306 CORAL AND ATOLLS 



in very fair numbers. The wounds inflicted by both these 

 creatures are painful, and a good deal dreaded, but I do not 

 think that they are ever fatal, and all the cases that I have 

 seen have done very well. Both are common species which 

 are widely distributed in the topics, and are the invariable 

 accompaniers of man's enterprise in ships. 



Spiders of several varieties have become abundant, and 

 although some are of obscure species which are at present 

 unnamed, it is likely that they are all of a wide tropical dis- 

 tribution. The larger species are well known as being the 

 hangers-on to man in all his wanderings, and the big Hetero- 

 jpoda venatoria has even made attempts to colonise England. 

 Probably nearly all came to the atoll in ships, but without 

 ship intercourse spiders very easily colonise distant pieces of 

 land, and the spider fauna of the neighbouring Christmas 

 Island contained, ten years ago, none of the common ship 

 species, but a variety of kinds peculiar to the island. 



The cockroach is another of the creatures which have 

 almost certainly taken advantage of commerce to effect their 

 settlement, and its success has been very great. No less than 

 seven species have become well established in the atoll, and 

 most of them exist in very large numbers. Crickets certainly 

 come in packing-cases, and are always to be found in numbers 

 after a ship has discharged her cargo of stores, but they make 

 themselves quite at home on the atoll, and may be found all 

 over the islands. 



Ants are found on every ship, and their spread is easy. 

 Their numbers are very great in individuals, but by no means 

 an astonishing variety of species has made its home in the 

 atoll. Ants are among the most useful of tropical insects, and 

 their introduction is in no way to be regretted ; their thread- 

 like journeyings are always a source of quiet entertainment, 

 and as scavengers they cannot be overrated. It is difficult to 

 say which of the sixteen species of beetles have come by 

 accidental tree-trunks, and which have accompanied man ; 

 but the widespread Dermestes felinus is a follower of trade, 

 and the Copra beetle — Corynetes rufipes — owes its truly 



