2 



INSECTS OF SAMOA. 



March 1926, and to Dr. T. D. A. Cockerell, of the University of Colorado, the 

 records of a small collection made by Mrs. Cockerell in the same localities in 

 July 1924. I was not able to visit any of the higher (volcanic) islands in the 

 Tongan group, nor can I find in the literature any records from them. The 

 records from the Ellice Islands and neighbouring groups were obtained by 

 Dr. Buxton during September 1924. I am indebted to the Bishop Museum, 

 Honolulu, for the opportunity of examining three small but very interesting 

 collections made by Dr. H. C. Kellers in 1917-1918, Mr. E. H. Bryan in 1924, 

 and by Mr. A. F. Judd in 1926, for the most part in American Samoa. I have 

 no records from a greater elevation than 2,000 feet in Savai'i and Upolu, or 

 1,000 feet in Tutuila, but Bryan, who reached altitudes of four or five thousand 

 feet in Savai'i on several occasions, did not see any butterflies much above 

 3,000 feet. Rose Atoll has only four species of plants (Pisonia grandis, Boerhaavea 

 diffusa, Portulaca sp., and the coconut), and, as might be expected, has no 

 butterfly fauna (Mayor, p. 74). The authorities of the British Museum and 

 Professor Poulton have allowed me to make full use of the collections under 

 their charge, and have helped me in many ways. For the identifications of 

 plants I am indebted to the authorities at Kew and at the British Museum. 

 The coloured plate I owe to the skill of Miss O. F. Tassart, and the figures of 

 early stages to my friend Dr. V. B. Wigglesworth, who drew them from 

 specimens in spirit with the aid of photographs from life taken by Dr. 

 Buxton. 



The literature on the butterflies of the area (like that on all the other groups 

 of insects) is unfortunately extremely scattered, and much confused by synonymy 

 and misidentifications ; in several instances identical insects are recorded under 

 totally different names (sometimes under two different names in the same list), 

 while in at least one case (that of Zizera labradus Godt. and Z. alsulus H.S.) 

 two very distinct species have, in several lists, been lumped together as being 

 synonymous. It is hoped, therefore, that this paper will serve a useful pur- 

 pose in bringing together oar knowledge of the subject and clearing up some 

 of the synonymic muddles ; no attempt has been made to make the synonymy 

 exhaustive, but I have tried to ensure that it is as complete as possible for 

 the area under consideration. 



It is most unfortunate that few of the Samoan butterflies in collections 

 have more accurate indications of locality than " Samoa " or (as in the case of 

 the Bourke collection) " Apia and Pago-Pago " ; this has entirely obscured 



