26 



4. So^rE Endemic Hawaiian Species of Sci.eroderaius 

 Latreille. 



The tirst species of this g'enus was described in 1809 nnder 

 the name of ScJcrodermus domesticus (Latreille Gen, Crust. & 

 Ins., 4:110 9) and the genus described the follo\vin<>' year 

 nnder the same name (Consid. General, etc., 314). It was 

 altered by Westwood in 1839 to Scleroderma in which altera- 

 tion he has been followed bj subsequent writers. We here 

 revert to the original spelling believing that emendations, ex- 

 cept for names specifically stated by the author to bo mis- 

 prints, are never admissible. 



The first species of the genus from the Hawaiian Islands 

 Avas described by Sir Sydney S, Saunders under the name 

 Scleroderma polynesialis (Tr, Ent, Soe, Lond, 1881:116 9), 

 In 1901 Ashmead described as new five (Fauna Hawaiiensis 

 1:283-286) and tabulated the six supjwsed species. Dr. Per- 

 kins in 1910 {Op. cit. 2:612-614) added four more species 

 and the present wi-iter in 1918 added an immigrant species 

 (these Proceedings 3:484), All these species with the excep- 

 tion of one of Ashmead's appear to be valid, though they 

 are uncommon and not easily discriminated. In the course 

 of recent years a number of specimens have been taken, 

 and a few bred, some of these appearing to be new. At 

 present I can say but little of the distribution of the species 

 on the various islands since there appear to be but three indi- 

 viduals in the collections here besides those taken on Oahu. 

 Of these one is the immigrant S. immigrans Bridwell, the sec- 

 ond appears to be S. polynesialis Saunders, while the third is 

 distinct from anything knovm from Oahu, 



In the mountains of the Hawaiian Islands are found nu- 

 merous elongate caterpillars which have the aspect of Ceram- 

 bycid beetle larvae and have somewhat the same habits usuallj 

 affecting wood which has reached a condition of white dry rot. 

 These belong to the genera Semnoprepia, Hyperdasys, and 

 Hyposmocoma. Being somewhat difiicult to breed in the low- 



