402 



NATURAL HFSTORr. [cnAP.sxvn* 



It is firand on fallen trunks in Biitchian. 5. An itn- 

 described species of Am :hnnl)jis, a curioiw gyims of 

 weevils peculiar to the M ^luocas and New Guinea, and 

 reniarkable for their long Icpd, and tlieir habit of often 

 sitting on leaves, and tundn^ rapidly round the edge to 

 the under-siirface whnn dif-tnrbed. It was found in 

 GHolo. All these insect-, are represented of the natural 

 siza 



Like the birds, the insects of the Moluccas ahow a 

 decided affinity with those of New Guinea rather than 

 with the productions of the frroat western islands of the 

 Archipelago, but the difference in form and structure be- 

 tween the productions of the east and west is not nearly 

 80 marked here as in birds. This is probably due to the 

 more immediate dependence of insects on climate and 

 vegetation^ and the greater facilities for their distribution 

 in the varied stages of egg, pupa, and perfect insect. 

 This has led to a gcueral uniformity in the insect-life 

 of the whole Archipelago, in accordance with the gene- 

 mi uniformity of its climate and vegetation ; while on 

 the other hand the great susceptibility of the insect 

 organization to the action of external conditions has led to 

 infinite detailed modifieations of form and colour, which 

 have in many cases given a considerable diversity to the 

 productions of adjacent islands. 



Owing to the great preponderance among the birds, of 

 parrots, pigeons, kingfishers, and sunbirds, almost all of gay 

 or delicate colours, and many adorned with the most 

 gorgeous plumage, and to the numbers of very large and 

 showy butterflies which are almost everj'where to be met 

 witli^ the forests of the Moluccas ofler to the naturali-st 

 a very striking example of the luxuriance and beauty of 

 animal life in the tropics. Yet the almost entire absence 

 of Mammalia, and of such wide-spread groups of birds as 

 woodpeckers, thrushes, jays, tits, and pheasanU, must 

 convince him that he is in a part of the world which has 

 in reality but little in common with the great Asiatic 

 continent, although an unbroken chain of islands seems to 

 link them to it 



