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. It
was found in Gilolo. All these insects are represented of the natural
size.

Like the birds, the insects of the Moluccas show a decided affinity
with those of New Guinea rather than with the productions of the great
western islands of the Archipelago, but the difference in form and
structure between the productions of the east and west is not nearly
so marked here as in birds. This is probably due to the more immediate
dependence of insects on climate and vegetation, and the greater
facilities for their distribution in the varied stages of egg, pupa, and
perfect insect. This has led to a general uniformity in the insect-life
of the whole Archipelago, in accordance with the general uniformity
of its climate and vegetation; while on the other hand the great
susceptibility of the insect organization to the action of external
conditions has led to infinite detailed modifications of form and
colour, which have in many cases given a considerable diversity to the
productions of adjacent islands.

Owing to the great preponderance among the birds, of parrots, pigeons,
kingfishers, and sunbirds, almost all of gay or delicate colours, and
many adorned with the most gorgeous plumage, and to the numbers of very
large and showy butterflies which are almost everywhere to be met with,
the forests of the Moluccas offer to the naturalist a very striking
example of the luxuriance and beauty of animal life in the tropics. Yet
the almos