There Is, Perhaps, No Island In The World So
Small As Amboyna Where So Many Grand Insects Are To Be
Found.
Here are three of the very finest Ornithopterae - priamus, helena,
and remiss; three of the handsomest and largest Papilios
-
Ulysses, deiphobus, and gambrisius; one of the handsomest
Pieridae, Iphias leucippe; the largest of the Danaidae, Hestia
idea; and two unusually large and handsome Nymphalidae - Diadema
pandarus, and Charaxes euryalus. Among its beetles are the
extraordinary Euchirus longimanus, whose enormous legs spread
over a space of eight inches, and an unusual number of large and
handsome Longicorns, Anthribidae, and Buprestidae.
The beetles figured on the plate as characteristic of the
Moluccas are: 1. A small specimen of the Euchirus longimanus, or
Long-armed Chafer, which has been already mentioned in the
account of my residence at Amboyna (Chapter XX.). The female has
the fore legs of moderate length. 2. A fine weevil, (an
undescribed species of Eupholus,) of rich blue and emerald green
colours, banded with black. It is a native of Ceram and Goram,
and is found on foliage. 3. A female of Xenocerus semiluctuosus,
one of the Anthribidae of delicate silky white and black colours.
It is abundant on fallen trunks and stumps in Ceram and Amboyna.
4. An undescribed species of Xenocerus; a male, with very long
and curious antenna, and elegant black and white markings. It is
found on fallen trunks in Batchian. 5. An undescribed species of
Arachnobas, a curious genus of weevils peculiar to the Moluccas
and New Guinea, and remarkable for their long legs, and their
habit of often sitting on leaves, and turning rapidly round the
edge to the under-surface when disturbed.
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