82 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XIV, January I960 
is distributed in New Zealand, and Peloridium 
hammoniorum Br. in Patagonia and Tierra del 
Fuego. 
This area has a very humid atmosphere: 
mosses, lichens, and climbing ferns of many 
kinds cover the trunks of almost all the trees, 
while the ground is completely hidden under a 
thick growth of sphagnum. The tree fern, Dix- 
onia antarctica, plays here an important role in 
the landscape. 
Nobody has collected insects in light traps, or 
by other sorts of traps ( carrion, fermented sugar 
juice, etc.). We can expect extraordinary results 
if these methods of collecting are used. 
Another object for exploration is the so-called 
"Balls Pyramid”— a pinnacle rising 1,800 feet 
into the sky, yet only a mile in circumference at 
its base (Fig. 4). It is located 11 miles to the 
southward (other data state 18 miles) from 
Lord Howe Island. Its upper slopes remain "terra 
incognita,” as none but a few surveyors have 
ever landed upon the rocks around its base, and 
nobody has collected animals on this huge rock. 
It has some bushes, but exploration can be 
accomplished only with the help of alpinists’ 
equipment. It is quite evident that some land 
birds can nest there, insects are also doubtlessly 
present, but they are absolutely unknown. 
SOME USEFUL DATA FOR THE 
VISITING NATURALIST 
Regular connection of Lord Howe Island with 
the mainland is maintained now only by flying 
boats (run by Ansett Airways), flying from 
Sydney one or two times a week. The flight takes 
about three and a half hours; in bad weather 
the flight is usually postponed till the weather 
improves. The flying boats land in the lagoon 
near a jetty, all passengers and their goods being 
transported to the jetty by motorboats. Thirty- 
Fig. 3. Slopes of Mt. Lidgbird, showing the type of vegetation in the middle zone, about 800 feet above 
sea level. Photo: Miss Zenta Liepa. 
