iSgi.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I3I 



The start was made on horseback, and for a little while most 

 of the attention had to be directed towards the burros, to whose 

 backs the pack had long been a stranger. But with increased 

 sobriety in the burros came increased opportunity for collecting, 

 and we soon had some very pretty things in the cyanide bottle — 

 the tirst captures being a set of one of our prettiest Chrysomelids, 

 Urodera cricci/era Lee. They were taken on the wing, having 

 evidently been disturbed by the irresponsible pack animals brush- 

 ing against the shrubs by the sides of the narrow trail. A few 

 examples of Megalostomis siibfasciata Lee. were added to our 

 collections in the same way. 



Stopping for a mid-day lunch at an abandoned stamp-mill, 

 where a well yielded water enough for the animals, we made a 

 hasty examination of the vicinity with the following results : 

 Amara californica and a Blapstinus, in great numbers under 

 leaves of Cottonwood, which had drifted into little hollows, a few 

 Monocrepidius and an Esthesoptcs or two under boards; one or 

 two examples of Mycocoryna lineolata Stal. on weeds with Exema 

 conspersa, and an occasional Etiryscopa or Pachybrachys. Not 

 very encouraging yet, but then there were the foot-hills just in 

 front of us, rising one behind the other, each a little higher than 

 the one before it, and covered, as far as we could see, with bear 

 grass and mescal, the latter with its great clusters of yellow, 

 strong-scented flowers lifted high above our heads. On these we 

 hope to find many an interesting insect, and we are not disap- 

 pointed. First we see one of those curious weevils, Zygops 

 semimveas resting near the end of a mescal leaf, but he loses hold 

 and rolls down the inclined surface until stopped near the axil by 

 the base of the leaf above. As the leaves are very large, stiff, 

 and armed along the edges with stout, curved spines or thorns, 

 it is a delicate piece of work to extricate an insect without lacer- 

 ating the hand badly, and possibly my method may prove useful 

 to others who have no cutting tool with them but a jack-knife. 

 Cut off the terminal spine first, then run the knife along the full 

 length of the leaf, far enough from the margin to take all the 

 other spines off clean. Now, treat all the other leaves in the 

 same way and the insects are at your mercy. The Zygops may 

 be chased from one leaf to another, for they are rather nimble, 

 until in a spot where they can be grasped with the fingers or 

 forceps. Many other beetles are found near the base of the stalk, 



