14 —s BULLETIN 1196, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
can not be considered as of value as a control agent, or harmful 
in destroying insects that may be accounted useful. 
Other miscellaneous animal food, amounting to about one-half of 
1 per cent, consists of fragments of marine worms (Nereis) in two 
instances, another marine invertebrate in one, and bits of snails in 
another. Spiders were taken three times. 
SUMMARY. 
From the above it appears that nearly one-third of the food of 
the horned grebe is made up of fishes, one-sixth of crustaceans, and 
approximately one-half of insects. 'Though fishes form an important, 
item in the diet, especially in the case of birds taken during fall and 
winter, most of the species eaten are of no particular value for human 
food. Crawfishes form an important source of food, and in destroy- 
ing them the horned grebe does a certain amount of good. Some of 
the shrimps taken are palatable to man, but are not present in great 
numbers in the grebe stomachs studied. The insects eaten represent 
varied groups, part of them aquatic in habit and part individuals 
that by chance have fallen into the water. When these facts are 
carefully considered, the horned grebe can not be called injurious in 
any way. As a harmless species it merits protection for the small 
amount of good it may do in destroying crawfishes. f 
TABLE 1.—IJtems of animal food identified in stomachs of the horned grebe, 
with the number of times that each occurred. 
ANNULATA (Worms). HETEROPTERA (Bugs). 
N2VCISS Dee a BS eee  F ee 1 Huchistusesp 22 ee eee 2 
Unidentified Pentatomidae___________ 10 
AMPHIPODA (Shrimplets). MYOROChG SErVipes= = sss eee 1 
Ht €GuUUtOlUS Sp == ee eee i 
Chironesimus multiarticulatus_______~- t-)}Gerridae = 22 be re 2 es eee il 
Calliopiidae:-2—> = = ie ee ee 1 »|, Notonecta sp_--— 2 = 4s<~_ 26 see 1 
IPONntOren Nae. 2 2 es ee Lo 40tthe (SD. see ee ee 1 
MetOpidaey <6! 2m ree eee 1 | Unidentified Belostomidae__--_-_-_~_ it: 
Gammaridae (unidentified) __________ 1--|\ Conrixi daie@=> .. <3 29s vk - 2 tres ee 9 
Ganuilarnus spe oe {Se ee eee ee 1 ! Unidentified Heteroptera. -__-~---—_ 7 
Unidentified amphipods____-____-_~-- 2 
LEPIDOPTERA (Moths and Butterflies). 
IsopopA (Sowbugs). 
Unidentified moths. 22 — 2 1 
Mancaseculus Sp" =. Ee Pee eee 1°] Unidentified’ caterpillars] 92322. 2 2 
Unidentified: jsopods=2= =. 2] == 
: s COLEOPTERA (Beetles). 
ScHIzZOPODA (Opossum Shrimps). 
AMOQTG.. Sp: 238-4 te ee eee 1 
Michtheimysis stenolepis_______----- 1° |) COhlaenius sp-- ao) == 2. oa ee i 
A gonoderuspalupes= 1 
Decapopa (Crabs, Shrimps, etc.). ANISOUECLYLULS. SP 1 
; Unidentified) Carabidae “ul 
Palaemonetes vulgaris=_-— = = 5. |: Habolus raiicots SSS 1 
Crago. {ranciscorum 2-2 eee 1 | Haliplus connezus_—~_--_--_--__--__ af 
Crago-septemspinosus=——-—=_- = Se i> |SHalinlis Specs > St ase ee ee 3 
OfGGO Sees a ae SAS ee ial -eeleodytes= Callosus ss. — = ee 1 
Penocusy trasiliensisn_ = 22a 2s see li Peltodytes: 12-punctatus es Se 2h 
COmUaiis Spe 2 Ss ee 8 eae 2 | -Peltodytéessedentulus--— =) ee Se 1 
Unidentified crawfishes________-~-__- 6 | Coclambusysp2_ 22 Se eee af 
Unidentified crustaceans==—=-—----==~ 6 ny droporus Spe 2 ee eee af! 
‘AgdbDUS Spe = ee ee eee at 
ANISOPTERA (Dragonflies). Colymbetes’ “sculptiitis=. SS 1 
Colymbetes Sp=232 2-2 SS eee aul 
Infor Aa al) 6) OVS oR le A ee ee 5 | Dytiscid larvae = 2222) ee 2 
Unidentified Dytiscidae______-_-______-_ 7 
AGNATHA (Mayflies). Unidentified Gyrinidae--_______-_-~_ 1 
TTODISteTmuUssSp eee 3, 
Mayfly. larvae. 6} Sessa s Se = 1 | Hydrocharis obtusatus_______--_--- al 
IBCrGSUs Spee ee eee 2 
ORTHOPTERA (Grasshoppers, etc.). Hydrovius clobosa== = = alt 
Hydrovius- uscipess == nl 
Unidentified srasshopper2==>-=—2- 1 | Unidentified Hydrophilidae_______-~- 5 
SS ee ee 6 ee a - h 
