The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

XX.] AMBOYNA. 227fai'ther side of the island ; the coralline rock constantly protrudingthrough the deep red earth which fills all the hollows,and is more or less spread over the plains and hill-sides. Theforest vegetation is liere of the most luxuriant character ;fernsand palms abound, and the climbing rattans wert; moreabundant than I had ever seen them, forming tangled festoonsover almost every large forest tree. The cottage I was to occupywas situated in a large dealing of about a hundred acres, j)artof which was already planted with young cacao-trees andplantains to shade them, while the rest was covered with deadand half-burnt forest trees ;and on one side tliere was a tractwhere the trees had been recently felled and were not yet burnt.The patli by wdiich I had arrived continued along one side ofthis clearing, and then again entering the virgin forest passedover hill and dale to tlie nortliern side of the island.My abode was merely a little thatched hut, consisting of anopen verandah in front and a small dark sleeping-room behind.It was raised about five feet from the ground, and was reachedby rude steps to the centre of the verandah. The walls andfloor were of bamboo, and it contained a table, two bamboochairs, and a couch. Here I soon made myself comfortable, andset to work hunting for insects among the more recently felledtimber, which swarmed with fine Cui'culionida?, Longicorns, andBuprestidti?, most of them remarkable for their elegant forms orbrilliant colours, and almost all entirely new to me. Only theentomologist can api^reciate the delight witli which I huntedabout for hours in the hot sunshine, among the branches andtwigs and bark of the' fallen trees, every few minutes securinginsects which were at that time almost all rare or new toEuropean collections.In the shady forest jDaths were many fine butterflies, mostconspicuous among which was the shining blue Papilio ulysses,one of the princes of the tribe. Though at that time so rare inEurope, I found it absolutely common in Amboj'na, though noteasy to obtain in fine condition, a large number of the specimensbeing found when captured to have the wings torn or broken.It flies with a rather weak undulating motion, and from itslarge size, its tailed wings and brilliant colour, is one of themost tropical-looking insects the naturalist can gaze upon.There is a remarkable contrast between the beetles of AmbojTiaand those of Macassar, the latter generally small and obscure,the former large and brilliant. On the whole, the insects heremost resemble those of the Aru islands, but they are almostalways of distinct species, and when they are most nearly alliedto each other the species of Amboyna are of larger size and morebrilliant colours, so that one might be led to conclude that, inpassing east and west into a less favourable soil and climate,they had degenerated into less striking forms.Of an evening I generally sat reading in the verandah, readyto capture any insects that were attracted to the light. OneQ 2