Oiniilii I.iikc I-islus 505 



water lily zone at I'i.dilyi^iit Bay ( Xd. 561 ). and uiie (No. 621 » lu-ar the mouth 

 of the creek at JnhiiM'ns Hay, where there was an abundant (growth of Dccodon 

 antl iyf'hu. Goodc ( 03. p. O9) says that the preference <jf the s|)ecies is for quiet, 

 clear waters, with a ^rass covered bottom. .\nd it is rarely seen in muddy sloufjhs 

 and bayous. Nash ("oS, p. S3) states that it frequents ponds, iagcjons and sluy^ish 

 streams, where there is an abundance of aquatic vegetation. Forlws and Kicharfl- 

 son ('09, pp. c.xii, J^o 1 fmd it inhal)itint,' lakes more than streams. an<l jireferrin;; 

 hard bottoms. Jordan and I'vermann ( "i/", p. 9^7 ) say that it is found chiefly in 

 lowland streams and lakes, in cold clear waters, antl rarely in muddy kiytjus. 

 Pearse ("iSa, j). 360; '19. ]>. 6) says the crajipie is a specialized fi.sh suited to live 

 among vegetation in shallow water, is adajited to feeding near the surface rather 

 than on the bottom, when there is little wind or heat, and to breeding under coiuli- 

 tions which would be unfavorable to most other fishes. He says further ('19, 

 p. 13) that judging from the catches in gill nets and on hooks, crappies are active 

 in Lake Wingra from the middle of February to the middle of Octolier. In 

 autumn, after the temperature falls to about soCc F, they seem to leave the places 

 where they were found during the warmer months, and it is apparent that they 

 go to the deepest water in late autunm and remain there in comparative inactivity 

 during winter. In s|)ring they return to shallower water and remain <Iuring sum- 

 mer. The fish is capable of enduring relatively high temperature (I.e.. p. 15). 



Food. Forlws ( ■7X. p. -h) found the fotnl eaten by ten siR-cimens e.xamined 

 to l)c chiefly nymj)hs of May-flies, many gnats an<I larvae, Corixa. gyrinid lar%ae, 

 CLidocera, co]>epods, |)olyzoans, and a few seeds and blossoms of trees. Occa- 

 sionally a small percoid fish was found among the food. Bean ('03, p. 4*13) says 

 the fotnl consists r>f worms, small crust.nceans ami fishes. Marshall and Gilln-rt 

 ('05. ]). 5iS( found only plankton as the food nf three si>ecimens caught in I^ke 

 Wingra in Wisconsin. Wilson ('20, ji. _'j6) finds damsel-fly nymphs eaten liy 

 adults of this s|K'cies. I'earse ('iSa, p. 35«)) in discussing the food habits of this 

 craii|)ie informs us that it feeds largely at night or in the early morning or evening, 

 and in shallow water among plants. DeRyke ( 'j J, p. 33) notes caddice wonns 

 and other insect material alnmdant in four of this species from Winona I^ike, 

 Indiana, which measure<l five to six inches in length. Pearse ("kj. p. (> ) gives the 

 <lata f>n the food of i.|0 Black Crap|)ies taken from Lake Wingra, Wisconsin: 

 riadocerans, 33*^: chirononiid lar^•ae, 14.5'^f : amphipiKis, 10.9',: chirononiid 

 I>upae. I)'',; fish. S,8'; : «phemeri<l nym|)hs, ^.^"^ ; coih'IxhIs, 5'; ; adult chirono- 

 mids, 3.9%; fMJonate nymphs, j.y, ; Cnrrlhru larvae, J.i'J. father fcMwl items, 

 each forming less than one |kt cent of the fof»d of the individual fisli are: 

 Heniiptera nyn)|)h>i : adiilt Hentiptera ; nuscellaneous plants: algae: caddicc-fly 

 larvae; gr;i>shiip|H'rs ; U-etles: (»straco<is; uniilentified insects: mites; snails; 

 li-etlies: silt and <lebri-. Pearse (I.e.. p. 7) lists nearly a hundntl fo<Hl «tem<. 

 obtained from J'U crajipies of all sizes. In addition to thuse not founil in the 140 

 fish are the following: fish eggs: Pyliutis larv.ie, l.epidoptera larv.ie: and the 

 conunon hair worm. Gordius. From the work of Pearse, it is evident that llic 

 crappies feed on a great variety of fiMnl. and he makes the following generalizations: 



"!. The most in)|>ortant fixxis are injects (386 percent), particularly imma- 

 ture stages: cladocerans (21.2 pcrrt-nt 1 ; c<.ixixm|s ( p) 1 ixTicut 1 : .tmoiiiixNU 

 (7.4 piTccnt; and fish (64 perccir 



