22 BULLETIN" 621, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



Other Orthoptera. — Fragments of a few roaches (Blattidse) and 

 the odd egg clusters of rear-horses (Mantidse) were the only other 

 orthopterous remains found. 



Lepidoptera (caterpillars, moths, and butterflies) . 



Lepidopterous remains in the food of the crow are composed almost 

 entirely of the larva?, caterpillars, most of which are eaten by nestling 

 birds (see p. 60). In bulk this portion of the diet forms only 1.56 

 per cent of the yearly sustenance of the adult bird, compared with 

 5.34 per cent for the nestling. June is the month best represented, 

 when these insects form 6.41 per cent ; May is second, with 2.71 ; and 

 September, third, with 2.12. Of the total number of stomachs, 1,340, 

 lepidopterous remains were found in 297, and in a few instances 

 formed a considerable part of the contents. A particularly note- 

 worthy stomach was that of a crow obtained in Michigan in May. 

 This bird had eaten 483 small caterpillars, apparently of the genus 

 Crambus, to which belong the grass moths. Another collected at the 

 same time and place had its stomach two-thirds full of caterpillars 

 of the same kind. A bird taken in Wisconsin in September had 

 eaten at least 50 small unidentified moths, which amounted to 90 

 per cent of the food ; and in at least 7 other stomachs more than 10 

 moths or caterpillars were present. In. only one instance was a 

 butterfly identified. 



Cutworms (Noctuidas) were found more frequently than the larva? 

 of any other family. Among these were identified the cotton worm 

 {Alabama argillacea), the army worm (Cirphis unipuncta), and the 

 fall army worm (Laphygma frugiperda) . The large larvae of several 

 of the silkworm moths (Saturniidse) were detected, and in a limited 

 number of stomachs were those of the tussock moth {Hemerocampa 

 leucostigma) , the spring canker worm (Paleacrita vernata), and 

 eggs of the tent caterpillar {Malacosoma. americana). 



Field observers have often noted the energy with which crows 

 hunt for caterpillars during the period when there are callow young 

 to feed, especially in regions where an outbreak of one or another of 

 these pests has afforded an abundant supply of nutritious food. The 

 work of these birds on the army worm in Pennsylvania was recog- 

 nized by Dr. B. H. Warren, who witnessed their activities while 

 feeding. He reported : 1 



- The viscera of 23 crows, old and young, which were captured in different 

 counties of the State, and in localities where army worms were abundant, were 

 in many instances found to be gorged with the remains of these larvse. Crows 

 also ate the pupse. * * * A crow would eat a handful of the worms at a 

 single meal ; and the number which a single bird would devour in a day was 

 immense. 



. 1 Pennsylvania State Col. Ann. Rpt.. 1896, p. 212. 



