128 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



A large ground Spicier (Lycosa) is very abundant in the island, inhabiting a hole in 

 the ground about six inches in depth, and from half an inch to an inch in diameter, 

 with a right-angled turn at the bottom to form a resting chamber. Negro boys take a 

 delight in digging the Spiders out ; they believe their bite to be poisonous, and that they 

 feed on Lizards, leaving their holes at night to search for them. They are great, heavy, 

 venomous-looking brutes, about three inches across. Their holes were so common, that on 

 one tolerably clear patch of about an acre in extent, they were dotted over the entire area 

 at only about one or two feet distance from one another, and were quite conspicuous. 1 



A species of White Ant (Termes) is very common. It makes large globular nests 

 of a hard brown comb, as much as two feet in diameter, perched high up in the 

 fork of a tree. From the bottom of the tree covered galleries about half an inch in 

 breadth lead up on the surface of the bark to the nest, looking like long, narrow, 

 brown streaks upon the tree trunk. The galleries usually follow a somewhat irregular 

 course up the trunk to the nest, reminding one of the curious deviations which 

 are always to be seen in footpaths, traced by people walking across fields, in their 

 endeavours to go straight from one point to another. The galleries, or rather tubular 

 ways, for they have bottoms to them, are made of the same tough brown substance as the 

 nests, and are cemented firmly to the bark. Though they are so broad as to allow 

 numerous Ants to pass and repass, they are only high enough for the Ants to walk under. 

 When one of these galleries is broken, a number of soldier Termites come out and begin 

 biting the marauder's hands, and though hardly making themselves felt, they are as brave 

 as if they had a sting. A considerable length of the gallery has to be broken before any 

 of the working Termites' beds are reached, as they retire from the scene of danger. A 

 new species of Wasp (Polistes madoci, Kirby) was found. 2 



An Agouti, a species of Rodent (Dasyprocta), occurs in the island, and Mr. Wyman 

 said that it was common in the gullies near his sugar plantation. 



A shooting excursion to the opposite side of the island was organised in pursuit of 

 wild goats, pigs, guinea fowl, and the domestic fowl which breed in the wild condition in 

 various parts of the island, having sprung, in most instances, from stock which has escaped 



1 The Lepidoptera collected on this island included the following, species (Butler, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 5, 

 vol. xiii. pp. 183-187, 1884). 



Goniuris proteus (Linn.). 



Anosia leucogyne, Butler. 

 Dione vanilla; (Linn.). 

 Junonia cainia, Hiibner. 

 Heliconius eharithonia (Linn.). 

 Tmolus columella (Fahr.). 

 Appias poeyi (?), Butler. 

 Ganoris cleom.es (Boisd. and Lee). 

 Callidryas senna (Linn.). 

 Terias euterpe (Mdnet.). 

 Papilio polydamas, Linn 

 3 Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 5, vol. xiii. p. 411, 1884. 



Goniuris dorantes (Stoll). 

 Proteides amyntas (Fabr.). 

 Pamphila pustula (Hiibner). 

 Pyrgus syrichtus (Fabr.). 

 Composia sybaris (Cramer). 

 Deiopeia ornatrix (Linn.). 

 Margaronia flegia (Cramer). 

 Boty»(f) onophasalis, Walker. 



