298 ENTOMOLOGY 



Hairs. " Excepting two species .of cuckoos, no species of 

 bird in the eastern United States, so far as I am aware, makes 

 a business of feeding upon hairy caterpillars." Judd observed 

 that Hyphantria cunea infesting a pear tree was not at all 

 molested, in spite of the fact that the tree was tenanted by 

 three broods of birds at the time, namely, kingbirds, orchard 

 orioles and English sparrows. The hairy arctiid caterpillars, 

 however, are eaten by a few birds : the robin, bluebird, catbird, 

 sparrow-hawk, cuckoos and shrikes; and the spiny larvae of 

 Vanessa antiopa by cuckoos and the Baltimore oriole ; while the 

 hairy caterpillars of the gypsy moth are known to be eaten in 

 Massachusetts by no less than thirty-one species of birds, 

 notably cuckoos, Baltimore oriole, catbird, chickadee, blue- jay, 

 chipping sparrow, robin, vireos and the crow, these birds be- 

 ing of no little assistance in the suppression of this pest. 

 These are exceptional cases, however, and in general the hairi- 

 ness of caterpillars appears to be a highly effective protection 

 against most birds. 



Stings. Some birds (chewink, young ducks) are fatally 

 affected by eating honey bees. The blue- jays, however, will 

 eat Bombits and Xylocopa, and flycatchers and swallows feed 

 habitually upon stinging Hymenoptera, particularly Scoliidse, 

 while a great many birds eat Myrmicidse, or stinging ants. 

 The formic acid of ants does not protect them from wholesale 

 destruction by birds; Judd found three thousand ants in the 

 stomach of a flicker. " Stingless ants pretend to sting but 

 many birds they do not deceive." The stinging caterpillar of 

 Antomcris io is occasionally eaten by the yellow-billed cuckoo. 

 Aside from these exceptions, however, the stings of insects are 

 an extremely efficient means of defence. 



Odors, Flavors and Irritants. The malodorous Heterop- 

 tera in general are food for most birds ; Lygus, Reduviidse and 

 Pentatomidae are eaten by song sparrows, and Eiischistus by 

 blackbirds and crows. The odors of Heteroptera are by no 

 means universally protective. 



Among Coleoptera, the showy, ill-scented or ill-flavored 



