186 



SMALL ANIMALS AND INSECTS. 



[Chap. IL 



On page 76i of tlie London Gardener^s Chronicle of the year 1844, is a val- 

 uable article of Kuricola, (J. O. Westwood), giving a full history of the 

 Btliio Murci, the European analogue of tlie one in question. ' It appears 

 tliese insects (unlike nio»t others of tlie family Tipulida3 to which they per- 

 tain) arc most pernicious, the larvse feeding upon the roots of plants, some- 

 times to sucli an extent as to cause them to wither and die. Iluricola states 

 that ihe larvie of the Merci, and other allied species of Bibio, are frequently 

 sent to iiini by gardeners, who find them to be mischievous in tlieir straw- 

 beri-y beds, vine borders, flower puts, and other situations where the soil 

 remains undisturbed during the autunm and spring.' And another writer, 

 Bouche, says ' that his bed of i-anunculuses was completely demolished, for 

 several successive years, by these worms eating the roots.' From these facts 

 every one will perceive that the robin, consuming, as you found it to do, 

 from one to two hundred of tliese Bibio larvie daily, during the month? of 

 March and April, has probably been ridding our gardens of these veruiin 

 every year hitherto ; thus rendering ns an important service, of which we 

 have been wholly unaware. * * * The larvte are gregarious ; living 

 together in swarms, and perforating the ground so that it resembles a honey- 

 comb. 



' This is probably caused by the parent fly depositing her whole stock of 

 eggs in one spot, she being too lazy and slothful to wander about and dis- 

 tribute them in difl'erent places. Hence the robin, on finding one of these 

 worms, knows that there is a host of others at the same place, and thus re- 

 pairs to that spot, day after day, and gluts himself with them till the whole 

 colony is exterminated.' 



To this extract I may be allowed to add, that my own observations, during 

 tlie past year, confirm the conclusions of Di-. Fitch respecting tliis larva in 

 every particular, having found its colonies in November, and observed the 

 fly in early summer. I may also here introduce an extract from a commu- 

 nication of a lady friend, under date of Oct. 7, 1S5S. She says : " On speak- 

 ing of your remarks concerning the food of the robin, at the Teachers' Asso- 

 ciation at Bridgewater, in Juno last, to my father, he told me of a little 

 circumstance which I thought just proved your statement. It was formerly 

 the custom to have a shooting match on election day in May. On such an 

 occasion in North Bridgewater, about the year 1S20, a great many birds 

 were killed, so many that a man bought them by the cart-load for the pur- 

 pose of enriching his land. In consequence, there Avas a great scarcity of 

 birds in tliat vicinity, and a great amount of grass land seemed to be injured, 

 but from what cause no one knew. The grass withered and turned dark- 

 colored, as though it liad been burnt, commencing in small tufts and spread- 

 ing in large circles." It would seem that the insect under consideration 

 would, growing undisturbed, produce precisely this result. 



•1. During the month of May, the Bibio larvas entirely disappeared from 

 the gizzards, but up to the 21st of June, was replaced by a variety of insects 

 or worms only, including spidei-s, caterpillars, and beetles of the family 



