﻿206 FIELD AND FOREST. 



of flowers, but a collector on looking over his captures, is apt to 

 regard species to a certain extent when speaking of abundance. 



On looking over my notes on this trip (1871) I find the following: 

 " I was much surprised at finding so few insects in the mountain re- 

 gions, compared with other localities. Even the Colorado potato-bug, 

 which is supposed to be at home, is less injuries than at the east. At 

 many joints I examined potato fields, and found only a few of the 

 beetles. Occasionally the wild prickly Solanum is seen growing, as a 

 weed, near cultivated potatoes, and in many cases the proportion of 

 insects found on the wild plants are three to one. Every (ew years 

 Caloptenus sprelus swarms in untold numbers, devouring every green 

 thing ; but, aside from this, it seems vegetation is not seriously in- 

 jured by insect depredations. 



Some species of gall insects appeared to be particularly destructive. 

 On some of the dwarf oaks, at low elevations, the galls were as plenty 

 as the acorns, and not confined to one bush, but spread over a large 

 space. On other varieties of trees, the entire foliage was curled and 

 distorted by leaf-galls. 



The lady-bugs, in infinite variety, were very abundant everywhere, 

 aud many individuals of the commoner species of butterflies were 

 plenty enough during the warm part of the day, but the night-flying 

 moths were remarkably scarce, very few being attracted to our fires 

 or lights." 



From Mr. Mead's statements and the figures given, in the May 

 number of the Popular Science Monthly, it would seem that in the 

 early summer months the mountains of Colorado are a tolerably good 

 collecting ground, but from my own experience, I am satisfied that I 

 can collect in August a larger number of species of insects in various 

 orders, in almost any of the eastern states, than in the Colorado Moun- 

 tains during the same time. 



Charles R. Dodge. 



Strength of the Stag-beetle. — I had a specimen of the Stag-beetle 

 that lifted nearly three pounds in weight. A boy brought me one a 

 short time since, in a tumbler, and I placed it in a strong card box, 

 four inches square, so as to examine it next day. Before going to bed 

 that night, I placed the box, with the beetle in it, on a glass case, and 

 placed a large polished, outside slab of madrepore on the box con- 

 taining the beetle. In the morning I found the box turned over, and 

 the cover off the box, and the beetle walking round the floor.— J. R. S. 

 in Science Gossip. 



