The Food Relations of the Garabidce and Coeeinellidce. 4§ 



while mollusks, earth-worms, myriapods and Arachnida make up 

 the remainder. 



All orders of insects are represented on the list, with tlie excep- 

 tion of Orthoptera and Neuroptera. The ratios of none of these 

 are of any special importance, except that of the Lepidoptera, 

 which stands at fifteen per cent. Hymenoptera and Diptera are 

 each one per cent., and Coleoptera and Hemiptera each two. 

 Amono- the Coleoptera, only Scarab;¥id;i^ and Telephoridte were 

 recognized; among- the Hymenoptera only a single ant; and 

 among the Hemiptera, plant-lice and chinch-bugs only. About 

 half the vegetable food could be distinguished as exogenous or 

 endogenous, the remainder being of too indefinite a character to 

 be assigned to either class. As far as known, the endogenous 

 food was more than twice as abundant as the exogenous, and con- 

 sisted almost wholly of grass or grass-like plants. The fungi, 

 which make somewhat more than a fourth of the food, require no 

 further special mention. 



If, discarding the ratios given above, we look only to the num- 

 ber of specimens in which the various food elements are detected, 

 we reach similar results. One hundred and seventeen individuals 

 of the one hundred and seventy-five represented by this final 

 table had eaten animal food, and ninety-seven had taken vegeta- 

 tion. Insects were recognized in eighty-two, Lepidoptera in thirty- 

 one (about one-half of which had eaten canker-worn'is), Diptera 

 and Coleoptera in nine and four respectively, and Hemiptera in 

 seven. Earth-worms were found in five, myriapods (Geophilus) 

 in but one, and Arachnida (mites and spiders) in nine. Grass- 

 like plants were taken by thirty-six, and fungi by twenty-nine. 



Scanning the totals for each genus on this final table, a few 

 results are noted which are worthy of special remark. First, we 

 observe that at least two very abundant genera, represented by 

 specimens enougli to give us a fair probability that the average 

 food is correctly exhibited, can hardly be classed as carnivorous 

 insects at all, namely, Harpalus, with its nineteen specimens and 

 twelve per cent, of animal food, and Anisodactylus, with its 

 thirty-one specimens and twenty-one per cent, of the same. 

 Amara and Amphasia should probably be placed in the same cat- 

 egory, six specimens of the first and five of the second having 

 taken but twenty-three per cent, and seven per cent., respect- 



