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Abstract
Over 12,500 insects and other arthropods were collected on a large snowfield at 3353 m elevation in the alpine zone of the central Sierra Nevada of California near Tioga Pass. The snowfield was sampled for three summers from 1972 to 1974 using 1-m2 quadrats, which were cleared of all arthropods at various specified intervals during each summer season. Aphididae, Cicadellidae, Psyllidae (Homoptera), Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera), and various Nematocera and Acalyptratae (Diptera) were the major components of the insect fallout in all three years.
The density of arthropod fallout corresponds positively with local mean temperature and negatively with local wind velocity, although the highest levels of fallout occur during years with the highest average wind velocities.
Nival surface conditions differ widely for aeolian-deposited insects and their predator-scavengers (mostly Carabidae and Staphylinidae), and the windblown prey include all of the common aeolian insects except the Hymenoptera.
The probable origin of most aeolian arthropod fallout thus far identified from this part of the Sierra Nevada, as determined by distribution of the host plants for aeolian insects and meteorological records, is postulated to be the San Joaquin Valley (Central Valley between the Stockton-Modesto area and Bakersfield).
The zoogeographical distribution of reported aeolian ecosystems in North America appears to be related to the history of tundra refugia in the Holarctic Region.