U4 THE RELATION OF SPARROWS TO AGRICULTURE. 
destroying grasshoppers, principally in feeding nestlings, nearly half 
of the food of which, as shown, was round to consist of grasshoppers of 
the genus MelaTioplus. Other Orthoptera are eaten to a slighl extent. 
Ii is a common sight along roads to see the birds pursuing and cap- 
turing the large dust-colored grasshopper (Dissosteira Carolina) which 
shows yellow underwings when it flies. Long-horned grasshoppers 
(Locustidce), small grasshoppers of the genus Tettix, and, in one 
instance at Least, the mole crickel (ChryUoialpa) were included in the 
orthopterous f ood found in their stomachs. The species of Lepidop- 
tera preyed on arc important pests. Whenever there is an uprising 
of army worms, the English sparrows feast on the abundant supply. 
They have been observed catching the moth also of the army worm. 
During spring and early summer, they remove many cutworms from 
lawns and, to a certain extent, feed on hairless caterpillars of shade 
trees. Occasionally they destroy a few hairy caterpillars: they eat 
the fall webworms and tussock-moth caterpillars, and sometimes feed 
on the moths and egg clusters of the latter species; they are included 
by Porbush among the birds seen to feed on the gipsy moth, 1 and they 
have been observed by Weed preying on the moths of the forest-tent 
caterpillar. 2 But that they do not habituall) T eat hairy caterpillars 
and should not be expected to act as a potent check upon such 
insects is evidenced by the fact that only 2 of nearly 700 stomachs 
examined contained hairy caterpillars. 
The English sparrow feeds less on useful predaceou> beetles than 
any other insect-eating bird investigated by the Department. Only 
three of the stomachs examined contained insects of this class. In 
one case a ground-beetle, and in the other two cases tiger-beetles were 
eaten. No dragon-flies were found in the stomachs examined, but an 
hour's field observation near the Department brought to light the fact 
that these useful insects, the natural enemies of mosquitoes, are 
relished by English sparrows. All about a pond at the base of the 
Washington .Monument on the morning of May 21, 1808, the nymphs 
of a large species of dragon-fly {Libettvla ptdchella), which had 
emerged from the water and crawled up the stalks of yellow iris and 
other vegetation at the water's edge, were splitting open and the soft 
adults were tumbling out. The English sparrows, taking advantage 
of the helpless condition of these newly transformed insects, seized 
them and Mew to the pavement above the pond, and. after some pre- 
liminary pecking, ate them, or carried them to their young. Along 
200 feel of this pavement were 100 dragon-fly wings. Of the use- 
ful Hymenoptera, the English sparrow destroys few braconids or 
ichneumonids, but consumes a comparatively Large number of scoliids 
( Typhia and Myzini ). It has not been known to molest the common 
honey bee, but on the contrary if offered these insects in captivity, it 
invariably refuses them. It has nevertheless been observed feeding 
■The Gipsy Moth. p. 806, 1896. 
• Bull. No. 75, :N . II. ( oil. Agr. Expt. Sta.. 1000. 
