242 ENTOMOLOGICAI, NEWS [Nov., '19 



On our higher mountains as well as in the far north the 

 summer advances rapidly and insect life as a consequence 

 appears with a rush. Insects will always be found following 

 close upon the retreating snow. On the moist earth, just be- 

 low the lower margins of the rapidly melting snow fields, 

 numerous predaceous Coleoptera, such as the smaller Cara- 

 bidae and Staphilinidae as well as small Diptera, can be found. 

 These insects and numerous spiders become very active during 

 the warmer parts of the day and their peregrinations are 

 often extended during this time over the adjacent snowfields 

 and sometimes for considerable distances. One summer I 

 found certain species of Platynus and Bemhid'mm so numer- 

 ous along the lower margins of the snow on Mt. Lyell that I 

 was kept busy for quite a time gathering them in. This same 

 tendency of the smaller Coleoptera to run out over the snow- 

 fields was also noted later when on Mt. Rainier and on the 

 mountains of the Aleutian Islands. 



On the snowfields at higher levels, chiefly those on favorable 

 exposures, other insects were to be noted. These were of mis- 

 cellaneous types, such as are normally to be found flying 

 about the trees and over the grassy slopes of the mountains at 

 lower altitudes, and were no doubt carried upwards by the 

 gradually rising currents of air. Becoming tired or somewhat 

 chilled as they were wafted over the icy slopes, they were 

 impelled to settle, when they soon became benumbed and ulti- 

 mately frozen. On the west slopes of Mt. Rainier during the 

 middle of July, 1905, I often amused myself by traveling 

 over the lower snowfields looking for the unlucky derelicts. 

 The insects which I found were of all orders, Hymenoptera, 

 Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera and Coleoptera. Of the 

 Hymenoptera I remember particularly the Ichneumonidae and 

 Formicidae, particularly the large wood ants of the genus 

 Camponotus. Of the Hemiptera I secured several Cicadidae, 

 many Pentatomidae and Coreidae and noted remains of nu- 

 merous Miridae, which last, because of their frail nature, had 

 so rapidly disintegrated that they were not worth picking up. 

 Of the Coleoptera there were many Cerambycidae, both day 



