6 Bcniicc P. Bishop Museum — Bulletin 



In 1824, Kotzebue made a second voyage to the Hawaiian islands and 

 was accompanied, as before, by the naturalist, Professor Eschscholtz. 

 Again this navigator remarked on the house flies, which were evidently 

 abundant. He states, "Two young girls lightly dressed, sat cross-legged 

 by the side of the queen, flapping away the flies with bunches of feathers," 

 and that the queen ate, "Whilst two boys flapped away the flies with large 

 bunches of feathers" (13, Vol. H, p. 207). 



In the appendix of this second volume, Eschscholtz (13, Vol. II, p. 357) 

 alludes to the entomological material collected in the Hawaiian islands: 



The number of insects is small, as is indeed the case with all land animals ; it 

 is therefore creditable to our industry, that we were able to muster twenty sorts' of 

 beetles. A small Platyniis is the only Carabide; in the water, two Colymbetes and a 

 Hydrophilus were found. The only Elater belongs to a species (Agrypnus N) in 

 whicli we reckon various specimens found only in the old world, such as Elater 

 tormcntosus, fuscipcs, sencgalcnsis, etc. ; beetles which have two deep furrows in 

 the lower part of the neck-shield, to receive the feelers, and which go in search of 

 their food at night. They resemble many of the European springing beetles cov- 

 ered with scales and included by Megerle under the name Lepidotus ; such are 

 fasciatus, tnuiimus, varius. Two Aphodii were found ; one of the size of the 

 Psammodius porcahis, but very flat, lives under the bark of a decayed tree, the 

 wood of which has become soft. Another has the almost prickly shoulders of the 

 Apltodius stcrcorator and asper; of these we form the species stcnocncmis and in- 

 clude therein four new varieties found in Brazil and Luzon. It may be here 

 observed that Psammodius sabulcti and cylindricus N, must be classed with Aegialia 

 which, on account of the horny nature of the jaws, and the projection of the upper 

 lip, enter into the same class with the Trox; the remaining kinds of Psammodius, 

 however, do not at all agree with the character given them by Gyllenhal, and ought 

 in their turn to be classed with Aphodius. Among the remaining beetles, all of 

 which dwell under the bark of trees, a Paraiidra was the largest. 



A few remarks on the various beetles mentioned by Eschscholtz will 

 not be out of place here. The carabid, platymis, is probably one of the 

 numerous small native Hawaiian species of Anchomenus. The two Colym- 

 betes are undoubtedly our Coplatus parvulus (Esch.) and Rhantus pacifi- 

 cus (Esch.) ; possibly both introduced very early. The hydrophylid was 

 later described by Eschschlotz as Hydrophilus seniicylindricus, though it 

 is now placed in the genus Hydrobius. Blackburn considered it an immi- 

 grant. The elatrid, Agrypnus N., is undoubtedly the Agrypnus modestus. 

 MacL., which is now placed in the genus Adelocera. This species is said 

 to be widely distributed in Polynesia and elsewhere. I have had more diffi- 

 culty in trying to place the two Aphodii mentioned. It is hard to say what 

 the flattened species is; but the one with the "almost prickly shoulders" 

 is probably Ataenius stcrcorator Fab. This widely distributed species, 

 Blackburn states, is not rare in the neighborhood of Honolulu, yet no 

 specimens of it are in the Hawaiian collections. 



Finally, the cerainbycid, Parandra, is undoubtedly Parandra puncticeps 

 Sharp, which Blackburn and Sharp (120) state is closely allied to a species 

 occurring in the Philippine Islands. 



