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ing as anything can be. In the family of the Pieridæ, or white butterflies, the difference is not
quite so great, owing perhaps to the more wandering habits of the group; but it is still very
remarkable. Out of 30 species inhabiting Celebes, 19 are peculiar, while Java (from which
more species are known than from Sumatra or Borneo), out of 37 species has only 13 pecu-
liar. The Danaidæ are large, but weak-flying butterflies, which frequent forests and gardens,
and are plainly but often very richly coloured. Of these my own collection contains 16 spe-
cies from Celebes and 15 from Borneo; but whereas no less than 14 are confined to the
former island, only two are peculiar to the latter. The Nymphalidæ are a very extensive
group, of generally strong-winged and very bright-coloured butterflies, very abundant in the
tropics, and represented in our own country by our Fritillaries, our Vanessas, and our Purple-
emperor. Some months ago I drew up a list of the Eastern species of this group, including all
the new ones discovered by myself, and arrived at the following comparative results:—
Species of Nymphalidæ. Species peculiar to each Island. Percentage of peculiar Species.
Java
70
23
33
Borneo
52
15
29
Celebes
48
35
73
The Coleoptera are so extensive that few of the groups have yet been carefully worked
out. I will therefore refer to one only, which I have myself recently studied—the Cetoniadæ
or Rose-chafers,—a group of beetles which, owing to their extreme beauty, have been much
sought after. From Java 37 species of these insects are known, and from Celebes only 30;
yet only 13, or 35 per cent., are peculiar to the former island, and 19, or 63 per cent., to the
latter.
The result of these comparisons is, that although Celebes is a single large island with only
a few smaller ones closely grouped around it, we must really consider it as forming one of
the great divisions of the Archipelago, equal in rank and importance to the whole of the
Moluccan or Philippine groups, to the Papuan islands, or to the Indo-Malay islands (Java,
Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay peninsula). Taking those families of insects and birds
which are best known, the following table shows the comparison of Celebes with the other
groups of islands:—
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