82 A NATURALIST IN CANNIBAL LAND 



the female. There is found there a dove, new to 

 me, reddish chocolate in colour and barred from bill 

 to tip of tail. 1 Among the lepidoptera there was one 

 very fine large Zygaenid, with white wings and black 

 border and black veins with large blue spot at the 

 base of both wings. It is an extremely handsome 

 insect and only occurs in one place so far as my 

 boys could find. The boys were very stupid the first 

 three weeks or so, but afterwards they were capital 

 lepidoptera collectors, and I think would have found 

 this Zygaenid elsewhere if it had existed. 2 



I arrived at Woodlark Island early in 1897 and 

 camped at a place called Burgees, in March 1897, 

 close to where the chief gold mines are now. This 

 was not a very good spot for collecting, but I had to 

 stay there as I could not get the natives to take me 

 on to Salova. My whaleboat had very little free- 

 board and would not carry all my gear. It was 

 impossible for a long time to obtain native canoes for 

 the carriage of the gear. The delay in getting these 

 canoes kept me at Burgees longer than I wished. I 

 occupied the time usefully if not profitably in studying 



1 This is the female of the very rare Macropygia nigrirostris. 

 E. H. 



2 The Zygaenid is Hemiscia meeki, Rothschild, Nov. Zool., 1896, 

 p. 326. The male is much smaller than the female, the white 

 areas of the wings being replaced by short buff bands. Mr. Meek 

 also discovered on Fergusson a fine Geometer, Milionia elegans, 

 R. & J., Nov. Zool., 1895, with blue-black wings, the forewing 

 being banded with white and the hindwing bearing a red patch 

 at the abdominal margin. K. J. 



