Entomology, Department of
Date of this Version
1906
Citation
Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Sep., 1906), pp. 135-165
Abstract
Several years ago Mr. H. D. Chipman collected insects on the Island of Trinidad, British West Indies, and the writer secured a fairly complete set of the Orthoptera taken by him. Since that time a few additional forms have been obtained from G. E. Tryhane, of St. Anne's, Trinidad, and others from W. E. Broadway, of St. George's Grenada, who formerly collected on Trinidad. Altogether upwards of one hundred (112) species have thus been accumulated and form the basis of this paper.
Unlike others of the West Indies, this island is more closely related to the South American mainland in its fauna than they. Still a rather large number of new forms are described herewith, showing how very interesting is the study of island faunas, although but little removed from the mainland.
In 1892 Brunner von Wattenwyl and Prof. Joseph Redtenbacher published a paper on the Orthoptera of the Island of St. Vincent. A little more than a year later Brunner von Wattenwyl reported on the Orthoptera of Grenada. In the former paper fifteen and in the latter nine new species were described. Quite recently Mr. Jas. A. G. Rehn published some " Notes on West Indian Orthoptera, with a List of the Species Known from the Island of Porto Rico."
In the first-mentioned paper 62, in the second 56 and in the last 59 species are listed. Aside from these faunal papers on the Orthoptera of the West Indies, that on the Orthoptera of Cuba by Ignacio Bolivar with 145 species, are the only important papers we have.
It may be inferred from these facts, however, that each of the other islands of the group will furnish undescribed genera and species of closely related forms—those that have become so differentiated by long isolation under changed environment. Why not institute a systematic campaign for learning what all of these nearby islands contain in the way of insect life? This should by rights be done by American entomologists.
The arrangement of the non-saltatorial families in this paper is after Kirby's Synonymic Catalogue of the Orthoptera, Vol. I.