FOOD HABITS OF THE SWALLOWS. 9 



bees (Apis rn-ellifera) were identified in 13 stomachs. More were prob- 

 ably present but unidentifiable. All were males, or drones. To what 

 extent birds select their food has long been a matter of conjecture. 

 When it is considered that the worker bees in the hive far outnumber 

 the drones, it is evident that the foraging birds must meet many 

 workers where they encounter a single drone. Evidently the drones 

 are deliberately selected by the eaves swallow, for not a trace of a 

 worker bee was found in any stomach. 



Hemiptera in various forms in the food of this bird amount to 

 26.32 per cent. They belong to 11 families, chiefly the Capsidee, 

 Lygseidse, Coreidse, Pentatomidse, and Jassidae, which are probably 

 the best flyers. While the great majority are harmful insects, the 

 most interesting is the well-known chinch bug (Blissus leucopterus) , 

 which is said to cause a loss in the wheat crop of millions of 

 dollars in years favorable to the insect's development. It was found 

 in the stomachs of 6 eaves swallows, and 29 individuals were identi- 

 fied, but in one stomach, where only two entire specimens could be 

 made out, the fragments of not less than 100 were plainly identified, 

 and it is probable that the few here recorded are really the representa- 

 tives of hundreds — perhaps thousands — that the birds had taken. 



Diptera were eaten by the eaves swallow to the extent of 13.95 per 

 cent. None were taken in March, but a fair percentage was recorded 

 for each of the other months, the most being eaten in April (35.22 

 per cent) . Few were identified further than as to family. Golden- 

 green fleshflies were present in large numbers, together with many 

 small soft midges not further identifiable. Craneflies, which are 

 eaten by so many species of birds, were not found in the stomachs of 

 these swallows. 



Lepidoptera form an unimportant part of the cliff swallow's diet. 

 Apparently but few birds are fond of adult butterflies or moths, 

 though they may greatly relish their larva? — caterpillars. While swal- 

 lows seldom come in contact with caterpillars, one or two were identi- 

 fied, probably picked from the top of a weed or shrub as the bird sped 

 past. A few moths made up the bulk of the lepidopterous food of the 

 cliff swallow, 0.46 per cent for the year and 1.11 per cent for April; 

 the month of maximum consumption. 



Orthoptera, like moths and butterflies, are but lightly regarded by 

 the cliff swallow. Of the year's food they constitute only 0.71 per 

 cent, and in July, the month of greatest consumption, only 2.06 per 

 cent. None were taken in March, April, or August, the last, with 

 most insectivorous birds, the chief grasshopper month. The large 

 size of many grasshoppers probably saves them from the swallows, 

 for many are extensive fliers. Again, birds that eat grasshoppers 

 usually take them to the ground, a branch of a tree, or the top of 

 a fence, where they hammer them to fragments small enough 



