96 



BULLETIN 326, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



important item, as they are all species of small size. The rice weevil ( Calandra 

 oryzce), a species well known as a pest in stored grains, flour, and other food- 

 stuffs, was identified three times. Miscellaneous beetles — click beetles, fireflies, 

 buprestids, and others — amount to 8.56 per cent. 



Caterpillars, all small, were found in 14 stomachs, and the remains of moths, 

 frequently a mere trace of scales, in 7; these total 21.88 per cent, one of the 

 most important divisions in the food. The remains of Diptera amount to 1.25 

 per cent, and Hymenoptera to only 0.92 per cent. The latter are mainly bene- 

 ficial, in one stomach being found a parasite of ants (Kapala sp.), and in an- 

 other a small bee. Spiders (6.29 per cent) occur in 12 stomachs. Three birds 

 had eaten earwigs, and one had captured a tiny lizard. Miscellaneous matter 

 makes up 3.1 per cent. 



Latimer's vireo is entirely beneficial, the only valuable insects consumed being 

 a few parasitic Hymenoptera and predacious ladybird beetles. In addition to 

 these, the spiders may be considered of value ; but arrayed against this meager 

 showing are hosts of destructive beetles, bugs, and caterpillars. At present the 

 birds frequent the coffee plantations, and, as they are common in places about 

 the borders of citrus groves in brushy areas, they may in time extend their for- 

 aging into the groves themselves. It is rather surprising to find a small bird 

 feeding upon the mole cricket, but this is understood when it is seen how largely 

 other Orthoptera enter into its diet. 



The following insects were identified in these stomachs : 



ORTHOPTERA. 



Periplaneta sp 



Scapteriscus didactylus 



HEMIPTERA. 



Ormenis sp 



Proarno hilaris. 

 Thyanta sp 



COLEOPTERA. 



Scymnus roseicollis 



Monocrepidius oifoveatus 



COLEoptera — continued. 



Acmwodera sp 



Photinus sp 



Eouria sp 



Leptostylus sp 



Cryptocephalus sp_ 



Hyochrous sp 



Helops sp 



Strongylium sp 



Euscepes porcellus . 

 Calandra oryzad 



HYMENOPTERA. 



Kapala sp. 



Vegetable food. — Though vegetable items come to 13.79 per cent in these 

 stomachs, none are of commercial value, all being small wild berries. This 

 is much more vegetable food than has been found in representatives of this 

 family in the United States, and, as it occurs in 23, or more than half of the 

 total number of stomachs examined, it may be considered a regular constituent 

 of the food. The berries of the camacey (Miconia prasina) and espino seem 

 to be the most favored. Every stomach taken in December contained large 

 numbers of these seeds ; for this month they form exactly one-third of the bulk, 

 but in the following months they are more scattering. No sand or gravel was 

 found, so that berries must have been eaten solely for the pulp, though some of 

 the softer seeds may have been digested. The following seeds were found : 



Paspalum (Paspalum sp.)_, 



Vinagrillo (Oxalis sp.) 



Espino (Xanthoxylum sp.). 



Camacey (Miconia prasina) 11 



Adelia (Adelia sp.) 1 



Aji (Capsicum sp.) 1 



[RED-EYED VIREO. Vireosylva olivacea (Linnaeus). 



BlEN-TE-YEO. 



Gundlaeh (1878, p. 169) saw the red-eyed vireo figured in the album of Bello, who drew 

 it from a specimen in the collection of Don Celedonio-Carbonell. This record is not con- 

 sidered sufficient to include the bird as a Porto Rican species, except as hypothetical. It 

 might be easily confused with a worn or poorly marked specimen of the Jamaican vireo.J 



