Foreword 



,^o^« "♦<».. -^'. 



1 first encountered Carl Lindroth twenty-six years ago, by letter, when he wrote 

 me in an effort to establish the identity of European and American species of 

 Micralymma. The next year (1931) he published his fine book on the insects of 

 Iceland, and since then I have followed his work with increasing interest and ad- 

 miration. He has pursued much the same line of research that I have done — study 

 of carabid beetles, not only their taxonomy but also special problems of their 

 ecology, evolution, and zoogeography— so that I have had continual opportunities 

 for direct and critical judgment. His studies of North European Carabidae cul- 

 minated in 1949 with publication of the third part of his great work on "Fenno- 

 skandischen Carabidae". In 1948 he began to turn his attention to America, 

 planning a series of collecting and study trips which have taken him to Newfound- 

 land for two summers, to the M. C. Z. (the Museum of Comparative Zoology 

 at Harvard, where I work) for several months during the winter of 1950-51, and 

 elsewhere. 



The present book on European and American faunal connections is important 

 for two reasons. It is important because it is by Lindroth. He knows both sides 

 of the subject (the European and American sides) better, I think, than anyone else 

 has ever done; and he brings to the subject important new data derived from his 

 first-hand knowledge of insects, especially carabid beetles. I know— and this is 

 the reason I am writing this foreword— that much that has been written in the 

 past about relationships of European and American insect faunas is untrustworthy, 

 marred by misidentifications and other errors, while what Lindroth writes expeci- 

 ally about Carabidae can be trusted. His taxonomy stands the ultimate test: it 

 describes situations as they really are in nature. 



The other reason why this book is important is the growing importance of the 

 north, which is drawing increasing numbers of biologists, other scientists, and 

 "practical" people. This book describes, compares, and traces the history of the 

 two best-known northern faunas, those of Europe and of eastern North America. 

 The book may have no "practical" applications, but it is an important contribution 

 to basic knowledge of the north. 



P. J. Darlington, Jr. 



Curator of Insects 



Museum of Comparative Zoology 



Harvard University. 



