23 



large numbers, as well as the hibernating larvae and pupse of other 

 insects injurious to trees. 



To determine how many eggs a single chickadee would eat, a 

 few birds were killed and their stomach contents examined, with 

 surprising results. There was no difficulty in identifying the eggs 

 of the canker-worm moth which were found in the birds' stomachs, 

 as a great portion of the shells remained intact. The other insect 

 contents of the stomachs were identified for me through the kind- 

 ness of Mr. A. H. Kirkland, B. Sc, assistant entomologist to the 

 State Board of Agriculture, who made the examinations. Although 

 it was impossible in all cases to learn with certainty the species 

 to which certain insects belonged, it was evident that they belonged 

 to genera known to be of injurious habits. 



I take the following from Mr. Bailey's notes : — 



Number of Eggs of the fall Cankei^-worvi found in Stomachs of Chickadees. 



No. 1 273 eg-gs. 



"2, 261 " 



"3, 216 " 



"4, 278 " 



Making in all 1,028 eggs found in the stomachs of four birds. 

 Four birds killed later in the season had eaten the female imagos 

 of the spring canker-worm (Paleacrita vernata) as follows : — 



No. 1, 41 moths. 



" 2, 18 " 



« 3, 27 " 



" 4, 19 » 



Making a total of 105. In Nos. 2, 3 and 4 of the last table there 

 were a large number of eggs also. It is safe to say that there 

 were 150 eggs in each stomach, in addition to the female moths 

 eaten. 



Mr. Bailey carefully counted the eggs in the ovaries of twenty 



