clxxiv FAUNA HAWAIIENSIS 



Embiidae or Embioptera. 



Oligotoma insularis, the sole representative of this small family, is a common 

 insect on the lowlands, and in dry places in the mountains to an elevation of some 

 200oft. above the sea. Blackburn reported it as occurring in the thatch of native 

 houses, but it also is abundant under stones, amongst ddbris of fallen leaves and twigs, 

 in the cavities of dead twigs and branches, and beneath the webs that it spins on the 

 exposed trunks of large trees, in fact in many situations. Frequently small colonies of 

 larvae, nymphs and adults are found in company. The winged males fly at night, and 

 are attracted by light, and their appearance somewhat suggests that of certain Perlidae, 

 their movements somewhat those of Raphidia, or still more of small exotic Mantidae. 

 In whatever situation they are found they spin galleries of silk, along which they can 

 travel rapidly either backwards or forwards. If the species is really endemic, which is 

 very doubtful, it is one of the very few native species, not specially protected, which 

 has escaped destruction from foreign predaceous insects in the lowlands. Possibly 

 the galleries in which it lives may have saved it from destruction. Though here 

 placed in the Neuroptera, Oligotoma would be less out of place amongst the cursorial 

 Orthoptera. 



Termitidae or Isoptera. 



Only two Termites of the genus Calotermes are recorded in this work, but during 

 the course of publication, one, if not two, other species have been imported, and are 

 probably established. The names assigned to the species by McLachlan and adopted 

 by me were given on the examination of winged examples only, and their correctness 

 is very doubtful. The smaller species is clearly introduced, inhabiting houses and 

 woodwork throughout the islands, but is not a forest insect. It has done much damage 

 in Honolulu and other settlements, attacking many of the more choice woods. On 

 the other hand, the larger species is a true forest insect, being particularly fond of dead 

 Koa trees or the dead parts of living trees. Communities, however, are also found in 

 detached logs of this and other wood, when lying on the ground. This species is 

 variable, and examples of the soldiers taken from communities on different islands 

 showed marked differences in the form of the underside of the head. The communities 

 are often very large, occupying all parts of the trunk and branches of a large dead tree. 

 The soldiers have distinct eyes, and a number of kings and queens may be found in one 

 colony. The latter do not exhibit any noticeable post-metamorphotic growth, such as 

 is so remarkable in the queens of many other Termites. 



