96 FAUNA HAWAIIENSIS 



occurs in our group, it may very possibly be extended throughout the South Pacific 

 Islands. 



Of recent accidental importations there would appear to be three well-marked 

 instances, viz. Ze/ns, AlIococ?'aiiuni, and Astemma. The genus Zelus is wholly 

 American, and consists of some 50 or 60 described "species" which are exceedingly 

 variable and much require a structural revision. They are predaceous and of fair size, 

 and it is very unlikely that they would have been overlooked by Mr Perkins, if present. 

 Three specimens were sent to me quite recentlyS long after the principal collections, 

 and it is significant that they were captured in Oahu, the only island of commercial 

 importance. I have little doubt therefore that they are quite recent importations, but, 

 unfortunately, I cannot identify them with any known species. Of Alloeocranuni only 

 a single specimen was taken, and that some years ago, also in Oahu ; the genus is also 

 predaceous and the species of fair size. There are two, A. gnadrisigiiatus recorded from 

 North India, and A. bianmilipes which has an extensive insular distribution, being 

 noted from Malacca, the Philippines, New Caledonia, Viti Isles, Reunion, and Cuba ; 

 the last locality is certainly due to accidental introduction. Astenuna (perhaps better 

 known as Dysdercus) is a dominant and apparently ancient genus; some 75 species 

 have been described of which perhaps 55 are now recognized, but I believe that a 

 goodly proportion of the latter are worthless. The species are extraordinarily variable, 

 in size, proportions, pattern and colouring ; my large series of the American ruficollis 

 Linne, the Oriento-Australian cingulatus Fabr., and the African superstitiosus Fabr., 

 show most remarkable .series of variations. The Hawaiian species, A. periivianus Guer., 

 has been recorded from California and Ecuador. I do not know the species with 

 certainty and Guerin's figure is not very distinctive. It is quite possibly only a form 

 of one of the widely distributed American species. Stal records it in 1870 as found at 

 Honolulu ; Blackburn, some few years later, took three specimens of what he believed to 

 be this, " singly by sweeping ferns at a considerable elevation on the Waianae Mountains, 

 Oahu, and Haleakala, Maui." This conspicuous species seems therefore to have 

 obtained a fairly secure footing on the Islands at one time, but is now probably extinct, 

 as Mr Perkins has failed to rediscover it. 



One further point of interest is the partial relations between the Pacific Fauna and 

 that of the Mascarene subgroup, — though a great deal more information is yet needed. 

 It is well known that Madagascar forms the western limit of the Polynesian species of 

 Man, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that his colonizing or adventurous expeditions 

 have contributed to the dissemination of certain Rhynchota. Two species are found 

 both in Reunion and the Hawaiian Archipelago, viz. Clerada apicicornis Sign, (which 

 is recorded also from Celebes, Bengal, Venezuela, and the Antilles) ; Alloeocrannm 

 biannulipes Montr., mentioned before ; while, as has previously been remarked, Ithamar 



Since this was in print three more specimens have been received from Mr Perkins captured in the same 

 island. 



