Monteverde, showing change from dry lower slopes to moist mountain tops. Photo by ]ames S. Ashe. 



M. ield Museum of Natural History has a rich his- 

 tory of leadership in the study of the remarkable and 

 rapidly disappearing fauna and flora of the tropical 

 Americas. In support of this overall program, the Rice 

 Foundation of Chicago made available funds for current 

 research on tropical mammals and their parasitic associ- 

 ates. These funds were used to support an expedition to 

 Costa Rica in March, April, and May of 1986. 



The expedition had two main thrusts. The first was 

 in response to an invitation from the Costa Rican 

 National Park Service to participate in a survey of the 

 mammals and their parasites of a new national park be- 

 ing established. The results of this survey will provide 



James S. Ashe is Assistant Curator of Zoology and Head of the Division of 

 Insects at FieldMuseum. Robert M. TimmisCurator-in-Charge of Mam- 

 mals, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 

 Kansas. With Field Museum, Timm is a Research Associate of the Divi- 

 sion of Mammals and served until recently as Associate Curator of Mam- 

 mals; he was also Head of the Division of Mammals. 



the basis for a wildlife management plan for the park. In 

 the second phase of the expedition we studied in detail 

 the nature of the interaction between a unique group of 

 rove beetles (Staphylinidae), which were thought to be 

 parasitic on neotropical mammals, and their mamma- 

 lian hosts. The goal was to better understand the ecol- 

 ogy, evolution, and resource use patterns of parasite- 

 host relationships. 



The following letter from curators Ashe and Timm 

 was written during the expedition from one of the 

 field sites to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Nolan of the Rice 

 Foundation. 



1 May 1986 



Dear Mr. and Mrs. Nolan, 



Just a short letter from Costa Rica to let you know 

 that our expedition has been superbly successful to date. 



We are currently at Monteverde, a picturesque 

 farming community in the Tilaran Mountains of north- 

 western Costa Rica. Today we are experiencing one of 



11 



