PREFACE. ix 



former from the very liighest point, and the latter from a place about 

 GOO feet below, at which we encamped. In each case the insects 

 were discovered in course of breaking out rock specimens, and were dis- 

 interred from amongst stones which were cemented together with ice. 

 It is scarcely exaggeration to say that they were imbedded amongst 

 the stones. In these instances, and in many others, the Colpodes were 

 found in groups or clusters. The Curculios, on the contrary, were com- 

 mouly met with as isolated individuals. 



The most widely-diffused beetle that we observed in the interior 

 is the Astylus described by Mr. Gorham (p. 52). It was collected at 

 various heights between 9-13,500 feet, and was found almost every- 

 where within that range, congregated in such numbers that hundreds 

 of specimens might have been obtained from a single bush. As this 

 insect is of moderate size, and readily catches the eye, it is surprising 

 that it has not been described long since. The beetle Leucopelcea 

 albescens, Bates (p. 30), is also a remarkable example of oversight. 

 This was found, in the first instance, upon a sandy plain to the north- 

 west of Cotopaxi. Vegetation was scanty at this spot, and the insects, 

 which were in large numbers, quickly attracted the eye. Dead as well 

 as living were spread over the ground for a distance of several miles ; 

 and, although about a dozen only were secured, many hundreds might 

 have been taken. This region has been traversed by several, at least, 

 of my predecessors. It is indeed obvious that the middle zones of 

 Ecuador have been very imperfectly worked by collectors, even in the 

 localities most frequently visited by them, such as Quito. At the 

 southern outskirts of that city there is a prominent hill called the 

 Panecillo,^ which is now almost surrounded by houses, and is used as a 

 playground by the youth of the place. I visited this eminence one 

 day alone, to olitain a round of angles, and by beating the dwarf 

 vegetation into my hat secured about thirty species of insects of 

 various orders, without any expectation that a place so frequented 



1 See the plan of Quito accompanying the narrative. The summit of the 

 I^anecillo is almost exactly 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. 



b 



