48 BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA AFFECTING FRUIT INDUSTRY. 
third indeterminate. None of the smaller parasitic Hymenoptera 
were identified. The greater part of this item of food consisted of 
wasps and wild bees, which would indicate that this bird is an ener- 
getic and expert insect catcher. 
Hemiptera (bugs) are evidently not in favor with the Steller jay. 
They were found in but few stomachs and in small numbers and 
amount for the year to little more than 1 percent. Pentatomide, or 
stinkbugs, and Scutelleride, or shield bugs, were the only families 
identified. Diptera form only four-tenths of 1 percent. They were 
found in only 3 stomachs, taken at the same place and at the same 
hour. They consisted of crane flies (Tipulidz) filled with eggs. 
Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets) aggregate about 3.5 percent. 
They appeared in 28 stomachs and were the sole contents in one. 
Caterpillars and moths amount to a little more than 2 percent. The 
former were found in 17 stomachs and the latter in 2. 
The following insects from the stomachs of the Steller jay were 
identified : 
COLEOPTERA. 
Sinodendron rugosum. Clerus sphegus. 
Dichelonycha fulgida. Thricolepis inornata. 
HYMENOPTERA. 
Apis mellifera. 
Of miscellaneous creatures, spiders were identified in 3 stomachs, 
raphidians in one, and sow bugs (Omscus) in one; altogether they 
make up about one-half of 1 percent. Remains of vertebrates amount 
to a little more than 1 percent. They consist of hair and skin of a 
mammal found in one stomach, two bits of bone, probably of a frog, 
in one, and eggshells in 13. This last item is the worst in this jay’s 
record, since it indicates that the bird is guilty of eating the eggs of 
smaller birds; but even this is not as bad as it looks. Only 6 of these 
egg-eating records occurred in June, the nesting month. All the rest 
were in September or later and were probably old shells picked up in 
abandoned nests or about ranch buildings or camp grounds. 
Vegetable food.—The vegetable food may be divided into fruit, grain, 
mast, and miscellaneous matter. Fruit amounts to 22 percent and 
was found in 55 stomachs. Prunes were identified in 2 stomachs, 
cherries in 2, grapes in2, Rubus fruits in 15, strawberries in 1, elder- 
berries in 15, bay laurel fruit in 1, unknown wild fruit in 2, and fruit 
pulp, not fully identified but thought to be of cultivated varieties, in 
16 stomachs. Thus 38 stomachs held fruit supposed to be cultivated. 
This number includes all containing Rubus fruits, which probably were 
not all cultivated—perhaps none of them were. The Steller jay un- 
doubtedly cats considerable fruit, but most of its range lies in unset- 
tled areas, and it is too shy to visit orchards, except those close to the 
