108 The Andes and the Amazon. 



and of fishes there is but one solitary species, about a fin- 

 ger long."^ The entomology of Quito is also brief, much 

 to the satisfaction of travelers from the insectiferous coast. 

 Musquitoes and bedbugs do not seem to enjoy life at such 

 an altitude, and jiggersf and flies are rare. Fleas, howev- 

 er, have the hardihood to exist and bite in the summe: 

 months, and if you attend an Indian fair you will be like- 

 ly to feel something " gently o'er you creeping." But fleas 

 and lice are the only blood-thirsty animals, so that the great 

 Yalley of Quito is an almost painless paradise. Of beetles 

 and butterflies there are a few species, the latter belonging 

 for the most part to the familiar Xorth American genera 

 Pyrameis and Colias. At Yinces, on the coast, we found 

 the pretty brown butterfly, A^iartia JatrophcB, which ranges 

 from Texas to Brazil. A light-colored coleopter is eaten 

 roasted by the inhabitants. The cochineal is raised in the 

 southern part of the valley, particularly in Guananda, at 

 the foot of Tunguragua, where the small, flat-leaved cac- 

 tus {Ojpuntia tuiia), on which the insect feeds, is exten- 

 sively cultivated. The male is winged, but the female is 

 stationary, fixed to the cactus, and is of a dark brown col- 

 or. It takes seventy thousand to make a pound, which 

 is sold in the valley for from sixty cents to $3. The 

 best cochineal comes from Teneriffe, where it was intro- 

 duced from Honduras in 1835. The silk-worm is destined 

 to work a revolution in the finances of Ecuador ; Quito 

 silk gained a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition. No bees 

 are hived in the republic ; the people seem to be content 



* Anteloptis la?vis at Ambato, and A. longirostris, a new species from An- 

 tisana Hacienda, were the only frogs noticed. The little fish is Pimelodes cy~ 

 clopmn (prenadilla of the Spaniards, imha of the Indians), the same that was 

 thrown out in the eruptions of Imbabm-a and Caraguairazo, 



t The jigger, chigoe, or nigua (Pulex penetrans of science) is a microscop- 

 ic flea that buries itself under the skin and lays a myriad eggs ; the result is 

 a painful tumor. Jiggers are almost confined to sandy places. 



