HENRY J. FRANKLIN. 187 



where lakes or deserts or very arctic climates make existence 

 for them impossible. 



Oceanic islands are often entirely without Bombi in the 

 tropics of the Western Hemisphere, even when lying compa- 

 ratively near the mainland. In this connection we may note 

 that the temperate zone, Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, though 

 scattering far out to sea, are supplied with bumble-bees, 

 while Cuba, Haiti, Porto Rico, and probably most of the 

 other West Indian Islands do not have them at all. It is 

 doubtful, however, if the Falkland Islands have bumble-bees. 

 Most European and Oriental islands, whether temperate or 

 tropical, if not at a prohibitive distance from the mainland, 

 have more or less Bombi. We may note in support of this 

 that Bombi have been recorded with certainty from the fol- 

 lowing islands. 



1. Oriental: Japan (numerous species), Formosa, Philippines, Su- 

 matra, Java, 



2. European : Great Britain (many species), Ireland, Madiera, Ca- 

 nary, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily. 



The islands lying near the continent of Australia have, of 

 course, no bumble-bees, except where they have been intro- 

 troduced by man (New Zealand). 



In tropical regions of the Western Hemisphere, even at 

 the equator, the genus Bombus has adapted itself to all alti- 

 tudes, from sea-level well up toward the snow line of the 

 lofty mountains. In this connection, the following records 

 from close to sea-level are interesting : B. nigern. sp. and B. 

 brevivillus n. sp. from Pernambuco, Brazil ; B. emilics D. T. 

 from Bahia, Brazil ; B. incarum n. sp. from Georgetown, 

 British Guiana ; Psithyrus brasiliensis Smith from Para, 

 Brazil. The following records from the Andes are the high- 

 est New World altitudes, and possibly also the highest world 

 altitudes from which bumble-bees have ever been reported : 

 B. opifex from Tara, Argentina (4,000 meters altitude) and 

 B. coccineus from Cuzco, Peru (13,600 feet altitude). Still 

 higher altitudes of capture may some time be reported from 

 the Andes and also from the Plateau of Thibet or its sur- 

 rounding mountain chains, but in all other parts of the 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC. , XXXVIII. 



