Journal of Edwin H. Bryan, Jr. while with the Whitney Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History on the schooner France, February to October 1924
Page 423
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Transcription
from over the high hills to my left. Caught a number of small moths, micro- hymenoptera, flies, a large cranefly, brown crickets among the leaves, and several spiders. Saw familiar breadfruit trees and numerous coconut palms. The trail I was following led me out of the valley onto a ridge where a small clearing had been made for cultivation. Saw a tree of No. 266 with its leaves mottled yellow and pale beneath. Seemed sickly although fruting. Took specimen. Caught several Lycinid blue butterflies in a grassy pocket. Stripped the bark off a dead tree and got black and small gray-brown roaches, 2 beetles, larvae (grubs), and a large gecko. The pale brown, globose spider rolls up leaves as does the cricket to make its nest. Got a number of fig wasps, both male and female from the fruit of tree 282. Same small, violet shaped leaved creeper with white flowers and orange fruit, as found abundant in Samoa. Some of the woody lianas on the slopes have trunks 8 to 10 cm. in diameter. Landshells not so abundant as on Koro Levu, but got several small specimens (All same sp.) and one large live and several dead. Saw another Cycad. (Mr. Correia says he has seen them also.) Large red-legged hermit crab on shrub at 900'. Nu- mmerous large and small "fish tailed" palms. Cordyline (ti plant) with large red violet leaves seen here and elsewhere at higher elevations and (apparently planted in lowlands. Crossed over summit of ridge and down the south side to some taro patches, from whence a trail led to the beach. Came out at a village and followed the "round-the-island" path west and N.W. back to the harbor. Noted several familiar beach plants:- Tournefortia, "buka vai" (with peltate large leaves) collected on Puka Puka etc.), scaevola, hau, Lucaene glauca. Passed to villages and planter's house. Tuesday, July 8, 1924. Ashore at 7 A.M. and back to the valley behind Karomaci village, visited