520 Recent Literature. [o c t. 



Entomology. It will be an occasion for congratulation to have an experi- 

 enced bird student added to the ranks of entomologists. — W. L. M. 



Economic Ornithology in Recent Entomological Publications. — 



Katydids are said to have caused the loss of as much as a fourth of the crop 

 in certain orange groves of California in 1914. The entomologists who 

 describe the depredations — Messrs. J. R. Horton and C. E. Pemberton — 

 state that " birds undoubtedly play an important part in reducing the 

 number of adults each year." l " In 1911," they also say " a small chip- 

 ping sparrow was noted in some abundance among trees of various Katydid- 

 infested orchards, and was apparently very busily capturing Katydids. 

 Birds are undoubtedly the most important enemies of the Katydid in this 

 section " (p. 11). 



On the other side of the ledger must be set down the activities of bird 

 enemies of Calosoma sycophanta a predacious beetle, introduced into New 

 England on account of its value as a destroyer of the gipsy-moth. Messrs. 

 A. F. Burgess and C. W. Collins in their report on this beetle say: " It is 

 undoubtedly true that this species is eaten to some extent by birds, and the 

 hairy woodpecker has been charged with destroying it on several occasions. 

 The crow has been observed to feed on the beetles and also to carry them to 

 their nests which were occupied by young birds." 2 



The authors, however, report a satisfactory increase and spread of the 

 beetle. 



The widespread outbreak of the army-worm, in 1914, called forth the 

 publication of a number of bulletins, most of which acknowledge the value 

 of birds as enemies of this pest. We quote from two of these reports. 

 Dr. W. E. Britton, State Entomologist of Connecticut, states that " Of 

 the birds occurring in Connecticut, the most important destroyers of the 

 army-worm are the blackbirds, starlings, robins, thrushes, bobolinks, cat- 

 birds, and barn swallows. Even the much despised English sparrow has 

 been observed to feed upon them." 3 



With relation to an invasion of army-worms in Canada, Mr. Arthur 

 Gibson says: 4 " The wild birds are an important aid in outbreaks of noctuid 

 caterpillars, and in 1914 large numbers of army- worms were devoured by 

 them. Blackbirds were frequently noticed feeding upon the caterpillars 

 in Ontario, and also in New Brunswick, as were also crows. During a local 

 outbreak of the army-worm near Treesbank, Man., in 1913, Mr. Norman 

 Criddle, Field Officer of the Branch, observed, in August, thousands of 

 crows feeding upon the larvae. They were also seen to dig out and eat 

 the pupae. A large flock of probably three thousand birds visited the 

 infested locality every day from the time Mr. Criddle first noticed the 

 worms until at least two weeks after the larvae had pupated. In western 



» Bull. 256, U. S. Dept. Agr., July 27, 1915, p. 13. 



2 Bull. 251, U. S. Dept. Agr., July 27, 1915, p. 18. 



s Ann. Rep. Conn. Agr. Exp. Sta. for 1914, Part III, p. 166, 1915. 



4 Bull. 9, Ent. Branch, Dept. Agr.. Dominion of Canada, 1915, pp. 16-17. 



