THE ANIMAL FOOD OF BIRDS. 



53 



portant element in the food of many birds, especially the 

 thrushes and their allies. These beetles vary much in their 

 habits : some of them — especially those belonging to the 

 genus Harpalus and others related to it — feed largely upon 

 vegetation of various kinds, while others — particularly those 

 of the genus Calosoma and its allies — are strictly carnivorous, 

 being excellent examples of predaceous beetles. The vege- 

 tivorous group enter most largely into 

 the food of birds. Many of the carnivo- 

 rous ones are so protected by offensive 

 taste or odor that they are not eaten at 

 all. Some of the larger ground-beetles 

 are called " caterpillar hunters," be- 

 cause they prey upon cutworms, canker- 

 worms, and various other caterpillars. 



The lady-beetles, or "lady-birds," of 

 the family Coccinellidce, are extremely 

 useful as destroyers of plant-lice and 

 other insects. Fortunately, they appear 

 to be distasteful to birds, as they are 

 very seldom eaten by them. 



The hard, cylindrical, yellow worms 

 frequently found in the soil of meadows 

 and grain fields and commonly called 

 "wire-worms" are the larva? of the 

 click or snapping beetles of the family Elateridce. These larvae 

 feed upon the roots of plants and sometimes do serious dam- 

 age to young corn and wheat. They are extremely difficult 

 to combat by artificial means ; hence we are glad to know 

 that both the larvae and adults are fed upon to a considerable 

 extent by various birds. 



In the great family of leaf-beetles — the Chrysomelidoe, — 

 which is said to include more than ten thousand described 

 species, we find many insects which are destructive to culti- 

 vated crops. The most notorious American member of the 



TIGER-BEETLE. 



Magnified. (JVcm Inwt Lip.) 



