CHAPTER XXVIII 

 The Relations of Birds to Meadows and Pastures 



While the insects that affect the grasses of meadow 

 and pasture lands are by no means so numerous as in the 

 case of the orchards, there are enough to prove seriously 

 destructive at times. If this is true with the constant 

 check the birds keep upon them, there is little doubt that 

 they would do vastly greater damage were there no birds. 



The various forms of locusts or grasshoppers with short 

 antennae are among the most abundant of meadow and 

 pasture pests. They are nearly always present in sufficient 

 numbers to do some damage, and often become so abundant 

 as to destroy the growing crop. The meadow grasshoppers 

 with long antennae, are often abundant enough to do some 

 injury. The much smaller leaf hoppers are also nearly al- 

 ways present and do much more damage than is generally 

 supposed. Many sorts of cutworms, including the notorious 

 army worm, are always feeding on the blades of grass near 

 the ground, and other kinds of caterpillars 

 are continually at work. 



In addition to these enemies of the stems 

 and blades, the roots of grasses are attacked 

 by many pests. The voracious white grubs 

 — the larvae of the familiar May beetles ; the 



slender yellow wireworms — the larvae of the ,, „ 



^ May Beetle 



common click beetles; the curious meadow 

 maggots — the larvae of the long-legged crane flies, — these 

 and many other pests feed upon the roots of grasses. 



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