214 



THE GYPSY MOTH. 



Fig. 31. Chickadee. 



Chickadee. — The chickadee, though a small bird, feeds 

 quite constantly on the gypsy moth larvae, "skinning" or 



tearing to pieces the larger larvae 

 which it cannot swallow. On cap- 

 turing a large specimen the bird 

 usually stands on the caterpillar, 

 striking it with its bill until the 

 skin is torn open, when it pro- 

 ceeds to eat the vital parts. 

 Sometimes the chickadee eats 

 nearly all of a large larva. This 

 bird is also fond of the pupse, 

 usually breaking them open and 

 eating a small portion of the 

 body tissues and juices. Chick- 

 adees have been seen to feed on 

 the female moths. 

 Blue Jay. — In infested woodlands or in orchards near its 

 favorite haunts the blue jay is most useful as a caterpillar 

 hunter. Mr. M. J. Flood, formerly in the employ of the 

 Board, who was stationed in 1891 at a badly infested locality 

 in Arlington, where he watched the gypsy moth larvae for 

 forty-eight hours, reported that he saw hundreds of the 

 larvae picked up by this bird. During the day he saw six- 

 teen blue jays eating the larvj^e and pupfe, which he could 

 see very distinctly as the birds held them in their bills. 

 These birds are known to be regular visitors to badly in- 

 fested trees, yet they are so wary that it is difficult to observe 

 them closely. The prying nature of the blue jay stands it 

 in good stead in searching out hidden larvas. It pecks 

 them from the crevices of the bark or from under the bark 

 on dead limbs, and searches every hole. It frequently visits 

 burlaps on infested trees, thrusting its bill under the burlap 

 and raising it enough to draw out the hidden larvae beneath. 

 Mr. Mosher reports having seen the blue jays feeding larvae 

 and pupae to their young. The jays have been frequently 

 seen carrying the larvae in their beaks, probably with the 

 intention of feeding them to their young. Sometimes they 

 pinch or hammer the larvae, killing them in wanton sport or 



