M oths and Caterpillars 



Moths and their larvae are among the most important of the insect 

 enemies of blueberries and cranberries, and almost all varieties of the local 

 birds feed on these insects at one time or another. On the basis of material 

 from stomachs, however, it is often impossible to do more than identify the 

 insects merely as moth, caterpillar, cutworm, spanworm, etc. The red-striped 

 fireworm webs together the leaves of cranberry and blueberry plants and oc- 

 casionally is destructive to the growing tips. Though none of these have 

 been found in a bird stomach, closely related leaf miners have been taken by 

 the bobwhite and the nighthawk, The cranberry or black-headed fireworm, the 

 yellow-headed fireworm, and the spotted fireworm are among the leaf-rolling 

 enemies that occasionally cause serious damage. Of the 21 species of birds 

 eating leaf-roller moths, the most consistent feeders are the downy woodpecker, 

 black-capped and Carolina chickadees, and the Brewer's blackbird. The cran- 

 berry fruit worm, one of the most important of the insect enemies, has not as 

 yet been found in a bird stomach, but many other snout moths have been consumed 

 by bog-frequenting species — -the crow, yellow palm warbler, English sparrow, and 

 red-winged blackbird being outstanding in this regard, The loopers — including 

 the blueberry spanworm, the green, brown, and big cranberry spanworms, the 

 cotton spanworm, and the chain-spotted geometer— are among the more serious of 

 blueberry and cranberry pests. Though these particular spanworms have not been 

 identified in the contents of birds' stomachs, 42 species of birds have preyed 

 much upon their kind, among them the sparrow hawk, bobwhite, cuckoos, crow, 

 European starling, and the English sparrow. 



The gypsy moth, an introduced pest that occasionally inflicts great in- 

 jury to blueberry and cranberry leaves, has been eaten by no less than 46 kinds 

 of birds, among them the cuckoos, downy woodpecker, black-capped chickadee, 

 robin, red-eyed vireo, European starling, red-winged blackbird, orioles, and 

 the towhee. 



More than 25 kinds of cutworms are destructive to cranberries, blue- 

 berries, and huckleberries. Some of these are the army v/orm, fall army worm, 

 false army worm, black army cutworm, cranberry-blossom worm, spotted cutworm, 

 variegated cutworm, well-marked cutworm, and W-marked cutworm. The most im- 

 portant among the bird enemies of these cutworms are the ruffed grouse, bob- 

 white, killdeer, upland plover, cuckoos, crow, mockingbird, catbird, robin, 

 bluebird, European starling, English sparrow, meadow lark, blackbirds, orioles, 

 cowbird, cardinal, and various native sparrows. 



Gall Midges and Gnat s 



The cranberry midge, or tipworm, the blueberry bud gall, the blueberry 

 leaf gall, and gall gnats, all of which are destructive to these crops, are 

 subject to attack by the chimney sv/ift, cliff swallow, black-capped chickadee, 

 Baltimore oriole, and goldfinch. Another serious pest of blueberries is the 

 blueberry strain of the apple maggot, sometimes called the blueberry maggot, 

 which pulps the fruit. This is one of the fruit flies devoured by the night- 

 hawk, yellow-bellied flycatcher, wood pewee, and tufted titmouse. 



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