MEADOW LARK AND BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 423 
importance, and constitute nearly 18 per cent of the annual food, but 
‘as these insects vary much in their economic relations it will be best 
to consider the different families separately. Among the most impor- 
tant are the May beetles (Scarabeide), a family which contains some 
of our most injurious insects as well as many harmless species. But 
as the great majority of the members live upon vegetable food, and 
may at any time turn their attention to useful plants, the whole fam- 
ily may be classed as potentially harmful, consequently the birds do 
no harm by eating them. The average consumption of May beetles 
amounts to about 4 per cent of the entire food of the year. The 
greatest numbers are eaten in May, when they form over 21 per cent 
of the food. Most of these are dung beetles, but some remains of the 
well-known Lachnosterna are found. The snout beetles, or weevils 
(Rhyncophora), form a small but very constant element, averaging 
about 3 per cent for the year. June shows the greatest consumption, 
with over 7 per cent, and, singularly enough, January stands next, 
with almost 5 per cent. The principal families represented are the 
cureulios (Curculionide) and the scarred snout beetles (Otiorhyn- 
chide), both of which include some of the most harmful insects known, 
and no useful ones. The plum curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar) 
is a well-known example. 
Other beetles, belonging to about a dozen families, collectively form 
about 3 per cent of the whole food. Of these the most interesting are 
the leaf beetles (Chrysomelide), which are supposed to be disagreea- 
ble to birds, but whose remains were found in 19 of the 238 stomachs 
,examined. The Colorado potato beetle is a member of this family, 
and while none were actually found, it seems highly probable that 
meadow larks might eat them if they fell in their way. 
One of the important questions in regard to the diet of insectivorous 
birds is the extent to which they eat predaceous beetles (Carabide), 
for many of these beetles are beneficial. From its ground-feeding 
habits the meadow lark might be expected to subsist largely upon 
carabids, as they also live mainly upon the ground and are very 
abundant. The examination shows that these insects constitute some- 
thing more than 7 per cent of the food during the year, but are very 
curiously distributed, attaining maxima of 20, 16, and 17 per cent, 
respectively, in March, July, and November, while the minimum 
records (less than 1, 2, and 4 per cent) fall in January, May, and Sep- 
tember. This is certainly a very moderate showing when it is con- 
sidered that the meadow lark feeds almost exclusively on the ground 
where these beetles are so abundant, and it seems to indicate that 
instead of seeking them the bird simply eats such as fall in its way in 
default of better food. 
Bugs (Hemiptera) are pretty regularly eaten throughout the year, 
averaging 4 per cent of all the food. The greater number belong to 
the family of stink bugs (Pentatomide), some of which are familiar 
