A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE 

 ECOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE ANIMAL 

 LIFE OF NORTH CENTRAL NEW MEX- 

 ICO WITH ESPECIAL ATTENTION 

 TO THE INSECTS. 



The animal life of this region is very interesting as it is the 

 meeting place of two very different faunas, that of the arid 

 south-west (Sonoran Zone of Merriam and others) with that 

 of the more humid north and east (Canadian and Transition 

 Zones). The latter is with us found chiefly in the mountains 

 while the former occupies the valleys and plains or "mesas." 



It is, furthermore, a most excellent place for such a study 

 because of the fact that, except in the irrigated valleys, it 

 has not been very seriously interfered with by the activities 

 of man. It is evident from the last statement that now is 

 the time for such a study, before the advance of development 

 shall render it more difficult. As to the value of such study, 

 aside from its purely scientific value, it has been pointed out 

 by Merriam, Cockerell, and others that a study of the natural 

 plant and animal life of a region is a good indication as to the 

 crops that can be best grown in a given area and soil. 



The data here given is not alone that gathered with the 

 expedition this summer but includes as well the results of 

 the past four years' study. The region which has been most 

 closely studied is that portion, of Bernalillo County in the 

 vicinity of Albuquerque and the western slope and top of the 

 Sandia Mts. Quite extensive collections have been made 

 also in the Manzano Mts. the Jemez Mts., and with the Con- 

 servation Commission in the vicinity of Mt. Taylor. Small 

 collections have also been made about Silver City, Socorro, 

 Belen, Mountainair, Santa Pe, Espanola, Taos, and Wagon 

 Mound. 



Topographically the region divides itself into three types 



(1) (Report of the Zoologist with the Survey.) 



