, and like most insects, they at 

 times are decimated by fungal or bacterial intruders. 



While it has been impossible in the limits of this paper to discuss 

 fully the enemies of beetles other than birds, a few cases may be cited 



