AQ BULLETIN 868, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
many coprophagous scarabeids as do their parents, who, in late 
summer and in fall, capture numbers of the common small genera 
on the wing. Of these, Aphodius appears to be the favorite for the 
nestlings. 
Ground beetles (Carabidz) formed a little more than 8 per cent 
of the young starlings’ food, a proportion about equal to that taken 
by the pdalies in May and fines They were found in two-thirds of 
the stomachs examined, but in only one case was the quantity taken 
more than half the stomach contents. Conspicuous among the 
distinctly beneficial carabids eaten is the fiery caterpillar hunter 
(Calosoma calidum). This insect was identified in 17 stomachs. 
The large Harpalus caliginosus was present in 54 stomachs, Chlenius 
tomentosus in 46, and members of the genus Anisodactylus in 76. 
The presence of a considerable number of the last-named genus, 
together with specimens of Amara, show that not all the ground 
beetles eaten should be charged against the starling, as some of them 
are distinctly vegetarian. 
The young starlings’ consumption of weevils is nearly three times 
as great as that of the adults during the same period, and while in 
bulk the portion taken is small (8.26 per cent), it contains one item 
of considerable interest, the clover leaf weevil (Hypera punctaia). 
(See Pl. III, fig. 1.) This insect constituted by far the largest 
portion of the weevil food. It was present in 53 stomachs, and the 
larve occurred in 34. One brood of 3 newly hatched young had 
been fed a total of 59 of these larve, which, together with 3 Sida 
weevils of other genera, formed nearly 70 per cent of their food. 
The best record for the destruction of adult weevils was made by a 
brood of 4 half-grown nestlings that had consumed 30 individuals of 
two other clover pests (Sitona hispiduia and Phytonomus nigrirosiris) 
along with a number of billbugs (S phenophorus sp.). 
The remaining beetle food, comprising 4.11 per cent, was divided 
among a number of fie Leaf beetles (Chrysomelidz) and 
rove beetles (Staphylinide) were best represented, but in no case 
was the quantity eaten of importance. 
As the nestling period is too early in the season to permit a heavy 
consumption of grasshoppers, a large part of the orthopterous remains 
found (11.31 per cent) was composed of crickets. These were present 
in 134 stomachs, frequently associated with a grasshopper or two. 
One brood of 4 young starlings about ready to leave the nest had 
eaten 19 crickets and 4 pele which totaled over 81 per cent 
of the food; another brood, just hatched, had been fed 13 crickets 
and 7 grasshoppers, which fed over two-thirds of their diet; and 
in the case of two other broods of 4 and 5, respectively, the orthop- 
terous food constituted over two-thirds of the stomach contents. 
Most of the crickets eaten by nestlings are the common field cricket 
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