182 ANIMAL LIFE OF CARLSBAD CAVERN 



collected in the guano. They are scavenger moths, 

 the larvae feeding on dry animal remains, in this case 

 probably on the insect remains in the bat guano. 



Several moths of a larger size, a half -inch or more in 

 length, were seen in the guano rooms, but the only 

 specimen collected was so crushed and damaged that 

 it could not be determined. 



Fleas of two species were collected in the Carlsbad 

 Cavern, one on a mouse and the other on bats. On a 

 cliff mouse (Peromyscus boylii rowleyi) trapped near the 

 west entrance to the cave on one of the inner shelves 

 about one hundred feet below the surface were found 

 two female fleas of the genus Ceratopsyllus, but of an 

 undescribed species. As female fleas do not show good 

 specific characters, more material will be necessary for 

 a satisfactory description of the species. These mice 

 are more abundant outside the cave than inside, so the 

 flea is probably not restricted to the cave. 



A single harvest spider or daddy long-legs (Leiobu- 

 num townsendi) was found in the cave at the bottom of 

 the east shaft, where it may have fallen in, but more 

 probably it had taken refuge there. They were com- 

 mon in the outside buildings, and were found in great 

 abundance in some of the other caves nearby, but 

 usually only as far back as some trace of light could 

 penetrate, and they probably merely take refuge at 

 certain seasons in the caves. They are harmless to man 

 and useful in their habits of feeding upon other insects, 

 but a quivering mass of thousands of them vibrating 

 together on the low roof of a small cave is almost 

 terrifying to the uninitiated. 



