. Food habits of the grosbeaks . ished. Sixteen red-birds fed upon a species {Oompsus auricephalus) of the formergroup, which, in the adult state, occurs upon the leaves of tiniest fragment of this insect suffices for identification, becauseof the beautiful covering of silvery green and golden scales. Thir-teen other grosbeaks ate scarred snout-beetles which can not be identi-fied. Of curculios, the acorn weevil {Balaninus nasicus), with asnout almost as long as the body, and several species of 5 weed-mininggenera were captured. Six redbirds ate the injurious clover weevils(Sitones)
. Food habits of the grosbeaks . ished. Sixteen red-birds fed upon a species {Oompsus auricephalus) of the formergroup, which, in the adult state, occurs upon the leaves of tiniest fragment of this insect suffices for identification, becauseof the beautiful covering of silvery green and golden scales. Thir-teen other grosbeaks ate scarred snout-beetles which can not be identi-fied. Of curculios, the acorn weevil {Balaninus nasicus), with asnout almost as long as the body, and several species of 5 weed-mininggenera were captured. Six redbirds ate the injurious clover weevils(Sitones). The cotton boll weevil (fig. 19) also is occasionally eatenby the cardinal, 2 of the present collection having secured specimensof this highly destructive insect. Twelve redbirds captured curcu-lios which were not further determined. Bill-bugs (fig. 12), whichas larvae live in the roots of grasses or sedges and as adults often in-■ jure corn by drilling holes in the stems of young plants, were de- INSECT FOOD OP CARDINAL. 19. Pig. 12.—A bill bug (Spheno-phorus). (From Forbes, Illi-nois Experiment Station.) voured by 13 cardinals. Two species (Sphenophorus cariosus and S. compressirostris) were or scarabseid beetles are next in importance to weevils in the beetle diet of the cardinal. They were eaten by 77 birds and compose percent of the annual food. Many of them feed on ex- crementitious matter and are of neutral economic significance; but few of these are consumed by the bird. Those secured in-clude the common road-frequenting dung beetles, which were captured by 6 cardi-nals, and the large resplendant scavenger Phanmus camifex. Other species in this family, however, are not so harmless as the above. The spotted vine-chafer {Pelidnota punctata), which is an important grape pest in the eastern United States, the two-spotted Anomala, which also devours the foliage of the grape, and the cetonias {^Euphoria inda, fig, 15; E. fulgida, et al.), whi
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