FIJI-NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITION 133 
There are no native predaceous mammals, no snakes and few 
predaceous birds on Fiji. The principal enemies of birds—the 
mongoose, the wild pig and the rat—have all been introduced by 
man; and he, as is the case in other places that could be men- 
tioned, is one of the chief offenders against the rights and liberties 
of the birds themselves. Neither the Indians nor the Fijians ob- 
serve, to any appreciable degree, methods of conservation and the 
laws relating to the killing of birds are not strictly obeyed. 
TERRESTRIAL ARTHROPODS 
Before considering the insect fauna of Fiji in any detail a short 
general summation of its characteristics as they have occurred to 
me may be worthy of mention. 
Those who have made a study of the affinities and relationships 
of Fijian insects find that they are very similar to the New Guinea 
insects and it would seem, therefore, that a considerable propor- 
tion of the Fijian forms has been derived from those of New 
Guinea which lies 2000 miles northwest of Vitilevu and is the 
largest oceanic island in the world. This theory seems to be borne 
out by the relationship apparent between the insects of Tahiti and 
Tonga with those of Fiji for the insects of the former islands are 
more like those of Fiji than like those of New Guinea and have 
probably spread to those islands from Fiji. Since the Tongan and 
Tahitian insects are closely allied to the Fijian and since the 
Fijian and New Guinea forms are, in turn, closely allied, it fol- 
lows that the archaic ancestors of the more recently evolved Tahi- 
tian and Tongan forms originally came from New Guinea. 
If this be true it is reasonable to suppose that the smaller forms 
would be more easily transported from place to place than the 
larger forms and this would, in some degree, account for the 
generally small size of the Fijian insects. Winds, currents, ships, 
floating timbers, the feet of birds—all no doubt, have had a part 
as distributing agencies. 
Although the size of most Fijian insects is small and the number 
of conspicuously colored forms is few, a considerable variety is 
represented, the flies (Diptera) and true bugs (Heteroptera) per- 
haps being most abundant in number of species. 
A considerable number of the species and genera are peculiar 
and are found nowhere else in the world. As evidence of this I 
may cite Dr. W. M. Mann’s recent paper on ‘“‘The Ants of the 
