51 



seeming-lj' inon> naturally have come, have o-iveii to us our present 

 knowedfi^e of the Hawaiian insect fauna. 



To an American this is of course re>4rettal)le, but there is consola- 

 tion in the fact that certain of the material has been referred to the 

 specialists of our own country for monographic treatment. The 

 regret is not tluit the work has been done, for the survey of the 

 islands entomological!}" has been carefully and, in so far as the terri- 

 tory covered is concerned, thoroughly made. The person who has 

 procured the major portion by far of the material upon which is based 

 the present kncjwledge of Hawaii's fauna, especially in regard to the 

 species peculiar to the islands, is Mr. K. C. L. Perkins, who for nearly 

 ten years has })een a persistent and untiring collector in the islands, 

 working under the direction of The Royal Society of London for Pro- 

 moting Natural Knowledge and the British Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science, assisted by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of 

 Honolulu. The regret that American workers have not participated 

 in the work is that, in the rich results obtained in a territory for many 

 years closely related to and now^ a part of our own Government, we 

 have seemingly been neglectful of our opportunities, and fail to receive 

 a portion of the well-deserved credit falling to those who have accom- 

 plished the work. 



The islands as regards plant growth may be divided into (1) the 

 coastal plains and lower slopes of tlie mountains, devoted to the culti- 

 vation of sugar cane as the principal crop, with rice and taro second- 

 ary; (2) an area of considerable extent between the "cane lands" and 

 the mountainous districts devoted to grazing on a large scale and the 

 cultivation of cofi'ee, pineapples, corn, potatoes, and other minor crops 

 on a limited scale; (3) forest lands of the mountainous districts; and 

 (4) lands devoid of vegetation comprising recent lava flows, and the 

 areas above the forest belts of the higher mountains. The insects 

 peculiar to the islands are confined in the main to the forest districts, 

 and the lands described under the fourth class otier little of interest 

 entomologically. Passing to a consideration of the economic ento- 

 mology of the Territory we can see that with the disappearance of the 

 natural vegetation and the natural insects their study is becoming 

 more ditiicult and, from an economic standpoint, less important. On 

 the other hand, with an increase of the area under cultivation, with 

 the introduction of new plants, and with the commercial relations 

 between other countries becoming more intimate, the stud}' of the 

 economic species is becoming more and more important. These eco- 

 nomic species are mainly of foreign origin and many are of compara- 

 tively long standing, while others, more noticeable because of their 

 varying work, are of recent introduction. 



There is submitted herewith a partial bibliography of the systematic 

 and economic entomology of the Hawaiian Islands. 



