clvi FAUNA HAWAIIENSIS 



than sound ones. From the former one breeds the Pimpline Ichneumon, Echthro- 

 morplia luaculipennis, and of late years, occasionally, the imported Chalcid, Chalcis 

 obscurata. In spite of these enemies, and, sometimes, of Tachinid flies, the Kameha- 

 meha butterfly is a common insect, and at the same time the finest and most conspicuous 

 in the Hawaiian fauna. As many as a dozen or two may at times be seen flying around 

 some injured Koa tree, from which sap is exuding, or resting on its trunk or branches. 

 On such occasions it is sometimes possible to place a net over some half-dozen individuals 

 at once. Only a small proportion of examples caught in the field are in perfect condition, 

 the wings, though strong, being apparently very brittle. Although the butterfly bears a 

 general resemblance to other species of Pyratneis, the caterpillar is so very distinct, that 

 it would be taken to belong to some other genus. The very numerous stout spines with 

 which the head is set, the absence of any mediodorsal line of spines, and the enormous 

 development of two apical abdominal ones, give it an extraordinary appearance. 



Lycaenidae. — L. boetica is ubiquitous throughout the group, feeding on many 

 leguminous plants in the open country, and we have found it at an elevation of some 

 7000 ft. in the mountains frequenting the flowers of Sophoi-a chrysophylla. It is 

 apparently free from the attacks of parasites, but both larvae and eggs are destroyed 

 by the ant Pheidole megacephala. The date of its importation is not known, but it has 

 been present for more than thirty years. 



L. blackbiirni is not at present known outside the islands, though it will quite 

 possibly be found elsewhere. Though chiefly found in the mountains, it is also 

 frequently common on the lowlands, sometimes occurring commonly in gardens in 

 Honolulu. In the latter, the caterpillar^ feeds on various foreign trees that bear pods ; 

 in the mountains it infests the pods of Acacia koa and the leaves and capsules of 

 Dodonaea viscosa. This species is not known to be attacked by any parasites, nor does 

 it exhibit any striking variation. 



During recent years other two Lycaenidae have been imported, as destroyers of 

 the flowers and seeds of Lantana camara. They are natives of Mexico, where they are 

 so greatly attacked by parasites, that fully 90 per cent, of the larvae were destroyed by 

 these in their native country, and the butterflies rarely seen. In the islands they become 

 excessively numerous, whenever the Lantana flowers freely enough to admit of their 

 multiplication. They are apparently exempt from parasites, though the eggs are often 

 much destroyed by Pheidole. 



Phycitidae. — The few Hawaiian representatives of this family are small, obscure 

 species, all but three or four being introductions imported with articles of food. 



' Mr J. C. Kershaw informs me that this caterpillar is devoid of the usual glands found on the 

 abdominal segments of Lycaenid caterpillars. If the butterfly is really endemic, this fact in connection 

 with the absence of any native ants, except the entirely terrestrial Ponera perkinsi, is interesting, since 

 the excretion of these glands is habitually eaten by ants. 



