286 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



the peach-tree borer, the fruit-bark beetle, and the sinuate 

 pear borer. 



Set over against these enemies of trunk and branch, we 

 find the woodpeckers, nuthatches, creepers, and chickadees. 

 These birds are constantly searching the bark for the larvae 

 and pupae concealed within, and they are wonderfully adapted 

 both to discover the position of the pests and to dig them 

 out. The long, barbed tongue of the woodpecker can be 

 thrust into the hole made by a borer and draw the larva 

 quickly forth. The larger and more deeply embedded 

 larvae are especially sought by the woodpeckers, while the 

 smaller insects on or near the surface are eaten by the 

 nuthatches, creepers, and chickadees. 



The twigs or smaller branches of fruit trees are attacked 

 by a great variety of insect enemies. The sap is sucked 

 through the bark by hosts of scale insects or bark lice, and 

 aphides or plant lice, as well as by tree hoppers and related 

 pests. Many of the birds already mentioned feed freely 

 upon these various insects, the nuthatches, creepers, and 

 chickadees being especially useful in this respect. These 

 are not alone, however, in the good work. They are 

 assisted by the orioles, sparrows, vireos,* warblers, gros- 

 beaks, wrens, gnat catchers, bluebirds, and other feathered 

 friends. In the case of the scale insects alone, fifty-seven 

 kinds of birds have been listed as feeding on them. 



BUDS AND LEAVES 



When we consider the relations of birds to the enemies 

 of the buds and leaves of orchard trees, we find so close a 

 connection that we are forced to conclude that the life of 

 the trees depends upon the birds. Tree leaves are beset by 

 a bewildering host of insect enemies. Aphides, scale in- 



