342 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1025 



which haunts bo^vlders at the edge of the rivers. It has a black hairy 

 body, a spined abdomen, and <rrayish speckled wings. Now this fly 

 seems almost incapable of flight, so reluctant is it to take to the air 

 m a wind. Its habit is to seek for shelter beneath bowlders, and, 

 when these are upturned, it can be taken in the fingers, allowing 

 itself to be captured rather than escaping by flight. There is an- 

 other kind of the genus Gonia which likes thorny bushes. It comes 

 out on sunny mornings Avhen the air is calm. But its flights are 

 short, only a few feet, as if it feared to trust itself to any distance in 

 the air. ^loreover, it strives to keep witliin the shelter of the scrub, 

 flitting about from twig to twig or coming to rest on the sand be- 

 neath. Thus it manages to evade the wind, partly by reason of its 

 short flights and partly by keeping Avithin the scrub. 



Some of the digger wasps avoid the wind in the same way. They 

 have learned to keep close in amongst the bow^lders, also make only 

 quick short flights in order to avoid being swept away. Many of the 

 insects on the plateau are wingless. Numbers find continual shelter 

 under stones. Grasshoppers ascend to 18,000 feet. But at this alti- 

 tude they are minute and wingless and escape the Avind by their 

 inabilit}' to fly. The Pseudahris beetles provide an interesting ex- 

 ample. These beetles are conspicuous and brilliantly colored with 

 rlternate bands of black and red. They usually hang in clusters on 

 the A'et<3hes, where they feed on the young shoots and flowers. Watch 

 tliem when a strong wind suddenly springs up. They let go their 

 hold and throw themselves to the ground. There they lie, all appar- 

 ently' dead. Each is on its side; its head is bent at right angles to 

 ts body; its antennae are turned downwards; its legs are collected 

 into a cluster and thrust out like lifeless tags. They all lie in the 

 attitude of death like a crowd of corpses strewn over the ground. 

 When the wind lessens thev quickly revive, thev run over the soil, 

 regain the vegetation, and climb back to their places on the vetch. 



Thus we observe that the animals of high altitudes contend with 

 the wind in many different ways. Some grow denser coats, others 

 seek sheltered places, and there is a great tendency to burrow in the 

 soil. Certain butterflies and moths flatten themselves on the ground ; 

 many insects make only quick short flights; certain flies keep in 

 amongst stones and bushes; high-altitude grasshoppers and other 

 kinds are wingless; certain beetles throw themselves for safety to 

 the ground. 



Let us pass to another phase in the struggle. How do the animals 

 at high altitudes contend with the scarcity of food? The domestic 

 animals show us how severe is the struggle. It is wonderful to .c:ee a 

 herd of yaks grazing on the hillsides. To all appearances the moun- 



