cxxx FAUNA HAWAIIENSIS 



on flowers, while the larvae are found in decayed wood, stems of sugar cane, &c., and 

 are known to be at least partly carnivorous. The large Chalcolepidius erythroloma is 

 sometimes numerous on Oahu, especially near Honolulu, but has not, so far as is known, 

 yet reached the other islands. It is commonly seen at the sap oozing from fungus- 

 attacked trees in the lower forest, especially on the Koa and Kukui, and the larvae 

 occur in the dead wood of the latter. We have also found these in the wood of living 

 orange trees, once in such numbers as to be apparently doing injury, but the trees were 

 sickly. 



Monocrepidius exsul is the latest importation in the Elateridae, it having been first 

 noticed in 1900, and now is the most plentiful of this family on Oahu. It is attracted 

 to light on dark nights in extraordinary numbers, especially in the vicinity of cane-fields, 

 where it breeds in the trash. 



Eopenthes is an endemic genus with 2)2^ described species, many of which are rare 

 and imperfectly known, the species being extremely hard to distinguish. Some have a 

 constant colour pattern, while others are very variable. In the latter case individuals of 

 one species may be of two or three quite distinct patterns of colour, these same colours 

 being of specific value in other species and not varying. These beetles are remarkable 

 amongst the Hawaiian Coleoptera for several reasons. They are almost entirely 

 summer insects or at least do not occur between November and March. They are 

 almost the only native beetles found visiting flowers for the sake of the nectar, being 

 especially fond of the blossoms of Metrosideriis. They are also largely of diurnal 

 habits. Unfortunately many of them appear to be rare or this may be partly due to 

 their comparatively short season, on account of which the travelling collector does not 

 happen to be in the right place at the right time. 



Eopenthes koHae, a very variable species, is very abundant and widely distributed 

 on Hawaii and is found in all sorts of situations, even under stones. The larvae are 

 common objects in the forests of all the islands, being found in rotten wood, and are 

 often seen in numbers, when adults are rare, or not observed at all. No parasites 

 were obtained from the few I was able to rear. 



Itodacims, another endemic genus with eight species, is nocturnal in its habits, 

 or at least some of the species are so, and /. gracilis may be seen on the wing in 

 numbers at dusk. In the daytime they hide beneath the bark of trees, sometimes 

 a considerable number in company. The larvae also have been found beneath bark, 

 and the adults are attracted by light. Dacnitus, with a single species, is probably 

 a terrestrial species. It was only once found beneath a log on very wet mud, in a 

 boggy forest. It is allied to Jtodacnus. 



The Eucneminae are represented by 33 endemic species of Dromaeohts and a 

 single one of an endemic genus Ceratotaxia. They have been even more imperfectly 

 collected than the true Elaters, and as in these, the larvae are more numerous than the 

 adults. Unless found full grown, these larvae generally die if removed to the lowlands, 



