84 PAPERS ON CEREAL AND FORAGE INSECTS. 



history, hibernating as mature larvae or pupae and transforming to 

 adults much earlier in the season than the latter. 



The adults of the species herein treated seem normally to live but 

 one season, but Dr. F. E. Blaisdell records keeping adults of Eleodes 

 dentipes in confinement for over four years. 



NATURAL ENEMIES AND PARASITES. 



The hard chitinous integument, together with the offensive secre- 

 tions, of these beetles render them almost immune to attack by 

 birds. Several western vesper sparrows (Pocecetes gramineus con- 

 finis), two horned larks (Otocoris alpestris var.), a killdeer plover 

 (Oxyeclius vociferus), a " billy" owl (Speotyto cunicularia Tiypogsea), 

 and a Brewer's blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) were shot while 

 feeding in the grain fields and the stomach contents examined; 

 these failed to show any evidence that the birds had fed on adult 

 Eleodes. 



Of the domesticated birds, chickens and ducks eat adult Eleodes 

 in large numbers. Twenty-five beetles were fed to one hen and 

 were eaten very greedily. Young turkeys would not eat these 

 insects. They would seize the beetle and immediately drop it and 

 shake the head violently as though they disliked the taste, and 

 after two or three similar experiences would learn to recognize these 

 insects and would not touch them. 



A large number of these beetles were fed to confined pheasants, 

 and though the conditions were very abnormal, the results may be 

 suggestive. Reeves pheasant (Phasianus reevesi) and the silver 

 pheasant (Gennseus nyclithemerus) ate the beetles freely, while the 

 golden pheasant (CJirysolopJius pictus) and the Lady Amherst pheas- 

 ant (CJirysolopJius amJierstse) refused even to notice the beetles. 

 However, these birds seemed quite annoyed by our presence, and 

 might have eaten the beetles had they not been frightened. No 

 Chinese pheasants {Phasianus torquatus) were available, so we can 

 not say whether or not these birds would be of any value as enemies 

 of Eleodes. 



From several sources we were informed that the sage hen (Centro- 



cercus urophasianus) feeds largely on these beetles, the crop at times 



being gorged with the black chitinous fragments. In the records of 



the Bureau of Biological Survey of this department the following 



birds are listed as feeding more or less extensively on adult Eleodes: 



California shrike (Lanius ludovicianus gambeli), road-runner (Geococcyx calif ornia- 

 nus), Lewis's woodpecker (Asyndesmus lewisi), western crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos 

 hes peris), bronzed grackle (Quiscalus quiscula xneus), red-headed woodpecker (Mela- 

 nerpes erythrocephalus) , curve-billed thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre), hairy wood- 

 pecker (Dryobates villosus var.), western mocking bird (Mimus polyglottos leucop- 

 terus), western robin (Planesticus migratorius propinquus), the field plover (Bartramia 

 longicauda), the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and the baldpate (Mareca americana). 



