Food Belations of Fresh-Wafer Fishes. 501 



seeds and anthers of terrestrial plants, and other accidental 

 rubbish. 



From a collection made at Henry, Illinois, Nov. 1, 1887, 

 four specimens of croppie {Pomoxys nigromaculatus) are 

 comparable with five sunfishes (Lepomis pallidus), and 

 three large-mouthed black bass {Micropterns salinoides) may 

 be compared with three striped bass {Bocciis cJirysops). Eighty- 

 four per cent, of the food of the Pomoxys consisted of Hex- 

 agenia larvae, an additional six per cent, being other aquatic 

 larvae, and the remaining ten per cent, consisting of fishes; 

 while the Lepomis had eaten but twelve per cent, of Hex- 

 agenia larva3, eight per cent, of other aquatic insects, and no 

 fishes at all, — the remaining elements being terrestrial insects 

 (about one fourth), worms (Nais and Lumbriculus, fifteen per 

 cent.), and mollusks (thirty-seven per cent.). 



The black bass had eaten chiefly fishes and a mouse, 

 together with a few aquatic insects; while the food of the 

 striped bass was nearly all ephemerid larvae with only a ti-ace 

 of fishes. 



A collection of small fishes, made from Mackinaw Creek, 

 in Woodford county, August 20, 1879, affords an interesting 

 opportunity to compare the food of a number of the smaller 

 species (cyprinoids, darters, etc.). About half that of four 

 specimens of Notropis megalops collected there, consisted of 

 insects, the remainder being terrestrial and aquatic vegetation; 

 and substantially the same statement may be made with respect 

 to six specimens of Notropis whippJei., — these two species 

 belonging respectively to the third and fourth groups of my 

 paper on the " Food of the Smaller Fresh Water Fishes."* 



Two specimens of Hyhopsis bigtittatus^ on the other 

 hand, had eaten only aquatic vegetation; and two examples of 

 Phenacobius — a species extremely darter-like in its haunts and 

 habits — had taken only Chironomus larvae. 



The darters were represented by four examples of Bole- 

 osoma and six of Hadropterus, the former and smaller species 

 having eaten mostly Chironomus larvae and Entomostraca, — 

 eighty-nine per cent, and eleven per cent, respectively, — 

 while the larger had taken only aquatic larvae, — nearly all 

 ephemerids. 



* Bull. 111. St. Lab. Nat. Hist., Vol. I., No. 6, p. 76. 



