THE ORTHOPTERA OF MADEIRA. 29 



The Orthoptera of Madeira. 



By MALCOLM BURR, D.Sc, F.Z.S., F.L.S., F.E.S., F.G.S. 



The Natural History of Madeira has heen well studied by various 

 competent investigators, but, for some reason, the Orthoptera have 

 been strangely neglected. This is probably due to the fact that this 

 order is rather meagrely represented in the island, so that no specialist 

 has thought it worth while to go there, but all the same, it is by no 

 means lacking in special features, as the following notes will show. 

 These are based on the results of a week's collecting in the island at 

 the end of September last, supplemented by some material in the 

 Museum of the Seminario. 



This Museum should be visited by all travellers who are interested 

 in Natural History. Its creation is a monument to the energy and 

 enthusiasm of one man, Padre Ernesto Schmitz, who made Madeira 

 his home for thirty strenuous years, in which he amassed rich and 

 thoroughly representative collections in all branches of Natural 

 History. Unfortunately for Madeira, Padre Schmitz has been 

 translated about two years ago to Jerusalem, but on his departure he 

 bequeathed his task to an ardent disciple, Padre Jayme de Gouvea 

 Barreto, a Madeiran born and bred, who has thrown himself with 

 enthusiasm into the task of investigating and making thorough 

 collections of the Fauna and Flora of the Archipelago. 



Before leaving Madeira, Padre Schmitz had the pleasure of seeing 

 his collections well housed in a large room in the Seminario, an 

 ecclesiastical educational establishment of which he was Prior, where 

 the Museum is well-fitted and housed, at the cost of the institution, 

 supplemented by occasional contributions from visitors. 



The insects are not so well represented, for Padre Barreto is 

 single-handed, and in addition to his normal duties in the Seminario, 

 mounts and preserves all specimens himself, including the birds and 

 fish, as well as collecting in every branch of Natural History. His 

 task has been made even harder since the Portugese Revolution, which 

 incidentally I witnessed, calling in Lisbon two days after leaving 

 Madeira, for the Republican authorities, in their anti-ecclesiastical zeal, 

 removed Father Barreto's colleagues from the educational section of the 

 Seminario, leaving him alone to do all the good work, so that he has 

 since had little time or energy for science. Not being a lepidopterist, 

 I am unable to say much of the butterflies, but a case in the Museum 

 contained TJanais archippufi, the beautiful L>iadema inaria, Gonepterijx 

 cleopatra, Colias ednsa, with the var. helice, (Julias hijale, Anpjiaiis 

 lathmiia and Pi/ranieis atalanta. The collection of Coleoptera is a good 

 one, as there is an abundance of peculiar local forms, and the order has 

 been well worked. 



The spiders too have been well studied, and there is a fairly full 

 collection, all determined and worked out. 



The Hemiptera have not yet received attention, nor the 

 Hymenoptora, nor the Myriapods, and Father Barreto is anxious to 

 enter into correspondence with specialists who will work out material 

 in the two latter groups. 



Madeira rejoices in three peculiar species of earwigs. These are, 

 Ferirrhijtiis edentula, Wollaston, which seems to be rare, as I failed 



February 15th, 1912. 



