36 
Psyche 
[February 
dahlia plants were found from which birds had removed nearly 
all the larvae of the European corn borer that these plants had 
harbored. 
Although birds (particularly the downy woodpecker) feed 
to a limited extent on the larvae of this insect in the fall and 
winter, most of the feeding is done in the spring, especially the 
shredding of stalks lying on the ground. The experiment placed 
in Medford, Mass., (table 1), showed on April 9, 1923, that 
birds had by that time taken 65 per cent of the larvae from the 
cornstalks. A similar experiment in the same locality was 
continued until June 27, 1923, a date when most of the insects 
had transformed to adults. At that time examination showed 
that birds had apparently taken 82 per cent of the insects from 
the cornstalks. 
In the fall of 1923 a series of experiments much similar to 
those previously described was placed in the field for the purpose 
of obtaining information on the extent of feeding by birds on 
this insect. However, this time fifty stations were chosen instead 
of twenty as in the previous work. Each station was composed 
of four stakes to each of which was fastened five infested corn- 
stalks, the larval expectancy as obtained from stalk counts being- 
on an average of 15.5 larvae per stalk. 
These stations were so selected as to cover the entire area 
infested by this insect in New England and were run out in lines 
as straight as possible from Arlington, Mass., as a center as fol- 
lows: first line comprising 12 stations in a northeasterly direction 
as far as Sebago, Me.; second line comprising 5 stations in a 
northerly direction as far as Farmington, N. H. ; third line com- 
prising 8 stations in a direction north by northwest as far as 
Bristol, N. H.; fourth line to the northwest as far as Gardner, 
Mass, comprising 3 stations; fifth line comprising 4 stations to 
the west as far as Worcester., Mass.; sixth line to the southeast 
as far as Touisset, Mass., composed of 4 stations; seventh line 
to the south as far as Mattapoisett, Mass., composed of 4 sta- 
tions; eighth line composed of 9 stations to the southeast and 
extending on Cape Cod as far as Provincetown, Mass. Fig. 2. 
