14 BULLETIN 621, TJ. S.' DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTTJBE 
cent of the food. One from Kansas secured at the end of April had 
made away with IT grubs and 3 adults; and another, collected in 
North Carolina in January, gave evidence that in warmer climates 
where they do not burrow deeply in winter, these larvae are preyed 
on the year round. This bird had eaten IT. 
The stomachs examined show conclusively that the crow is a most 
effective enemy of the May beetle, especially in the adult form. 
Field observations have verified this conclusion repeatedly and have 
furnished many striking instances of the value of this bird during 
outbreaks of the insects. 
Norman Criddle. of Aweme, Manitoba, who has observed the 
habits of these birds for many years m the Northwest, stated in a 
letter to the Biological Survey that crows — 
have also been observed here to collect practically every white grub [PJiyllo- 
phaga sp.] thrown up by the plow on fields covering many acres. (1911.) 
Benj. F. Gault, of Glenellyn, 111., reports: 
Grass plots, both lawn and timothy, infested by these pests, I have known, 
on two marked occasions, to have been gone at most rigorously by them, the 
sod being torn up yards square in extent as thoroughly almost as though a pack 
of hogs had undertaken to do the work instead. (1912.) 
H. "W. Tinkham, of Fall River, Mass., in reporting his observa- 
tions, presents evidence to show a source of supply of which the crow 
may take advantage : 
One crow picked up 47 May beetles on Sunday morning in the street in front 
of my house, and, as I had a powerful glass on him, I was much interested in 
his method. He would break the wing covers off, and, I think, the head, then 
gather a few. say four to six, into a pile, take two or three into the back 
part of the mouth and run his bill like a skewer through the balance. He made 
several trips to gather the 47 — I think 8. (1901.) 
Many species of these beetles are attracted at night to lights along 
roadways, fall to the hard pavements, and are unable to hide at the 
approach of daylight. Others may drop to the ground from the 
foliage of overhanging trees where they had been feeding during the 
night. Many also fall into the water of lakes and streams, where 
they are drowned, washed ashore, and there picked up by the crow ; 
and still others, having bred, die from one cause or other, and may 
be found almost anywhere. Some of the May beetles in the stomachs 
of crows doubtless were dead when picked up, and in feeding on them 
no particular service was rendered, but enough is known of the meth- 
ods pursued by these birds in their search for food to demonstrate 
that it is the living beetle, hid under sticks, stones, and clods of 
earth for which they search. 
In view of the fact that white grubs frequently inflict serious 
damage on crops in spite of most vigorous efforts to control them, it 
is important that all their natural enemies be permitted to continue 
