92 Indian Museum Notes. [Vol. IV* 



orders, comprises those which occurred only in a moderately large 

 number of stomachs and usually only as single specimens, or only 

 in a few stomachs in large numbers. Some of the insects of this 

 class have already been mentioned. 



Click beetles (Elateridae).— A tolerably large number of species 

 were found, but none of them represented by any considerable 

 number of specimens. The most abundant of these species are 

 Limonius plebejus, Corymbites cylindriformts, Agriotes mancus 

 Elaterid larvae (wire-worms) were found only in a few isolated 

 instances. 



Lamellicorn beetles: Lucanid beetles {Lucanus, Passalus) oc- 

 cur occasionally, while various species of the Scarabseid genera, 

 Serica, HopliUy Anomala, AphonuSy Euphoria, and others, form 

 in the aggregate a not inconspicuous portion of the insect food. 

 The prevalence of Euphoria fulgida, or at least of little fragments 

 thereof, in quite a number of stomachs has been already alluded to. 



Tenebrionidx.— -Some, specimens of the genus Eleodes, found in 

 the few stomachs from Nebraska and Kansas, lead to the supposition 

 that if a larger number of stomachs from that region could be 

 examined, specimens of this and allied genera would be found well 

 represented. These beetles so characteristic to the fauna of the 

 arid region of the West, fulfill most of the requirements of insect 

 food preferred by the Crows ; they are terrestrial, large, hard, and 

 possess a strong, offensive odour. 



Ants, Bees and Wasps ( Hymenoptera). — Besides Formicids only 

 a very moderate number of species and specimens were found, most 

 of them belonging to the fossorial families, Crabonidae and Eumenidae 

 (genus Odynerus). Quite a number of Polistes also occur in various 

 stomachs. 



Flies (Diptera). — The whole order is comparatively poorly repre- 

 sented, and only the following families deserve mention :— 



Crane flies {T\^\x\\di2&) , — These are much less frequently found 

 than one would expect from their great abundance on meadow land. 

 Still, eggs, larvae, and much more rarely pupae and imagos occurred 

 in a moderate number of stomachs. In a few instances eggs were 

 found without any trace of the imago. 



March flies ( Bibionidse). — Larvae of this family were found only 

 in a few stomachs, but in very large numbers. They live gregariously 

 under decaying vegetable substances. 



Muscid^.— The very small number of the various larvae and 

 puparia, all presumably belonging to Coprophagous or Necrophagous 

 species, found in the stomachs, is in striking contrast with their 



