3l8 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Dec, '03 



other insect. Further search will disclose numerous represen- 

 tatives of nearly every order, with Coleoptera and Hymenop- 

 tera in the lead, although the Neuroptera are represented by 

 numerous specimens of Chrysopa and allied genera. Insects 

 were found on the surface and to the depth of five or six 

 inches in the pits, and more than likely extend down into the 

 solid glacial ice. Evidently, flying insects are carried upward 

 over the snow by the strong winds which frequently sweep up 

 the mountain side. As the insects become chilled, they drop 

 to the snow, where they die ; although they remain numb for 

 some time, and occasionally the warm noonday sun will revive 

 them, as was shown by an occasional beetle, whereas spiders 

 seemed quite lively. During the summer months the surface 

 of the snow fields becomes soft in the midday sun ; and, since 

 the bodies of insects are opaque, they absorb more heat than 

 the surrounding snow, and hence the snow immediately beneath 

 them melts more rapidly, eventually burying the insect. On 

 one trip a sparrow and a plover were found frozen. The guide 

 stated that some years the mountain side would be covered 

 with frozen grasshoppers; — I presume some migratory species 

 which occur on the eastern side of the mountains. In some 

 seasons, portions of the rock at the very summit become bare, 

 and I was told they were frequently almost covered with but- 

 terflies. In connection wdth this I might state that reliable 

 parties told me that, upon climbing a small butte about 2,oco 

 ft. high, here in the valley in the month of October, they 

 found the top of the butte covered with millions of Coccinel- 

 lids. This suggests that mountain tops might be useful fac- 

 tors in studying migrations of insects. 



Beside the collecting on the snow fields, this mountain 

 affords magnificent collecting at lower elevations, it being best 

 along the banks of the many mountain brooks. The dead 

 timber in the higher altitudes showed very few insects, 

 although one would expect to find hosts of Cerambycids. The 

 insect which appeared in its native haunts at the highest alti- 

 tude was a species of ant. Colonies were found on small 

 moraines completely surrounded by snow, which probably 

 retreated later in the season. Povibtless, a study of the 



