﻿SOLOMON ISLANDS TRIPTEROIDES — BELKIN 247 



is normal is doubtful, as over 300 larvae were examined in the course 

 of this study and none showed these characters. On the other hand, 

 Edwards's specimens came from coconuts from the Russell group, 

 and no specimens were studied from this locality in the course of this 

 work. There are other discrepancies in these illustrations and par- 

 ticularly in the comb scales ; all specimens seen had several small comb 

 scales arising independently of the sclerotized plate on the ventral 

 surface, Edwards's figure shows the comb scales restricted to the sclero- 

 tized plate. The development of the stellate tufts on the thoracic and 

 abdominal segments is subject to considerable variation. Some 

 specimens show very slender, lightly pigmented tufts, while others 

 have stout, dark brown tufts. The comb scales vary considerable in 

 size and number, but they are usually pointed on the apex. Some 

 larvae have the tips of the scales slightly rounded, but none of them 

 approach the condition normally found in atripes or punctolateralis. 

 The dorsal siphonal hairs vary greatly in position and in the number 

 of branches. The ventral siphonal hairs are even more variable in 

 number and may have three or four branches. The pecten is usually 

 restricted to the basal two-thirds of the siphon but occasionally a small 

 tooth is found near the apex. 



No correlation between any of the above variations has been found 

 either in larvae or adults. It was noted that the specimens from 

 bamboo stubble tended to be darker and had better developed stellate 

 tufts with a larger number of branches, while those collected in arti- 

 ficial containers usually had more slender stellate tufts. Larvae 

 from tree holes were intermediate in this respect. 



T. solomonis exhibits geographical variation within the limits of the 

 Solomon Islands. The Guadalcanal specimens tend to have less white 

 scaling in the prescutellar area, while in New Georgia, Bougainville, 

 and Treasury Islands the white scaling is very conspicuous. The ma- 

 jority of specimens from Bougainville and Sterling Island in the 

 Treasury group have the scutellar scales quite pale, usually on the 

 median lobe only. These scales appear almost white in certain lights. 

 There are all intergradations from almost white to entirely dark scales, 

 although the latter condition is rare. No other differences were noted 

 in the adults, and the larvae exhibited all the variations seen in speci- 

 mens from Guadalcanal and showed no constant differences from them. 



The northern Solomons (Bougainville and Treasury islands) have 

 two endemic species of THpteroides {torohinae and hinotata) that are 

 not represented in the southern Solomons but that closely resemble 

 species restricted to that area, respectively stonei and lipovshyi. It 

 is quite possible that the specimens of solomonis from the northern 

 Solomons represent a distinct species or at least a geographical race or 

 subspecies. Failing to find any clear-cut differences for these forms 



