The insects that constitute the great bulk of the food of the bird are noxious species, largely beetles—May beetles, click beetles (the larvæ of which are known as wire worms), weevils, which prey upon fruit and grain, and a host of others. Wasps, wild bees, and ants are conspicuous elements of the food, far outnumbering the hive bees. During summer many grasshoppers and crickets, as well as leaf hoppers and other bugs, also are eaten. In the stomachs examined were a number of robber flies—insects which prey largely upon other insects, especially honeybees, and which are known to commit in this way extensive depredations. It is thus evident that the kingbird by destroying these flies actually does good work for the apiarist. The 26 robber flies found in the stomachs may be considered more than an equivalent for the 8 worker honeybees already mentioned. A few caterpillars are eaten, mostly belonging to the group commonly known as cutworms, all the species of which are harmful. About 11 per cent of the food consists of small native fruits, comprising some 30 common species of the roadsides and thickets, as dogwood berries, elderberries, and wild grapes. The kingbird is not reported as eating cultivated fruit to an injurious extent, and it is very doubtful if this is ever the case. [Illustration: Fig. 19.—Kingbird. Length, about 8½ inches.] In the Western States the Arkansas kingbird[52] is not so domestic in its habits as its eastern relative, preferring to live among scattering oaks on lonely hillsides, rather than in orchards about ranch buildings. The work it does, however, in the destruction of noxious insects fully equals that of any member of its family. Like other flycatchers, it subsists mostly upon insects taken in midair, though it eats a number of grasshoppers, probably taken from the ground. The bulk of its food consists of beetles, bugs, wasps, and wild bees. Like its eastern representative, it has been accused of feeding to an injurious extent upon honeybees. In an examination of 62 stomachs of this species, great care was take to identify every insect or fragment that had any resemblance to a honeybee; as a result, 30 honeybees were identified, of which 29 were males or drones and 1 a worker. These were contained in four stomachs, and were the sole contents of three; in the fourth they constituted 99 per cent of the food. It is evident that the bee-eating habit is only occasional and accidental, rather than habitual; and it is also evident that if this ratio of drones to workers were maintained, the bird would be of more benefit than harm to the apiary. [52] _Tyrannus verticalis._ The Cassin kingbird[53] has a more southerly range than the Arkansas fly-catcher. Examination of a number of stomachs shows that its food habits are similar to those of others of the group. [53] _Tyrannus vociferans._