10 



BULLETIN 619, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



to be swallowed easily. This is manifestly impossible for the birds 

 of this family, as their bills are weak and they do not perch on the 

 ground or other places where they can beat their prey as do other 

 birds. 



A few other insects, as dragonflies, May flies, and lace- winged flies, 

 several spiders, a snail, and a few bits of eggshell (collectively, 2.97 

 per cent) close the food account. That eggshells and snails should 

 be taken by birds that so seldom alight upon the ground may seem 

 a little curious, but as they come to the. earth in order to get mud for 

 their nests, they may possibly do so at other times. There were in the 

 stomachs several gravel stones and one or two pieces of old mollusk 

 shell, which, like the snail shell, must have been picked up from the 

 ground. 



/Summary. — The food of the cliff swallow contains few elements 

 that can be criticized from an economic point of view. The destruc- 

 tion of a few coccinellid beetles and some parasitic hymenopterans is 

 theoretically harmful to the interests of man, but practically it has 

 little effect. The bird does no direct injury, and it consumes many 

 noxious insects, notably two of the most destructive pests that the 

 country has ever known — the chinch bug and the boll weevil. In 

 view of this record it is hoped that the practice of tearing down its 

 nests will be discontinued. Cliff, or eaves, swallows should be pro- 

 tected and encouraged in every way. The belief that they harbor 

 bedbugs in their nests is erroneous. Their parasites are of a different 

 species from the one that afflicts mankind. 



Following is a list of insects found in stomachs of cliff swallows 

 and the number of stomachs in which found : 



HEMITTERA. 



Entylia concisa 



Stictocephala festivu- 



Clastoptera obtusa 



AgalHa ^-punctata 



Deltocephalus sp 



Eucanthus sp 



Homalodisca sp 



Hymenarcys- wervosa- 



Nezara hilaris 



Emesa sp 



Sinea diadema 



Sinea sp 



Reduviolns sp 



Blissus leucopterus 



Perigenes sp 



Salda sp 



ORTHOPTERA. 



Tettix sp 



Ceuthophilus sp_ 



COLEOPTERA. 



Elaphrus ruscarius. 



Elaphrus sp 



Dyschlrius marmus. 



COLEoptera — continued. 



Pterostichus lucublandus 



Pterostichus soitulns 



Pterostichus sp 



Amara fallow 



Amara sp 



Agonoderus pallipes 



Selenophorus sp 1 



A nisodactylus baMimorensis 



Br y chius sp 



Cnemidotus callosus 



Ccelambus patruelis 



Helophorus lineatus 



Helophorus sp 



OctheMus puncticollis 



Tropisternus limbalis 



Laccobius agilis 



Laccobius ellipticus 



Philhydrus hamiltoni 



Cercyon prwtextatum 



Cercyon sp 



Megasternum sp 



Cryptoplcurum minutum 



Heterocerus sp 



Philonthus varians 



Philonthus lomatus 



1 

 1 



1 

 1 

 2 

 1 

 1 

 2 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 21 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 o 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 4 

 2 

 1 

 1 



