102 NATURAL RESOURCES SURVEY 



Berlindiaria. It disappears, completely by June 1st. It flies 

 iu the hottest sunshine of midday. Its conspicuous colors 

 blend perfectly with those of the Hymenopappus blossoms 

 but less satisfactorily with those of the Berlindiaria. 



Erebus odora, L. This magnificent Noctuid is occasionally 

 taken. (S) 



Crambus laqueatellus. Caught abundantly in a trap dur- 

 ing April and May, reaching its climax about April 20. 



Cymatophora sp. Common in the trap during May and 

 June and abundant about May 25. 



Platea trilineata. From April 5 to May 9 very abundant in 

 the trap and especially so about April 20. 



SAND DUNES 



Behind Atrisco they are entirely barren of vegetation and 

 of insect life except. 



Bembex sp., which here find conditions favorable for their 

 colonies. 



All the specimens of the scorpian (Buthus) that I have seen 

 have come from this Association. Its sting is, to most people, 

 not nearly as serious as it is represented to be. Persons 

 that have experienced it say that for a short time only is the 

 pain more severe than that resulting from the sting of a 

 hornet and that it does not last, as long. 



Two lizards are extremely abundant in this formation. 

 They are Uta stansburiana and Holbrookia maculata. They 

 occur in small numbers only on the mesa or in the valley. 

 On the other hand three oth^r lizards that occur here are 

 also and about equally common on the mesa itself. They are 

 two species of "horned toad" and Cnemidophorus gularis. 

 The horned toads go into hibernation in October, not to ap- 

 pear again until the following April but Uta and Holbrookia 

 may be seen in limited numbers on any warm day even in 

 midwinter. At this time their food is largely white ants, 

 Hyporhagus, Eusattus, Emmenastus and other ground and 

 Yucca beetles and in turn they furnish an important part of 

 the fare of sparrow hawks and the butcher bird. The 

 latter commonly impales them on the branches of the "de- 

 sert willow" and other plants and usually, perhaps never, goes 

 near them again, but in times of scarcity he too is driven to 

 the use of dried meat and returns and eats these victims. 



