48 BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA AFFECTING FRUIT INDUSTRY. 



third indeterminate. None of the smaller parasitic Hymenoptera 

 were identified. The greater part of this item of food consisted of 

 wasps and wild bees, which would indicate that this bird is an ener- 

 getic and expert insect catcher. 



Hemiptera (bugs) are evidently not in favor with the Steller jay. 

 They were found in but few stomachs and in small numbers and 

 amount for the year to little more than 1 percent. Pentatomidse, or 

 stinkbugs, and Scutelleridse, or shield bugs, were the only families 

 identified. Diptera form only four-tenths of 1 percent. They were 

 found in only 3 stomachs, taken at the same place and at the same 

 hour. They consisted of crane flies (Tipulida?) filled with eggs. 



Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets) aggregate about 3.5 percent. 

 They appeared in 28 stomachs and were the sole contents in one. 

 Caterpillars and moths amount to a little more than 2 percent. The 

 former were found in 17 stomachs and the latter in 2. 



The following insects from the stomachs of the Steller jay were 

 identified : 



COLEOPTERA. 



Sinodendron rugosum. Clerus sphegus. 



Dichelonycha fulgida. Thricolepis inornata. 



HYMENOPTERA. 



Apis mellifera. 



Of miscellaneous creatures, spiders were identified in 3 stomachs, 

 raphidians in one, and sow bugs (Oniscus) in one; altogether they 

 make up about one-half of 1 percent. Remains of vertebrates amount 

 to a little more than 1 percent. They consist of hair and skin of a 

 mammal found in one stomach, two bits of bone, probably of a frog, 

 in one, and eggshells in 13. This last item is the worst in this jay's 

 record, since it indicates that the bird is guilty of eating the eggs of 

 smaller birds; but even this is not as bad as it looks. Only 6 of these 

 egg-eating records occurred in June, the nesting month. All the rest 

 were in September or later and were probably old shells picked up in 

 abandoned nests or about ranch buildings or camp grounds. 



Vegetable food. — The vegetable food may be divided into fruit, grain, 

 mast, and miscellaneous matter. Fruit amounts to 22 percent and 

 was found in 55 stomachs. Prunes were identified in 2 stomachs, 

 cherries in 2, grapes in2,Rubus fruits in 15, strawberries in 1, elder- 

 berries in 15, bay laurel fruit in 1, unknown wild fruit in 2, and fruit 

 pulp, not fully identified but thought to be of cultivated varieties, in 

 16 stomachs. Thus 38 stomachs held fruit supposed to be cultivated. 

 This number includes all containing Rubus fruits, which probably were 

 not all cultivated — perhaps none of them were. The Steller jay un- 

 doubtedly eats considerable fruit, but most of its range lies in unset- 

 tled areas, and it is too shy to visit orchards, except those close to the 



