78 BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA AFFECTING FRUIT INDUSTRY. 
nearly 69 percent. Lepidoptera in the adult form do not as a rule 
constitute an important part of the diet of birds, but, with the excep- 
tion of the flycatchers, the titmice perhaps eat the most. The greater 
number consumed by these insects, however, are eaten as larvee—cat- 
erpillars. A few, however, are eaten in the pupa state, and here the 
bush tit has a good record. In a number of stomachs were remains 
of the pupe of the codling moth, one of the worst pests to the apple 
industry. This insect is protected from the attacks of birds by its 
peculiar mode of life. It passes the larval stage inside the apple. 
The adult moth flies mostly by night and hides during the day. 
When the larva is full grown it leaves the apple and seeks a place of 
concealment, such as a crevice in the bark of the tree, a crack in the 
trunk, or among rubbish on the ground, where it changes to a chrys- 
alis. It is in this stage that the insect is most vulnerable to the 
attacks of birds, and as the whole family of titmice get most of their 
food by searching in just such places as those used for concealment by 
the larva, it is not surprising that they find and devour many of them. 
The cocoons of certain tineid moths are a very constant, though not 
large, component of the food of the bush tit. The larve of many of 
the Tineina are leaf-miners, and therefore injurious when attacking 
economic plants. 
Strangely enough, wasps and ants (Hymenoptera) are nearly absent 
from the food of this bird. The total amount for the year is less 
than 14 percent. In view of the fact that ants are always crawling 
over the trunks and branches of trees, the very places where the tits 
feed, it seems strange that so few of them are eaten. Moreover, 
plant-lice always have ants in attendance upon them, and when tits 
eat so many plant-lice it is rather remarkable that they should not 
take some of the ants also, as do the smaller woodpeckers, whose food 
habits are in many respects so similar. In 353 stomachs only two 
ants were identified, one in the adult and one in the pupal stage, and 
these were in separate stomachs. In 17 other stomachs a few frag- 
ments of what probably were small wasps were found, which make up 
the total of the hymenopterous diet of the bush tit. 
The remaining animal food of this bird, about § percent, is com- 
posed of various insects, such as a few flies, a few bits of grasshoppers, 
insects’ eggs not further identified, with a considerable number of 
spiders. That the tits should not eat grasshoppers is not surprising, 
as these insects do not. commonly infest trees where the birds feed, 
and as a rule they are rather large game for such small birds. The 
great bulk of the 8 percent, however, consists of spiders, which con- 
stitute a constant item of food in every month. Quite a number of 
pseudoscorpions also were found in the stomachs, but, owing to their 
minute size, the percentage is not very noticeable. 
