COCOS— THE ISLE OF PIRATES 229 



eluding two species of beautiful, pink-spotted 

 sphinx, several kinds of butterflies, large brown- 

 winged grasshoppers with enormously long anten- 

 nae, funny little green cicadas, ants, mosquitoes, one 

 small wasp, wood roaches large and small, and 

 many giant dragonflies. Almost all these insects 

 were clad in dull shades of black and brown, as 

 were numerous beetles — elaters, long-horned, and 

 weevils. One startling exception to this coloration 

 was a weevil which stood out from the rest of the 

 living creatures of Cocos as the daily rainbow con- 

 trasted with the somber storm clouds; indeed this 

 tiny gem had its wing-cases dusted with a powder 

 so glorious that under the lens it gave back every 

 color of the spectrum, with emerald green as the 

 dominant tint. 



On my return to the Arcturus I frightened up a 

 quartet of yellow-legs which flew after the tattler, 

 and high overhead a hawk circled, the only one 

 ever recorded for this island. The motor boat was 

 anchored out beyond the surf and after fighting my 

 way through the breakers and reaching the bow I 

 saw a small green heron rise from the stern. 



Directly after lunch I dived a number of times 

 near the western side of the bay, at the first plunge 

 taking down a good-sized aquarium with me. I 

 had found it quite impossible to harpoon or catch 

 the small blennies and other fish which crept about 

 close to the coral, and many of which were new to 

 me. In spite of the heavy surge I balanced the 

 aquarium on its side on a block of lava, and baited 

 it with several limpets, then waited, half floating in 



