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Inriic variety of trees seattered in it, appeared at first sicht 

 ail excellent spot f<»r eolleeting iiati\-e insects. A nnniher of 

 native Ilymenoptera were seen fl\in,<i' i-oniid the foliaiic, hardy 

 insects which the ants cannot externiinate, thoiiiih they are 

 often seen attached to them hy the niandihles. Kvery tree 

 trunk was invaded hy P/tcidolc. and heatini>' the houi>'hs dis- 

 lodged them in thonsands. Xo\ a single heetle nor any native 

 insect was obtained from these trees. One solitary tree, how- 

 ever, for some reason was quite free from ants. It was a large 

 Bobea, with hanging masses of 'Maile' (Alij.vhi) dependent 

 from the bonghs. From the dead stems of this were shaken 

 hnndreds, if not thonsands, of one species of Frofrrliinns, 

 others also being present, as well as the large weevils, Bliijnro- 

 (/o)iHS, and other kinds of beetles. I visited this spot on many 

 occasions for the sake of a rare species of wasp, but never 

 obtained a beetle except from this one tree, and a year later it 

 too was occupied by PJieidole and barren of native insects. 

 Fortunaetly Plicidole is not universal in its distribution. It 

 can in some localities just attain 4,000 feet in the mountains, 

 inider certain climatic conditions. Below twelve or thirteen 

 hundred feet it often occupies most of the islands, excepting 

 some extremely arid localities. Though not so utterly de- 

 structive to other insects as to the beetles, yet many of them 

 are destroyed by it, and generally speaking, collecting is very 

 poor, where it abounds. ' Most of the native species taken in 

 such places are vagrant, like Lepidoptera, and have bred in 

 some adjoining area, either free from this ant, or where it is 

 coiii])aratively sparse. ]\[iles of attractive forest in some parts 

 of the islands are almost devoid of native insects, through its 

 destructiveness. A very few endemic insects seem able to 

 l>reed in its haunts, even where it is quite abundant, but many 

 of the foreign or imported insects flonrish in spite of it. It 

 is not probable that it will spread to any great extent l)eyond 

 the limits now occupied, for it has long since filled all suitable 

 localities. Here and there the opening up of limited areas of 

 forest may by change of conditions allow it to colonize these, 

 but the great bulk of the forest is now reserved and not likely 

 to be opened np. There is no reason to su])pose that the en- 

 demic insect fauna will suffer anv considerable further diminu- 



