1902.] !95 



Hypolimnas BoIi?ia,a,nd a very brilliant little dark shining blue Lyccenid, 

 probably Jamides carissima, Butl., afterwards observed in most of the 

 islands. 



The next two days were spent in visiting some of the smaller 

 islands, lying off Efate and Epi, and I was not able to land, though a 

 good view was obtained of Lopevi, one of the most beautiful and 

 symmetrical volcanic cones in the world, rising steeply from the sea 

 without a break to the height of 4,755 feet. On the evening of the 

 15th, we anchored for two days in South-west Bay, in Malekula 

 (Mallieolo), a large and fine island, but as yet not much better known 

 than in the time of its discoverer, Captain Cook, owing to the 

 dangerous character of the natives. Thanks, in great measure, to the 

 efforts of the English and Scotch missionaries, the coast or 

 "salt-water " natives have acquired at least a veneer of civilization, 

 and are safe enough, but the " bush " natives, living in the interior of 

 the larger islands, are by no means to be trusted. In the more settled 

 islands, as in Efate, Epi, and Tanna, a certain amount of clothing is 

 worn by the men, but in Malekula their costume is exactly as depicted 

 in Captain Cook's second voyage, a century and a quarter ago, con- 

 sisting of very little more than a scanty waistbelt, and armlets of 

 boars' tusks, artificially grown into a complete circle. I must confess 

 that the damp and clammy heat prevalent in the New Hebrides often 

 made me envy these lightly clad savages. 



Malekula is still almost entirely covered with virgin forest of 

 great height and density, but at South-west Bay there are a few 

 clearings and plantations, and in these I met with a considerable 

 variety of insects. Most of the butterflies already observed at Port 

 Fila were taken here, with the addition of three species of Eiq)lcea, 

 the fine green Danais (Tirumala) moderata, Butl., and a handsome 

 orange-banded Messaras, allied to a Solomon Islands form ; a curious 

 slow-flying Lycaenid, Scolitant ides excellent, Butl., was also noteworthy. 

 Beetles, though nearly all of small size, were fairly plentiful ; out of 

 one fallen tree, sufficiently decayed to allow the wood to be pulled 

 apart in concentric fibrous layers, I got a large number of Histeridae 

 of three species, including a fine small form of the curious genus 

 Hololepta ; and dead standing trees were full of small Breiithidce, 

 Cucujidce, Cossonidce, Scolytidce, &c. Heavy rain again interfered a 

 great deal with my success in this apparently productive spot. 



We moved round to Pangkumu Bay, a pretty little inlet on the 

 east side of Malekula, on the 19th, and I got an afternoon on shore 

 there. The forest here was very luxuriant, including many palms (one 



Q2 



