Lord Howe Island, Part 3 — PARAMONOV 
363 
genera connected in their life history with 
water are absent. Sandy ecological niches are 
also poorly represented, and in general the eco- 
logical uniformity is a factor which limits the 
richness in flies. 
However, many new species were discovered 
from the families Asilidae, Muscidae, Ortali- 
dae, Leptidae, Calliphoridae, Tachinidae, etc. 
(see references). 
The author has the impression, however, 
that most of the endemic species are repre- 
sented in the surrounding areas by closely re- 
lated species. Nothing extremely old or "extra” 
was found; however, only the lower part of the 
island has been comparatively studied. The 
middle zone (about 1,000 ft) and the high 
zone (2,000 ft and above) are practically un- 
touched. The small fresh-water streams and 
pools deserve the special attention of collectors. 
The author observed the hatching of enor- 
mous numbers of hmttia and Sarcophaga from 
the sand on the beach. They emerged early 
in the morning, and with wings still undevel- 
oped walked onto the small rocks on the shore, 
the surface of some of the rocks being abso- 
lutely covered with them. Here they waited 
until their wings were developed and then 
flew away. The sandy area is covered by sea 
during high tide, but the puparia apparently 
are not harmed. The author observed no hatch- 
ing from the sandy areas not reached by the 
high tide. 
To illustrate the spate of our knowledge of 
the Lord Howe Island fauna we may quote 
the results of J. D. Bradleys collecting in 1953: 
in Wi days of collecting, among 22 specimens 
of Microlepidoptera there were 12 species, 8 of 
which were new, and 4 others which were Aus- 
tralian species not previously recorded for the 
island. 
The island is also very suitable for experi- 
ments in insect biological control. In October 
Fig. 2. Two endemic species of palms which dominate the lower part of the island. Before the last war 
the export of their seeds was an important industry of the island. (Photo by Miss Z. Liepa. ) 
