I Have Never In My Life Seen Beetles So Abundant As
They Were On This Spot.
Some dozen species of good-sized golden
Buprestidae, green rose-chafers (Lomaptera), and long-horned
weevils (Anthribidae), were so abundant that they rose up in
swarms as I walked along, filling the air with a loud buzzing
hum.
Along with these, several fine Longicorns were almost
equally common, forming such au assemblage as for once to realize
that idea of tropical luxuriance which one obtains by looking
over the drawers of a well-filled cabinet. On the under sides of
the trunks clung numbers of smaller or more sluggish Longicorns,
while on the branches at the edge of the clearing others could be
detected sitting with outstretched antenna ready to take flight
at the least alarm. It was a glorious spot, and one which will
always live in my memory as exhibiting the insect-life of the
tropics in unexampled luxuriance. For the three following days I
continued to visit this locality, adding each time many new
species to my collection-the following notes of which may be
interesting to entomologists. October l5th, 33 species of
beetles; 16th, 70 species; 17th, 47 species; 18th, 40 species;
19th, 56 species - in all about a hundred species, of which forty
were new to me. There were forty-four species of Longicorns among
them, and on the last day I took twenty-eight species of
Longicorns, of which five were new to me.
My boys were less fortunate in shooting. The only birds at all
common were the great red parrot (Eclectus grandis), found in
most of the Moluccas, a crow, and a Megapodius, or mound-maker. A
few of the pretty racquet-tailed kingfishers were also obtained,
but in very poor plumage. They proved, however, to be of a
different species from those found in the other islands, and come
nearest to the bird originally described by Linnaeus under the
name of Alcedo dea, and which came from Ternate. This would
indicate that the small chain of islands parallel to Gilolo have
a few peculiar species in common, a fact which certainly occurs
in insects.
The people of Kaioa interested me much. They are evidently a
mixed race, having Malay and Papuan affinities, and are allied to
the peoples of Ternate and of Gilolo. They possess a peculiar
language, somewhat resembling those of the surrounding islands,
but quite distinct. They are now Mahometans, and are subject to
Ternate, The only fruits seen here were papaws and pine-apples,
the rocky soil and dry climate being unfavourable. Rice, maize,
and plantains flourish well, except that they suffer from
occasional dry seasons like the present one. There is a little
cotton grown, from which the women weave sarongs (Malay
petticoats). There is only one well of good water on the islands,
situated close to the landing-place, to which all the inhabitants
come for drinking water. The men are good boat-builders, and they
make a regular trade of it and seem to be very well off.
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