30 



remains in the soil destroying the roots of plants for several 

 seasons, and usually is killed on cranberry bogs by flooding 

 with water. In this case it was impracticable to flood the 

 bog during the summer. In May, 1915, after new vines had 

 been set, numbers of robins were seen at work upon the tract. 

 They dug into the sand with their beaks and pulled out the 

 grubs. In a very few cases the roots of the vines were cut off 

 by the grubs, and these vines the robins pulled up and dis- 

 carded, but dug out the insects. The birds worked so diligently 

 that practically no grubs escaped. A few came to maturity and 

 emerged from the sand as beetles and disappeared, but ap- 

 parently the birds got all the rest. As a result the new vines 

 nearly all survived. No other bird except the robin was seen 

 to attack these grubs, although others may have done so. 1 



Butterflies and moths are not usually destructive; some of 

 them do not feed at all in their perfect state, but the larvse or 

 caterpillars of most species feed on the foliage or other parts of 

 trees or plants. Many of these larvse may be ranked among the 

 most destructive pests. The caterpillars and pupae are eaten 

 by many birds. Many caterpillars are armed with spines or 

 stiff hairs, and these species are not usually eaten by birds in 

 such numbers as are those that are not so protected. Never- 

 theless, many birds feed more or less on hairy caterpillars. Re- 

 garding this habit of the blue jay, Mr. J. B. Kirtland avers 

 that in Cleveland, Ohio, he noticed one of these birds engaged 

 in tearing open the web of the tent caterpillar (Clisiocampa 

 Americana). This seemed so unusual that he was led to watch 

 the proceedings of the jays, and in so doing found that before 

 the young birds had passed from the care of the parents most 

 of the caterpillar nests had been broken into, many were torn 

 into shreds, and the number of occupants evidently diminished. 

 Within two or three years not a caterpillar was to be seen in 

 the neighborhood. 2 Wilson Flagg was one of the first to report 

 similar habits of the Baltimore oriole. 3 



A correspondent from Rockville, Connecticut, contributes an 

 item regarding the Baltimore oriole as an enemy of the tent 



1 Eighth Annual Report, State Ornithologist, Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, 

 1915, pp. 26, 27. 



* Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 25, 1870, pp. 483, 484. 



Annual Report, Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, 1861 (1862), Abstract, p. 50. 



