SOLDIER BUGS AND ANTS. 63 



they do not constitute the largest portion of the insect food. Even if 

 we include all other lepidopterous larvae and pupae found in the stom- 

 achs, this food does not by any means rank among the most prominent 

 features. The only explanation of this fact that occurs to me has been 

 mentioned before, viz, that the Crows greatly prefer insects with hard 

 bodies. Still, the bulk represented by the Lepidopterous food is by no 

 means an inconsiderable one, and the largest part is made up of Noctuid 

 larvae, or cutworms. These occur in many stomachs, usually singly or 

 in very small numbers, rarely forming the bulk of the food in any one 

 stomach and never the entire food. Noctuid pupae were found only in 

 isolated cases. Larvae of the Pyralid genus Grambus, which live in 

 silken tubes at the base of grasses, clover, etc., belong to the family 

 next best represented in number of specimens, and occur in large num- 

 bers in a few stomachs. Bombycid larvae, and especially Bombycid 

 cocoons, come next, represented usually by single specimens. The rest 

 of the Lepidopterous families are represented only by isolated speci- 

 mens. Single imagos of Lepidoptera were found in only a few instances, 

 and most of these are evidently specimens which had not yet issued 

 from the chrysalis. 



8. Soldier bugs (Pentatomidae). — Although by no means representing 

 a considerable portion of the insect food, the constantly recurring 

 presence of various species of soldier bugs constitutes a characteristic 

 feature in the food habits of the Crow. There are many species repre- 

 senting various families of true bugs (Heteroptera) that occur com- 

 monly on or near the ground, but, with the exception of these soldier 

 bugs, only a few isolated specimens of a few species were found in all 

 the stomachs. It seems probable that the strong odor or taste of 

 these soldier bugs is the reason why they are so eagerly sought by 

 Crows. The condition in which the specimens are found in the stom- 

 achs is also peculiar; for while the Crows generally have the habit 

 of crushing and breaking into fragments all the hard insects they 

 eat, these soldier bugs are almost always broken up in extremely 

 minute particles which in the well-filled stomachs are often liable to be 

 overlooked. Owing to this condition the exact determination of the 

 species, as well as the determination of the number of specimens, is 

 impossible in most cases. The soldier bugs thus found belong to 

 Podisus, Uuschistus, and allied genera. 



9. Ants (Formicidoe). — As in the case of the soldier bugs, ants form 

 only a small proportion of the bulk of the insect food, but their fre- 

 quent occurrence in the stomachs suggests the explanation that they 

 are relished by the Crows on account of their peculiar acid taste. 

 Quite a number of species of various genera are represented, the largest 

 species, Camponotus pennsylvanicus and various species of Formica-) 

 being most frequent. The presence of very small species of ants is, 

 in many instances, probably due to accident, as has been mentioned 

 on page 61. 



