164 MICHIGAN SURVEY, 1908. 



tions or deviations from the average; but 'when, as in the case of Colorado 

 as a whole, there is no uniformity about the range of the various species, and 

 the majority do not occur throughout the territory, it is impossible to treat 

 the region as containing a single fauna." p. 305. 



"The mid-alpine zone, as I have defined it,* extends from about 6,500 feet 

 to 10,000 feet. It is essentially the zone of oak-scrub (Quercus undulata) and 

 qualcing asp {Populus tremuloides) . Its most characteristic conifer is Pinus 

 ponderosa var. scopulorum, but with the high-alpine zone it shares Picea engel- 

 manni, with the sub-alpine, Pinus edulis, and Juniperus virginianus." p. 306. 



"Among the Coleoptera it will be noticed at once how many of the species 

 are boreal extending to Canada {sens, lot.) and often to the New England 

 States. The Southern element is but slight although distinct if looked for; 

 and there is also a fair number of species endemic in the Rocky Mountains. 

 The Tenebrionidae, characteristic of the Western prairies, are fairly numerous. 

 The Coleopterous fauna, as a whole, is strikingly distinct from that of the 

 Mississippi region and the Eastern States generally, except as regards the 

 boreal element. Mr. Wickham has published a list of the beetles found in the 

 vicinity of Iowa City, and on comparing it with the present list, I was astonished 

 to find how few were the species common to both. This result is brought 

 about in large measure, no doubt, by the different character of the forests — 

 those of Iowa containing a great variety of deciduous trees, those of Colorado 

 mainly conifers, with very few deciduous species. Thus, it happens that not 

 one species of Cerambycidae is common to the Custer County and Iowa City 

 lists, although six species are common to our district and the much more distant 

 State of New Jersey." p. 309. 



"The high-alpine zone in Custer County extends from 10,000 feet on the 

 Sangre de Cristo range to summits of the mountains (Gibb's Peak, wrongly 

 called Gibson Peak, 13,729 feet; Horn's Peak, 13,447 feet; Humboldt Peak, 

 14,041 feet, etc.). A list of the high-alpine species so far as observed, is given 

 in "Can. Ent." 1890. Although the number of records is not great, they show 

 that the high-alpine and mid-alpine zones are sufficiently distinct." p. 310. 



"Of the high-alpine Coleoptera, 25 species are recorded, and a 26th may 

 be added, namely, GoccineUa trifasciata L., from near the Micawber Mine in 

 October. It extends to Canada, Lapland, etc. Of these 26, seven genera are 

 not mid-alpine, namely, Orsodachna, DicJielonycha, Ghrysobothris, Zeugophora, 

 Athous, Dasytes and Glyptina. Eleven of the species are wanting in the mia- 

 alpine collections." p. 310. 



"These statistics would undoubtedly be altered by further research, but I 

 do not think they can be without significance. That the high-alpine and mid- 

 alpine fauna are largely of different derivation seems to be proved by the large 

 proportion of generic difference. Thus, 25 distinct species of Hymenoptera in- 

 clude no less than 16 genera; and eleven Coleoptera include eight genera. 

 The high-alpine, therefore, is not, as regards its peculiar features, derived from 

 the mid-alpine or lower; contrasting in this respect with the hig'h-alplne of 

 Ecuador, which is so derived. 



"The affinities of the highalpine not being with the mid-alpine, they could 

 only be with the far North. Alberta being a suitable region for comparison, 

 I wrote to Mr. Thomas E. Bean, asking him to tell me how many of my high- 

 alpine species occurred with him. He most kindly replied, giving me the fol- 

 lowing interesting information: 



"Of the Coleoptera, he finds at Laggan Dolopius lateralis, Podabrus lateralis, 

 Orsodachna atra, Cicindela longilahris, Adoaus vitis, Chrysobothris trinervia, 

 GoccineUa transversog%ttata, Trichodes ornatus, Acmaeops pratensis and Mor- 

 della scutellaris. He adds: "That is a good sprinkling concidering that I de- 

 rive the facts from a small lot I sent Mr. Fletcher several years ago, pre- 

 sumably the commoner species.' * * * The timber line at Laggan is at 

 7,000 ft. p. 311. 



"Thirty-six Coleoptera were found and identified in the sub-alpine zone, and 

 of these twenty-two, or nearly two-thirds, were not found in the mid-alpine. 

 These include the following eleven genera not found in the mid-alpine: Pityo- 

 phagus, Batyle, Ditylus, Badister, Serica, Diabrotica, Tomicus, Polyphylla, 

 Euryomia, Listrus and Besmaris. Of the thirty-six species, only one, Hippo- 

 damia convergens, was observed to range up to the high-alpine. 



*See "Entomological News," 1892,'p. 203. 



