ANNALS 



OF 



The Entomological Society of America 



Volume VI MARCH, 1913 Number 



AN ENTOMOLOGIST IN COSTA RICA.* 



By Philip P. Calvert, Ph. D., 

 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. 



Until the separation of Panama as an independent state 

 from Colombia, Costa Rica was the southernmost of the five 

 republics of Central America. It lies between Nicaragua on the 

 north and Panama on the south, from latitude 11° to 8° North. 

 Its general trend is from northwest to southeast, and through its 

 entire length runs a series of peaks, many of them volcanoes, 

 whose greatest altitude is above 12,000 feet. North of the 10th 

 parallel, this chain divides into two branches one of which, 

 extending in a more easterly direction toward the Atlantic, is 

 composed chiefly of the volcanoes Poas (8786 ft.), Barba 

 (9508 ft.), Irazu (11326 ft.) and Turrialba (10965 ft.). The 

 other branch, retaining the southeastward trend, is continued 

 by the Cordillera of Chiriqui in Panama and includes the highest 

 elevations in the country. Along the 10th parallel the distance 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific is 185 miles, but if we measure 

 to the eastern shore of the Gulf of Nicoya, that is from the port 

 of Limon to Puntarenas, 125 miles. The railroad in making 

 this transit climbs to 5000 feet and this ascent together with its 

 windings increases the actual distance to 175 miles. 



The prevailing easterly trade winds coming from the Carib- 

 bean, laden with moisture, strike against the lofty mountains 

 and cause a heavy precipitation on the Atlantic slope throughout 

 much of the year. Sheltered by the same peaks the Pacific 

 slopes and even some localities on the Atlantic, like Cartago, 

 receive a smaller precipitation until southerly winds bring 

 moisture from April to November. 



*Abstract of address before the Entomological Society of America, Cleveland, 

 Ohio, Jan. 1, 1913. The address was illustrated by a very fine series of lantern 

 views from photographs of insects and localities of scientific and scenic interest. 

 —Ed. 



