The Dawson Leuco 



might be, I could not conjecture; but they were quite active, and, as 

 certainly, they were on their native heath. When one breathes upon 

 these insects, they disappear, and they do so by diving into the depths 

 of the snow — or, say, to a depth of three or four millimeters — down the 

 interstices caused by the action of the sun. There's romance for you; 

 and there are, speaking in all sobriety, about forty billion of these snow 

 bugs to the square mile. 



As the season advances and the area of the snowfields is reduced, 

 the Leucos resort to the south slopes of the peaks, where yellow-winged 

 locusts and deer-flies and the hardy butterflies, notably Vanessa cali- 

 fornica, hold forth. These they pursue on the ground, or else seize 

 in midair by dextrous leaps from below. They feed also at the lower 

 levels over the heather beds and in the vicinity of the cirque lakes. Once 

 I saw a company of these Leucos feasting on caddis-flies. So eager 

 had they become that they alighted upon the stones which protruded 

 above the water of a shallow lake, where they could seize the becoming 

 caddis-flies as they crawled out of their chrysalis cases. Although this 



Taken in Inyo County 



A SOUTHERN STRONGHOLD 



SEVERAL PAIRS OF LEUCOS NESTED HERE IN I9II 



Photo by the A ulhor 



l60 



