254 USEFUL BIRDS. 
the larve of boring beetles from beneath the bark of oak trees. 
The bird seemed to know the exact spot at which to drill for 
each larva, for it always cut a small hole directly over the 
insect. The cut (Fig. 111) gives a view of the outer surface 
of a section of bark taken froma small oak. From this small 
piece of bark the 
bird probably se- 
cured at least six 
of the larvee that 
were found in its 
stomach. The 
holes at a, 0, ¢, 
d, e, f, indicate 
those from which 
the larve were 
taken. Fig. 112 
gives a view of 
the inner surface 
of the same piece 
of bark, showing 
how true was the 
stroke of the 
bird, for its beak, 
piercing from the 
outside, went di- 
rectly to the cen- 
ter of the burrow 
where the dormant insects lay, entirely hidden from view. 
The letters a, b, c, d, e, f, indicate the holes where the 
bird’s beak came through to the inner surface. Twelve 
ants and seventeen larvee of. boring beetles were found in 
its stomach. 
The Downy Woodpecker is one of the most useful of all 
birds to the lumberman, for it feeds on such destructive 
insects as the bronze birch borer, the maple borer, and the 
pine weevil, —an insect of such importance that its habits 
merit some description here. This little insect (Pissodes 
strobi) deposits its eggs on the topmost shoots of the finest 
and most vigorous young white pines, and the young larve 
Fig. 111. Fig. 112. 
Bd 
