152 



Tweuty-thrGe specimeus weie found to contain mollusks, of which 

 one had eaten a sluj;- and seventeen had devoured di y land slails or 

 the snail covered with a shell, and living on the land. This shows the 

 Painted Turtle is a destroyer of this creature which feeds so exten- 

 sively on the foliage of plants in damp places. Three had eaten 

 pond snails and five had devoured bivalves or mussels. Of course, 

 the last named were taken from the water as they are only aquatic 

 in their living. 



Sixty-one of the eighty-six had eaten insects, of which twenty-two 

 contained undeterminable fragments of immature insects, and three 

 contained undetermined insect larvie. Eleven had fed on dragon flies 

 in the immature stage. As the njanphs of the dragon flies live en- 

 tirely in the water it is plainly seen that the Painted Turtle seeks 

 much of the food in the mud at the bottom of streams and ponds. Of 

 course, some of them could be captured at the time they come from 

 the water and cling to objects in the air and transform to the winged 

 stage. 



It is interesting to entomologists to know that one specimen of 

 Painted Turtle was found to contain a mole cricket in good condition. 

 This insect is rare in most portions of the State, but its proclivity 

 to live in damp regions accounts for the greater chance of its being 

 found and eaten b}- a semi-aquatic animal like the Painted Turtle. 



Among the Hemiptera it was found that one Painted Turtle had 

 eaten a small giant water bug (Zaitha), two devoured water striders 

 or ''skaters" and three had fed upon leaf hoppers. Two Painted 

 Turtles should be given credit for eating the larvje of moths, com- 

 monly called cateri)illars, while nineteen were found to have fed on 

 flies, mosUy in the immature stages as larvje or pup;p. Most of these 

 were flies of the species that live in or near the mud and water. 



Thirty-seven Painted Turtles were found to contain beetles, of 

 which twenty-four contained fragments of species which could not 

 be determint^d. Three had eaten ground beetles, and one an aquatic 

 Diving Beetle, while ten had shown their decidedly beneficial results 

 by feeding on the very objectionable Rose Bug. While it is possible 

 these turtles had taken the insects from the surface of the water 

 where they were floating, nevertheless credit must be given them as 

 certainly being an enemy of one of the most obnoxious pests of this 

 State, and for which there is no satisfactory remedy. Eight Painted 

 Turtles had eaten vertebrates, four of which contained fishes and 

 one a mammal. Others contained only bones or fragments of flesh 

 and could not be recorded with certainty. 



In the review of the food of the. Painted Turtle it becomes evi- 

 dent that it eats vegetation to a great extent, but is not necessarily 

 objectionable by so doing, as the plants are mostly of aciuatic 

 species. It is beneficial in feeding upon such insects as snails, leaf 



