NEW YORK 



List of Lepidoptera of the Islands Tanegashima 

 and Yakushima. 



Nobukatsxi Marumo. 



With Plate HI. 



The four great islauds that coustitnte Japan proi^er are mostly included 

 witliiu the palacarctic region, though insects belonging to the oriental region are 

 also richly found over these islands. Especiall}- in southern j^arts, i.e. Kii of 

 HoDshiu, Tosa of Sliikoku as Avell as Hyuga, Osumi and Satsuma of Kiushiu, 

 the characteristics of the latter region are emphasized. 



Two small islands Yakushima and Tanegashima belonging to Kagoshima 

 Prefectui'e, forming Kumage Disti-ict, lie about 60 miles off southwards from 

 Kagosliima City, though the distance between the headland of Sata of Kiu- 

 shiu and the nearest spot of Tanegashima is at most within 30 miles. Not- 

 withstanding the approachment of these islands and Kiushiu there is a gi-eat 

 diflerence in their flora : there are found a good deal of tree-ferns throughout 

 the wood and the banians on their coast of the former. The mangroves are 

 also seen growing at the mouth of the Kuma river of Tanegashima. 



Although the plants of Tanegashima are almost all in common with those 

 of Yakushima, it is very characteiistic that the pine-trees are almost entirely 

 wanting in the latter in which they are replaced by the well-lcnown Cryptomeria 

 ti-ees, called " Yakusugi." The island Y'akushima is alx)ut 15 miles in the distance 

 aci'oss, in the centi-e of which a steep high gianitic mountain called Miyanoura 

 (alxjut 1900 m.) arises, while the island Tancg.-ishima is a long table-land 

 (alx)ut 35 miles long) without remarkable moimtains. 



The difficulty of separating the flora of the islands, also exists in the 

 study of their insect fauna, and investigating the lepidopterous insects of 

 the two islands T could come to the conclusion that in the fauna the two islands 

 [.lour. Coll. Agric, Vol. XUl, >:o. 2. 1923.] 



