INTRODUCTION 31 



ventris sp. nov. Coq., Hylcphila silvestris (Fallen), new to the 

 American fauna ; Sarcophagidae : Pogonota kincaidi sp. nov. 



A single specimen of Arctophila flagrans O. S. captured 

 upon the bank of the creek, attracted attention on account of 

 the surprising resemblance it bore to one of the common bum- 

 ble-bees (Bombus syfaicola Kirby) found on the same island. 

 This was interpreted as an example of mimetic resemblance. 



On the top of an exposed and barren hill top several speci- 

 mens were secured of a peculiar brachypterous Tipulid ( Ttpula 

 septcntrionalis Loew). These creatures presented a strange 

 sight as they ran about among the scanty herbage after the 

 fashion of Phalangids. The situations in which they live are 

 exposed to heavy winds, and it seems probable that their short 

 wings are an adaptation to an unfavorable environment, since 

 winged forms would be more liable to be blown away from the 

 land and lost at sea. 



The coleopterous fauna was so meager that in the beginning 

 it seemed as if the order was on the verge of extinction upon 

 the island, but by painstaking search a series of thirty-three 

 species was assembled. Strange to say, however, it was found 

 that fifteen of these species were represented in the collection 

 by single specimens, and of the remainder six were represented 

 by two specimens each. The only beetle at all common was 

 the Cerambycid Leptalia macilenta, which occurred in multi- 

 tudes upon the umbels of Heracleum. The reason for this 

 dearth of individuals in the Coleoptera was not obvious, and 

 the only explanation offered is that certain of the rodents which 

 swarm in the tundra use the beetles for food and thus destroy 

 the Coleoptera that ordinarily make their homes upon the 

 ground. For example, the family Carabidse is represented in 

 the collection by unique specimens of Bembidium incertum 

 Mots., Bembidium mutatum G. & H., Trechus chalybeus Mann., 

 Pterostichus luczoti Dej., Amara hyperborea Dej., and Cala- 

 thus ingratus Dej. 



Three beetles new to the fauna of Alaska appear in the 

 Popof Island collections Mycetoporus lepidus Erich., Bem- 

 bidium mutatum G. & H., and Rhantus bistriatus Bergst. Helo- 

 phorus auricollis was previously known only from Unalaska. 



