246 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 the fall web worm, 

 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, sparrowhawk, cuckoos and shrikes; and the spiny 

 larvae of Vanessa antiopa by cuckoos and the Baltimore oriole; while 

 the hairy caterpillars of the gipsy moth are known to be eaten in Massa- 

 chusetts by no fewer than thirty-one species of birds, notably cuckoos, 

 Baltimore oriole, catbird, chickadee, blue- jay, chipping sparrow, robin, 

 vireos and the crow, these birds being of no little assistance in the sup- 

 pression of this pest. These are exceptional cases, however, and in 

 general the hairiness 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 Bombus (bumble- 

 bees) and Xylocopa, and flycatchers and swallows feed habitually upon 

 stinging Hymenoptera, particularly Scoliidae, while a great many birds 

 eat Myrmicidae, 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 Automeris io is occasionally eaten by the yellow-billed cuckoo. 

 Aside from these exceptions, the stings of insects are an extremely 

 efficient means of defence. 



Odors, Flavors and Irritants. The malodorous Heteroptera in 

 general are food for most birds; Lygus, Reduviidae (assassin bugs) and 

 Pentatomidae (stink bugs) are eaten by song sparrows, and Euschistus by 

 blackbirds and crows. The odors of Heteroptera are by no means 

 universally protective. 



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

 (lady beetles) are eaten by very few birds the flycatchers and swallows 

 and are refused by caged blue-jays and song sparrows even when 

 these birds are hungry. Of Chrysomelidae, the Colorado potato beetle 

 is refused by the catbird, blue-jay and song sparrow, and Diabrotica 

 is not often eaten, except by catbirds and thrushes. "The smaller 

 Carabidae (ground beetles) whether stinking or not, are eaten by 

 practically all land birds." Crows, blackbirds and jays eagerly swallow 



