428 APPENDIX I 
The close proximity of the wooded section in the more southern 
portion and the narrowness of the so-called Arctic Zone causes 
it to be inhabited during the summer by many species from the 
strictly Hudsonian area to the west and south, even though condi- 
tions are not favourable for their permanent existence. Botan- 
ically the two zones are quite clearly defined, but from an entomo- 
logical standpoint it would be difficult to draw the line. 
Taking the country as a whole, the two hundred and forty 
recorded species probably represent less than thirty-five per cent 
of the insects which will be found to inhabit this region. It is 
somewhat difficult to make an estimate of the number of species 
in the more northern latitudes, where the tendency is toward vast 
numbers of individuals and few species, and where the insects 
with incomplete metamorphosis are poorly represented. There 
are, however, many reasons for considering that our knowledge 
of the insects of Labrador is very imperfect. The country with 
its comparatively rich flora (over five hundred species) presents 
quite favourable conditions for insect life, a fact which is shown 
by the large number of species recorded from the so-called Hudson 
Bay region, and the tendency of species in northern latitudes to 
extend entirely across the continent. There has been an almost 
total neglect of the Diptera, or flies, the order most prevalent in 
boreal regions, only fifteen species being recorded, while from 
Alaska, for example, two hundred and seventy-six species represent- 
ing one hundred and thirty-eight genera and thirty-six families 
were obtained by Professor Trevor Kincaid of the Harriman expe- 
dition during the summer of 1899. 
Under each order will be given a brief account of our present 
knowledge of the insects of this region, with notes on their habits, 
distribution, and other features of general interest. 
I am indebted to Mr. H. H. Newcomb for the loan of some 
butterflies, to Mr. J. A. Cushman for photographs, and to Miss 
L. R. Martin for drawings illustrating this article. 
The Diptera, or two-winged insects, comprise what are popu- 
larly known as flies, midges, gnats, and mosquitoes. I have stated 
that this is a very much neglected order, but I am told that they 
never neglect the visitor; in fact we would probably know more 
about the flies of Labrador if they were not quite so attentive. 
They constitute the most annoying, and at times an almost un- 
bearable, feature of the short summer, nature seeming to strive 
to make up in individuals what it lacks in species. It seems 
remarkable that insects can increase in such numbers in so short 
a time, and under conditions apparently so unfavourable, but 
cold does not seem to hinder the development of certain species. 
Professor John B. Smith, in his work on the mosquitoes of New 
