Taxacom: Entomological collecting at altitudes higher than 4, 500 m (more than 14, 500 feet)?

Fri Apr 22 16:14:24 CDT 2022

Yes, at least two species of insect were collected by the Everest
expedition of 1921 at 5,639m. One was a new species of cockroach
- Eupolyphaga everestiana, and the other may have been a bumblebee. See my
online cockroach catalogue here:
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcockroach.speciesfile.org%2FCommon%2Fbasic%2FTaxa.aspx%3FTaxonNameID%3D1178021&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0jvcFbe46CGPzLhWGzO0Kgc9UiZTA6jtrmA2RwKlRyA%3D&reserved=0

For an overview of the expedition see
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F1921_British_Mount_Everest_reconnaissance_expedition&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=wh%2BQq4VPzCT3pInxkcmVeBfv8QvZzaKP8vz%2FUza61nA%3D&reserved=0

Best wishes,

George

****************************************************************************
*Dr George Beccaloni FLS*
*Director, Alfred Russel Wallace Correspondence Project*
Other email address: g.beccaloni at wallaceletters.org

*My websites*:
Wallace Correspondence Project: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwallaceletters.myspecies.info%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=31ylTWLGj37A2%2Ft9Qny%2F969CwQEOLBAnxvhWI2PxFPw%3D&reserved=0
Catalogue of Wallace's correspondence: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2FWallaceInEpsilon&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Tr2y%2BR6NjIk0icbJE%2BF0HKI9BUqLzqCzs4Hi1rYQwqI%3D&reserved=0
Wallace Fund Website: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwallacefund.myspecies.info%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xYrN%2BFoJhRLs06nJpRwPQbwm2zpzAn4h4WcGhSySVI0%3D&reserved=0
Wallace Facebook page: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F1stJuly1858&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Re0ld5BxLO732aL%2FyMJnk5ApMNlNOqx6qftICuHRQ3s%3D&reserved=0
Cockroach Species File: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcockroach.speciesfile.org%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=j3D%2F%2BATrHW7idiEuH6VLPTfxoBoe06cTQRHpWucGtRg%3D&reserved=0
LepIndex: *https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nhm.ac.uk%2Four-science%2Fdata%2Flepindex%2F&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=h4P47YSjUCYsByIKJu%2FQQdvT%2BdwHXRpxXCUm4aiejAI%3D&reserved=0
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HOSTS: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nhm.ac.uk%2Four-science%2Fdata%2Fhostplants&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=u0i2OyGjH9BhZEPGPWvmtVYGJy%2BpPc1syXe988OmhbI%3D&reserved=0

ResearchGate: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fprofile%2FGeorge_Beccaloni&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=sxSziWQ8cdvNWGcTeyruu4hwdLRcecqmOsTBzvn5Pas%3D&reserved=0
Google Scholar:
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.co.uk%2Fcitations%3Fuser%3DJ4Xo2bEAAAAJ%26hl%3Den&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=9cuNPiMq1T4dPa0637F4AZLgKG5tA6c%2Fn3Sj4cre9ZE%3D&reserved=0

*See https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2FWallaceCruises&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0zeszVd8ZzPxC1N6NEfmOlX%2FjDsUZWLB9%2B%2FakGpezmM%3D&reserved=0
<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2FWallaceCruises&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0zeszVd8ZzPxC1N6NEfmOlX%2FjDsUZWLB9%2B%2FakGpezmM%3D&reserved=0> for details of Wallace-related trips I
will be leading/lecturing on*
****************************************************************************

On Fri, 22 Apr 2022 at 21:52, Fernandez, Jose via Taxacom <
taxacom at lists.ku.edu> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Earlier today Michael Heads was asking about a great collector that lived
> in Sichuan and as part of Michael's email I noticed that he was asking
> about a locality at around 4,800 m (15,900 feet).
>
> It reminded me of a (admittedly, somewhat silly) question that I have been
> meaning to ask to this list for a while. Have any entomological collections
> ever made at altitudes higher than 4,500 m (~14,500 feet)? I am not asking
> for observations of something seen flying (which I know there are quite a
> few observations of bumble bees and I believe even one Lepidoptera that
> were seen flying at really high altitudes in the Himalaya) but rather more
> "solid" collecting such as traps, or netting...
>
> The main reason is a bit silly, as I am interested in having some
> "records" for my pet group of parasitoid wasps (Braconidae). Especially the
> subfamily Microgastrinae which are caterpillar (Lepidoptera) parasitoids.
> As far as I know there is a potential to have some species occurring at
> altitudes a bit over 4,500 m. But I have not found any solid evidence yet.
> Based on specimens housed here in the Canadian National Collection, I
> described in 2018 a species of Microplitis from four specimens collected in
> Colorado (Mount Evans)  at altitudes between 3,658 m (holotype) and 4,267 m
> (paratypes) (link to paper here in case someone is interested in seeing the
> species, which I named as "altissimus" to refer to the altitude it was
> collected:
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzookeys.pensoft.net%2Farticles.php%3Fid%3D22869&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=NxgRGFU%2Fpv5EUJ75W66qc3jwpxNJvnQsWrRts9d3gfk%3D&reserved=0)
> . There is a road that reaches the summit of that mountain and thus it is
> relatively easy for collectors to access that mountain and collect at such
> altitude (the mountain peak reaches 4,350 m or some 14,200 feet, but I have
> not seen any specimen from higher than 4,267 m). Similarly, I am describing
> now a new species in the genus Dolichogenidea collected in Ecuador and Peru
> at 4,000-4,100 m, but here it falls a bit short of my previous species
> "record". And I cannot find any historical reference higher either. Thus,
> at least until this point I have failed to find any evidence of collecting
> for parasitoid wasps at altitudes higher than 4,200 m or so.
>
> However, I believe that there must be some collecting done at higher
> altitudes, as probably the main limitation is the logistical and physical
> demands of reaching such places. But I am pretty sure that there are many
> places in the Andes, close to the Equator, where some vegetation can be
> found way over 4,300 m (in fact, more like close to 5,000m), and thus any
> entomological expedition done there should have collected parasitoid wasps.
> Same could apply to Africa (I would assume that Kilimanjaro would be a good
> guess? But there are also a few other possibilities), and perhaps to
> Himalaya. The record for the highest tree line is discussed in many places
> (I believe that South America wins that one) but actually even if only
> grasses that would be sufficient for potentially having caterpillars and
> therefore, parasitoid wasps attacking them. After all, in the northermost
> locality in the world (Alert, Ellesmere Island, Canada, 82°30′N) with a
> brutal artic environment, there are many species of parasitoid wasps. So, I
> gather that finding them at altitudes of around 4,500 would be reasonable.
>
> Which brings me back to my question if anyone in this list knows about
> such potential entomological expeditions that have happened at that (or
> higher) altitude.
>
> Thanks a lot for any info you can share! And my apologies for such a long
> and probably silly post...
> Cheers,
> Jose
>
> --
> José L. Fernández-Triana, Ph.D.
> Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
> Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC)
> 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0C6, CANADA
> Phone: 613-759-1034. Email: jose.fernandez at canada.ca
> Alternative email : cnc.braconidae at gmail.com
>
> Approved disclaimer text, if applicable.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> On Behalf Of Michael Heads
> via Taxacom
> Sent: Friday, April 22, 2022 6:14 AM
> To: Taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> Subject: Taxacom: Sichuan localities
>
> CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not
> click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know
> the content is safe.
> ATTENTION: Ce courriel provient de l’extérieur de l’organisation. Ne
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>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
>
> David Crockett Graham lived in Sichuan most of his life and was a
> legendary collector there (he donated about 400000 specimens to the
> Smithsonian). I’m trying to find the whereabouts of one of his collection
> localities in western Sichuan: Zya Ha Pass (altitude 15900 feet). This is
> near Yin Kuan Tsai and Yu-Long-Si, but I don’t know where these are either.
>
>    It seems that there are maps of his collection treks on pp 246-251 of
> Walravens (2006). If anyone has access to this book I’d be very grateful
> for copies of the maps.
>
>
>
> Walravens, H. (ed.). 2006. David Crockett Graham (1884-1961as zoological
> collector and anthropologist in China. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Michael
>
> --
> Dunedin, New Zealand.
>
> My books:
>
> *Biogeography and evolution in New Zealand. *Taylor and Francis/CRC, Boca
> Raton FL. 2017.
>
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.routledge.com%2FBiogeography-and-Evolution-in-New-Zealand%2FHeads%2Fp%2Fbook%2F9781498751872&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=N7QKaVolnJFcoL1i4%2FThFG0eQYaEndj86POrA88eRfw%3D&reserved=0
>
>
> *Biogeography of Australasia:  A molecular analysis*. Cambridge University
> Press, Cambridge. 2014.
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2F9781107041028&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=S0ArWxATiA%2BJXCZ8oFhRFviVFLbvUn3IU3mBeebojtc%3D&reserved=0
>
>
> *Molecular panbiogeography of the tropics. *University of California
> Press, Berkeley. 2012.
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ucpress.edu%2Fbook.php%3Fisbn%3D9780520271968&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kpaFu3KfTHq3dxUq8jwrWZzYYFqKuOMLmxNGwc5sRRM%3D&reserved=0
>
>
> *Panbiogeography: Tracking the history of life*. Oxford University Press,
> New York. 1999. (With R. Craw and J. Grehan).
>
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.co.nz%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DBm0_QQ3Z6GUC&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=CkR1%2FakZ5otS07gIuywFbHLW1IV8N%2F94FpjivJ0z1KU%3D&reserved=0
> <
> https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.co.nz%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DBm0_QQ3Z6GUC%26dq%3Dpanbiogeography%26source%3Dgbs_navlinks_s&data=05%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C132087517d044d631ec408da24a523a4%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637862589402323694%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=oemIaFHvNtiD9IbA8qGMfUJGTPtaRsF8Tal78RAL3ao%3D&reserved=0
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> Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity for about 35 years, 1987-2022.
>