THE KINGBIRD. 13 



in 1 stomach they constituted 97 per cent of the contents and in several 

 others the percentage was nearly as great. The species identified 

 from the stomachs are Epicauta trichrus, E. cinerea, E. pennsylvanica, 

 Macrobasis unicolor, Nemognatlia cribricoMis, and Meloe americanus. 

 Other beetles, all of which belong to more or less harmful families, 

 amount to 18.02 per cent. If to these we add the Carabidse and 

 Meloidse, we have an aggregate of 25.35 per cent of beetles in the diet, 

 the largest item but one. 



Hymenoptera amount to 32.39 per cent of the food, the largest item. 

 Of these probably about one-fourth are parasitic species that must be 

 reckoned as useful insects. Of the others the one which has attracted 

 most attention in connection with the kingbird is the common honey- 

 bee (Apis meUifera). The bird has for years had the reputation of 

 catching honeybees to an injurious extent; indeed, some bee keepers 

 declare that if left to prey upon the bees unmolested it will destroy 

 the whole colony. The testimony upon this point, however, is very 

 contradictory, and other observers equally reliable say that the bird 

 takes few, if any, bees, and still others declare that it takes only the 

 useless drones. 



The following are samples of testimony upon this point : 



Mr. I. N. Arnold, writing from Richmond, Ohio, under date of 

 September 5, 1885, says: 



The bee martin, or kingbird, is very destructive to bees. * * * I have seen the 

 kingbird bring its young as soon as they could fly and stay close to the apiary and feed 

 exclusively on bees. They are most destructive to bees that are coming in laden, and 

 they are liable to catch a valuable queen when she is out to mate. I am running a 

 large apiary, and have been annoyed a great deal by the bee birds. 



Mr. P. R. Staunton, of Le Roy, N. Y., says: 



The kingbird feeds upon bees. It is especially dangerous when bees are swarming, 

 as there is danger then of losing the queen. Every apiarist keeps a gun in his yard 

 ready to entertain the kingbird. The bird will hover in the air and snap up bees as 

 rapidly as they come within reach. * * * Every snap of the bill means a bee lost. 



The following from Mr. J. P. H. Brown, of Augusta, Ga., under date 

 of September, 1886, gives a different view of the subject: 



In regard to birds feeding on the honeybee, I can speak positively on the subject. 

 I keep from 150 to 200 colonies of Italian bees, and make the breeding of queen bees a 

 specialty. For the last 15 years I have made the habits of the birds infesting my 

 apiary a study. They are mocking birds, bee martins, redbirds, and catbirds. They 

 build their nests in the shrubbery and trees in my apiary. Bee keepers generally 

 give these birds a bad reputation and exterminate them. I have watched the bee 

 martin, the worst reputed bird of the lot, at times when I thought I saw him take a bee, 

 shot him, and quickly opened his crop. Thus far I have failed to find anything in it 

 like a worker bee. I have often detected the remains of drone bees and other insects; 

 hence I have ceased to destroy the birds and allow them to have full liberty. The 

 drone or male bees have no sting, and birds, as well as very young chickens, can soon 

 learn to distinguish a drone from a worker. 



Of 665 stomachs examined, honeybees were found in 22. The 

 total number in these 22 stomachs was 61, of which 51 were drones, 



