1914] Bryant: Economic Status of the Western Meadowlark 429 



Orthoptera (Grasshoppers and Crickets) 



Grasshoppers and crickets form a large percentage of the 

 meadowlark's food during the summer and fall, making up as 

 high as eighty-five per cent of the food in August. The species 

 of grasshopper taken is the one most available. Practically all 

 of the species found in the state are doubtless represented in the 

 stomachs. The common cricket (Gryllus) and the Jerusalem 

 cricket (Stenopelmatus sp.) are common articles of diet. Katy- 

 dids (Locustidae), being less common insects and having a 

 different habitat, are not taken so often. 



A systematic list of the Orthoptera found in the stomachs 

 follows : 



Gryllidae Arphia sp. 



Gryllus integer Scud. Dissosteira spurcata Saus. 



Gryllus pennsylvanicus Burm. Conozoa behrensi Saus. 



Locustidae Aeridiinae 



( ?) Macrocentrum sp. Oedaleonotus enigma Scud. 



Conocephalus acutalus Scud. Melanoplus devastator Scud. 



Stenopelmatus irregularis Brun. Melanoplus differentialis Uhler 



Stenopelmatus sp. ( ?) Melanoplus unif ormis Scud. 



Acridiidae Fulgoridae 



Cedipodinae (?) Labia minor 



Camnula pellucida Scud. 



Quantity destroyed. Next to beetles, grasshoppers form the 

 most important article of diet. Nearly fifteen per cent of the 

 food for the year is made up of these insects. Parts of as many 

 as twenty-six large grasshoppers (one inch or over in length) 

 and fifty-eight small grasshoppers (one-half inch in length) have 

 been found in a single stomach. The maximum amount of this 

 food is taken in June, July, and August, the birds feeding almost 

 exclusively on these insects during these months. The state over, 

 some grasshoppers are taken by the meadowlarks every month 

 in the year. The quantity taken closely parallels the abundance 

 of these insects. 



Crickets as well as grasshoppers are relished by the meadow- 

 lark. As many as fifteen pairs of mandibles have been taken 

 from a single stomach, showing that at least fifteen common black 



