The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-10-23
WORK OF NATURALIST PERKINS
NEARLY COMPLETED.
Many Curious Facts About Hawaiian
Bugology-Bishop Museum Loses
Valuable Assistance.

r. l.. c. Perkins. DE naturalist. who
in connection IN tie Bishop Museum
and an English scientific exploration
society, has for perird OF eleven years
assiduously studied tie life and habits
and obtained specimens Of the Hawai-
ian fauna, has now practically
completed his work and will per-
manenuy leave the islands. returning
to England by the end sof the year.
"Of course there is plenty Of work yet
TO be DONE said Mrs Perkins this
morning, thirty years more could be
spent in the life study o. all the vari-
Gus insects and much Is yet to be
learned in the breeding pf the speci-
mems.
There ere over a thousand varieties
Of beetles for example th8t / have To-
Gated and there are many lowland
varieties that will never bp known as
lowland vegetation was su3planted by
agriculture before this worlg was taken
up. The insects Of the islands like the
birds, vary in the various GLANDS and
comparatively few Of them are identi-
cal through the group"
Mr. Perkins work covered practical
ly everything that flies, walks OF creeps
on the earth beneath and includes, con-
Chology, as applied to land shells. ornl-
thology and entomology. only the sea
and its inhabitants were left severely
alone.
Many curious facts have been de-
duced from the labors OF Mr.. Perkins
and his associates. The butterflies
pro er of Hawaii are only some seven
or eight In number, but there are plen-
~ Of moths nocturnal and diurnal
some of them very beautiful In their
colorlng and marking. some OF them
unknown and some of them worldwide
in their habitat
Here too are the only known dragon
flies that do not start in life from the
water, or Of which the larvae are non
Aquatic. The big pinaus that are
deemed so effective among the mosqui-
toes are all imported and the native
dragon flies are slim bodied, fragile
looking things that would have to make
three bites at a mosquito. The birds of
the Islands are decidedly insular in
their habits and appearance. The Ha
waiian substitutes for woodpeckers
have bills that puzzle the amateur as
to their possible utility or manner of
use. The land shells are very beauti-
ful in variety, though many of the spe-
cies have already disappeared.
Nearly all the specimens which are
now being taken back by Mr. Perkins
are carefully packed for shipment and
will be insured for the voyage. After
the recent fires Mr.. Perkins has a nat
ural fear that his bugs will be destroy
ed before he can get away with them
and never hears a whistle in the night
without q spasm of fear that the work
Of years is going up in smoke.
The amount Of laborious patience
and labor in setting out the thousands
of insects. many Of them much smaller
than a pins head and of arranging
each antenna, wing, wing case and in
dividual leg in visible order; can hard
ly be realized by the layman. Many Of
the smaller beetles have a box like
cavity in their chest into which they
carefully pack all their means of pro-
pulsion before succumbing to the dead
ly fumes of the cyanide with which
they are mericfully killed
Any one who has noticed the smaller
common beetles sheathing their wings
in their wing cases can imagine the
difficulty of strengthening them out
with fine brushes and needle. Beetles
and other insects always die with their
wings twisted and tangled up anyway
and make the matter harder. Some
times 700 the species has to be deter
mined from a single specimen and that
dried to brittleness. Whenever possl-
BILE Mr.. Perkins has secured sets of the
various kinds, sometimes two or three
dozen of each.
Nor Is all this the end of 1t. Another
long years work remains in the classl-
fication of all the specimens. rms
work is done not only by Mr.. Perkins
but by associates in the shape of fam
Gus scientists who for sheer love of
| 1t undertake the labor, being to them,
amply rewarded with good specimen
of the insect classified. Many Of the
rarer bugs Of Hawaii are now repre-
sented by single specimens in the hands
of private collectors, their whereabouts
being however as well known as that
of a masterpiece Of art
Some Of the specimens now going
back will remain with these saVants,
some return to the Bishop Museum
and the bulk OF them repose for the
/ benefit of posterity I'm the British Mu-
scum. When the work is concluded II
represents eight years OF constant
work on the part of Mr.. Perkins ana
VIII all be summed up in the three or
more bulky volumes of the work nov
being published In sections in LONDON
for the Bishop Museum on Fauna
| Hawaiiensis. TO the layman the only
really interesting parts Of the work lie
| in the beautifully colored plates and
| the Introduction, yet to be written. The
rest Is dry as dust and severely techni-
| cal.
There will probably be a successor
IaDpointed In course OF time by the
| Bishop Museum to take up the work
Iinaugurated by Mr.. Perkins, but even
then the specimens will have to be sent
to the English scientists for determina-
ton, the only complete collection being
! I'm England. Mr.. Perkins has not yel
definitely decided whether he will carry
on this work when he returns to Eng
land as science while an eXacting, Is
not a remunerative mistress