424 



[onAT. XIIX, 



by the natives to inhabit the ialnnd — a ^^'ild |>i<^ and a 

 Cqscus, or Eastern opossum, of neither of which could 

 I obtain specimens. 



The insects were more abundant, and very inttTcstlng, 

 Of butterflies I caught tliirty-five species, naost of tliem 

 new to me, and many quite unknown in European collec- 

 tions. Among them was the tine yellow and black Papilio 

 euchenor, of which but few specimens luid been previously 

 captured, and several other liaiulsome butterflies of largo 

 size, as well as some beautiful little " blues," and some 

 brilliant day-flying raoths. The beetle tribe were less 

 abundant, yet I obtained some very fine and rare species. 

 On the leaves of a slender shrub in an old cleaiinjr I found 

 several fbie Idue and black beetles of the geuus Eupholus, 

 which almost rival in beauty the diamond beetles of South 

 America Some cocoa-nut palms in blossom on the beach 

 were frequented by a fine green floral beetle (I^omaptera 

 papua), which, wlien the flowers were shaken, flew off like 

 a small swarm of bees. I got one of our crew to climb up 

 the tit'C, and lie bro^ight me a gowl number in his hand ; 

 and seeing they were valuable, I sent him up again with 

 my net to shake the flowers into, and thus secured a lai'ge 

 quantity. My best capture, bowever, was the superb 

 insect of the Buprestig family, already mentioned aa 

 having been obtained fmm tlie natives^ who told me they 

 found it in rotten trees in the mountains. 



In the fomst itself the only common and conspicuous 

 coleoptera were two tiger beetles. One, Tlierates labiata, 

 was much larger than our green tiger beetle, of a pni-ple 

 black colour, with green metallic glosses, and the broad 

 upper lip of a bright yclloAv. It was always found upon 

 foliage, generally of broad-leaved herbaceous plants, and in 

 damp and gloomy situations, taking frequent short flights 

 from leaf to leaf, and preser\'ing an alert attitude, as if 

 always looking out for its prey. Its vicinity could be im- 

 medialely ascertained, often before it was seen, by a very- 

 pleasant odour, Uke otto of roses, which it seems to emit 

 continually, and which may probably be attractive to the 

 small insects on which it feeds. Tire other, Tricoudyla 

 aptei-a, is one of the most curious forms in the family of 

 the Cicindelidte, and is almost exclusively confined to the 



