178 FAUNA HAWAIIENSIS 



therefore of some importance, though they are very imperfect. They show that of 

 204 species 184 are flightless — possessing only vestigial wings — while twenty are fully 

 winged'. In other words, 90 per cent, of the Hawaiian Carabidae are flightless species. 

 I believe that in most continental regions these proportions would be about reversed ; 

 but no statistics as to this exist so far as I know ; and no doubt the proportion would 

 be found to differ greatly according to the locality selected for investigation. The 

 Carabidae are "ground beetles," and allied forms may be either flightless or winged. 

 Anchomenides are usually winged ; the only known allies of our Cyclothorax-iorm'i are 

 winged ; and the whole of the European Bembidiides I have examined are winged. 

 The forms to which the Hawaiian Carabidae are allied are therefore chiefly winged 

 forms. A parallel to the remarkable flightless Bembidiid fauna of Hawaii is however 

 found in St Helena, where eleven out of the twelve species discovered by Mr Wollaston 



are wmgless. 



Table of Haivaiian Flightless and Winged Carabidae. 



Genus etc. Flightless. Winged. 



No. of species. No. of species. 



Anchomenides. 



Blackburnia i 



Dcropristiis 3 



Atrachycnetnis 3 



Anchotefflus 2 



Pieudobroscus i 



Derobroscus 3 



Brosconymus i 



Anchonymus i 



Mauna i 



Disenochus 1 2 



Chalcomenus 3 



Barypristus 2 



Baryneus i 



Colpodiscus 2 



Prodisencchus i 



ApteroviesHS i 



Mysticoiiiemis 2 



Colpocaccus 6 



Atelotht lis 1 5 



Mesothrisciis 1 4 



Total 1 84 20 



It would be out of place to discuss at any length the theories that have been or 



that might be promulgated in reference to the flightle.ssness of insular beetles. Charles 



Darwin believed "that the wingless condition of so many Madeira beetles is mainly 



due to the action of natural selection, combined probably with disuse." Since he wrote 



In the following table Tac/iys, of the Bembidiides, is omitted (as well as the two Lebiides previously 

 alluded to) because I have no material for examination and it is doubtful whether they are more than recently 

 introduced forms. 



