14 



BULLETIN 619, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



state. Swallows can not easily avail themselves of this food, for cater- 

 pillars are not readily taken on the wing. All but one of the lepi- 

 dopterans eaten by the barn swallow were taken in the adult state and 

 amount to only 2.39 per cent of the food. Nearly all were secured in 

 October, and in no other month did they form as much as 1 per cent. 



Grasshoppers and crickets are a favorite food for many insectivo- 

 rous birds and in many instances are evidently carefully sought 

 after, but they form only 0-51 per cent of the food of this swallow. 

 Grasshoppers are frequently upon the wing and will rise in front 

 of one walking through grassy fields and often fly several rods. 

 While not a general rule, some species are capable of making long- 

 sustained flights. Flycatchers probably capture them in mid-air, 

 and swallows might take them in the same way if they cared for 

 them. The greatest consumption by this swallow (2,54 per cent) 

 occurs in August. 



Other insects of more or less importance serve to a certain extent 

 as food for the barn swallow. These are dragonnies (4 per cent), 

 found in 26 stomachs, May flies (Ephemerida) found in 13, spiders 

 in 9, and snails in 9. Dragonnies, though large and conspicuous in- 

 sects, are not taken by many birds, as they are very agile, but fly- 

 catchers and swallows seem to capture them easily. 



Summary.-^- There seems to be little reason for criticizing the food 

 of the barn swallow, as the bird eats neither fruit nor grain and 

 does not injure the farmer's crops in any way. It feeds upon many 

 injurious insects and destroys some of the worst of the farmer's pests. 

 It is cheerful and companionable and a pleasant adjunct to rural life. 



Following is a. list of insects identified in stomachs of barn swal- 

 lows and the number of stomachs in which found : 



ORTHOPTERA. 



Conocephalus sp 



HEMIPTERA. 



Ccresa bubalis . 1 



Entylia sinjuata 1 



Stictojsephala lutea 1 



Campylenchia curvata 1 



Qphiderma sp n 



Thyreoeoris- pulicaria 1 



Amnestus pusillus 1 



Geotomus sp 1 



Pangqnis sp 1 



Missus leucopterus 7 



Myodacha serripes 3 



Sinea diadema 1 



COLEQPTERA. 



Efaphrus ruscarius 



BemMdium variegatum 



Amara sp 



CnewAdotus 12-punctatus 



Cnemidotus sp '_ 



Hclophorus lineatus 



coleoptera — continued. 



Sp hceridiu m scarabwoides 



Cryptopleurum minutum 



Heterocerus tristis 



Atheta sp 



Pliilonthus hepaticus 



PMlonthus siegwaldi 



Pliilonthus sp 



Boletobius sp t 



Olophrum obtectum 



Phalacrus penicillatus 



Hippodamia convcrgens 



Scymnus loewii 



Scymnus sp 



Aulonium sp 



Dermestes fasciata , 



Dermcstes sp 



Hister abbreviatus 



Hister bimiaculatus 



Hister americanus 



Hister subrotundus . 



Dendrophilus punctulatus 



Saprinus pennsylv aniens 



