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Insect Life on the Western Arctic Coast of America 



By FRITS JOHANSEN' 



Introduction 



The territory covered by the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18, stretches 

 from Wrangell island (about latitude 71 degrees north, longitude 178 degrees 

 west) off Siberia to the new land found north of the Canadian Arctic archipelago 

 (about latitude 80 degrees north, longitude 100 degrees west). 



Much of this area, however, was passed only on ship or during sledge- 

 expeditions, and from some localities no collections of insects or plants were 

 made. 



The expedition was divided into a northern and a southern party, the 

 northern exploring principally the Arctic ocean and Canadian Arctic archipelago, 

 while the southern investigated the continental coast. Owing to the unfor- 

 tunate loss of the naturalist of the northern party, Mr. James Murray, with the 

 " Karluk," off Wrangell island, in 1914, the collections made up to then by that 

 party were lost, but the few specimens collected later have a considerable value, 

 owing to the high latitude in which they were found. 



Reports on all the entomological specimens appear in this volume. Rearing 

 experiments were made with more than a hundred various insects, etc., but owing 

 to the difficulties incident to a trip of this description, only a quarter of the 

 experiments were successful. 



Investigations were made at: 2 



Teller, Alaska (July-August, 1913). 



Camden bay, Alaska (September, 1913 to July, 1914). 



Demarcation point, Alaska (May, 1914). 



Herschel island, Yukon (July, 1914 and August, 1916). 



Peninsula south of Dolphin and Union strait, Northwest Territories 

 (August, 1914 to July, 1916). 



Lower part of Coppermine river, Northwest Territories (February, 1915). 



Some insects were collected in Alaska at Nome, Latouche and Ketchikan; 

 and at Cape Bathurst, Victoria island and Coronation Gulf, Northwest 

 Territories. 



In the present article the natural conditions and the insect life in these 

 localities are described, but descriptive geographical details are omitted. With 

 this series of reports is included a list of flowering plants, by Theo. Holm and 

 the late J. M. Macoun, and vegetation is, therefore, referred to only when 

 it affects insect life. 3 The region where the forest insects were found lies in 

 the transition zone between the arctic and the subarctic, on the boundary of 

 the barren grounds, and at some distance from the coast; but it is included in 

 this report because the forest insects are described in the report on Coleoptera. 



To this report are added data regarding insect life on some of the islands 

 in the Canadian Arctic archipelago, and a comparison is made between these 

 insects and those of Greenland. 



x The report as originally submitted by the author has been considerably cut down and has been 

 recast into impersonal form to conform to the other reports of the series. 

 2 See map of Western Arctic Coast of America, Fig. 1, p. 41K. 



^Specific plant identifications in the present paper are from collections determined by 

 Macoun and Holm. (See Vol. V, Part A, Vascular Plants.) 



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