﻿38 
  BOB 
  WHITE 
  AND 
  OTHER 
  QUAILS 
  OF 
  UNITED 
  STATES. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  present 
  investigation 
  116 
  species 
  have 
  been 
  noted, 
  and 
  further 
  

   study 
  will 
  doubtless 
  greatly 
  increase 
  the 
  number. 
  Moreover, 
  the 
  

   large 
  proportion 
  of 
  injurious 
  insects 
  habitually 
  eaten 
  renders 
  the 
  

   services 
  of 
  this 
  bird 
  more 
  valuable 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  many 
  birds 
  whose 
  

   percentage 
  of 
  insect 
  food, 
  though 
  greater, 
  includes 
  a 
  smaller 
  propor- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  injurious 
  species. 
  Conspicuous 
  among 
  the 
  pests 
  destroyed 
  

   are 
  the 
  Colorado 
  potato 
  beetle, 
  twelve-spotted 
  cucumber 
  beetle, 
  bean 
  

   leaf-beetle, 
  squash 
  ladybird, 
  wireworms 
  and 
  their 
  beetle, 
  and 
  May 
  

   beetles. 
  Its 
  food 
  also 
  includes 
  such 
  weevils 
  as 
  corn 
  billbugs, 
  imbri- 
  

   cated 
  snout 
  beetle, 
  clover 
  leaf 
  weevil, 
  cotton 
  boll 
  weevil; 
  also 
  the 
  

   striped 
  garden 
  caterpillar, 
  army 
  worm, 
  cotton 
  bollworm, 
  and 
  various 
  

   species 
  of 
  cutworms 
  ; 
  also 
  the 
  corn-louse 
  ants, 
  red-legged 
  grasshopper, 
  

   Rocky 
  Mountain 
  locust, 
  and 
  chinch 
  bug. 
  The 
  bobwhite 
  does 
  not 
  

   merely 
  sample 
  these 
  species, 
  as 
  do 
  many 
  other 
  birds; 
  it 
  eats 
  

   some 
  of 
  them 
  in 
  considerable 
  numbers, 
  for 
  crops 
  examined 
  have 
  

   contained, 
  respectively, 
  a 
  dozen 
  cutworms, 
  an 
  equal 
  number 
  of 
  army 
  

   worms, 
  30 
  Rocky 
  Mountain 
  locusts, 
  and 
  47 
  cotton 
  boll 
  weevils. 
  This 
  

   bird 
  also 
  destroys 
  striped 
  cucumber 
  beetles 
  b}^ 
  the 
  score, 
  potato 
  beetles 
  

   by 
  the 
  hundred, 
  and 
  chinch 
  bugs 
  in 
  great 
  numbers. 
  From 
  June 
  to 
  

   August, 
  inclusive, 
  insects 
  and 
  their 
  allies 
  form, 
  as 
  previously 
  men- 
  

   tioned, 
  about 
  a 
  third 
  of 
  the 
  food. 
  Of 
  this 
  beetles 
  make 
  up 
  nearly 
  

   half, 
  or 
  15.37 
  per 
  cent 
  ; 
  bugs, 
  8.54 
  per 
  cent; 
  caterpillars, 
  1.37 
  per 
  cent; 
  

   grasshoppers. 
  6.93 
  per 
  cent 
  ; 
  miscellaneous 
  insects, 
  1.33 
  per 
  cent, 
  and 
  

   spiders, 
  with 
  other 
  invertebrates, 
  2.43 
  per 
  cent. 
  

  

  BEETLES 
  EATEN. 
  

  

  The 
  beetles 
  most 
  largely 
  destroyed 
  are 
  ground 
  beetles, 
  leaf-eating 
  

   beetles, 
  and 
  weevils. 
  Naturally, 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  terrestrial 
  habits 
  of 
  

   the 
  bobwhite, 
  ground 
  beetles, 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  their 
  vile 
  odor 
  and 
  irritating 
  

   secretions, 
  are 
  picked 
  up 
  oftener 
  than 
  the 
  other 
  kinds. 
  Experiments 
  

   with 
  caged 
  birds 
  prove 
  that 
  even 
  the 
  most 
  pungent 
  forms 
  are 
  relished. 
  

   Ground 
  beetles 
  are 
  numerous 
  in 
  species 
  and 
  superabundant 
  in 
  indi- 
  

   viduals. 
  One 
  can 
  form 
  no 
  adequate 
  idea 
  of 
  their 
  numbers 
  except 
  at 
  

   night. 
  Arc 
  lights 
  kill 
  them 
  by 
  thousands. 
  The 
  writer 
  has 
  known 
  

   one 
  species 
  (Harpalus 
  pennsylv 
  aniens) 
  to 
  enter 
  open 
  windows 
  in 
  the 
  

   evening 
  in 
  swarms. 
  They 
  have 
  an 
  irritating 
  secretion, 
  which 
  if 
  

   applied 
  to 
  the 
  skin 
  soon 
  raises 
  a 
  blister. 
  Ground 
  beetles 
  are 
  more 
  or 
  

   Jess 
  predaceous, 
  hence 
  the 
  whole 
  family 
  was 
  formerly 
  considered 
  

   beneficial. 
  Later 
  study 
  has 
  resulted 
  in 
  their 
  division 
  into 
  three 
  

   classes: 
  The 
  most 
  carnivorous 
  species, 
  possessing 
  sharp, 
  curved 
  jaws 
  

   for 
  capturing 
  and 
  killing 
  other 
  insects; 
  the 
  least 
  predaceous 
  forms, 
  

   having 
  blunt 
  jaws 
  and 
  eating 
  considerable 
  vegetable 
  matter; 
  and 
  a 
  

   class 
  intermediate 
  between 
  these 
  two. 
  The 
  first 
  class 
  contains 
  highly 
  

   beneficial 
  beetles 
  which 
  destroy 
  great 
  numbers 
  of 
  insect 
  pests, 
  while 
  

   the 
  blunt-jawed 
  class 
  includes 
  some 
  injurious 
  species 
  that 
  feed 
  on 
  

  

  