EX LIBRIS
BERTRAM. C.A.WINDLE. K: . K.S.G. FR.S.
READERS of the late Mr. Shelf ord's Naturalist in
North Borneo, edited by Edward B. Poulton (Fisher
Unwin), will experience a deep feeling of regret that the
urbane, attractive, sane personality of the writer, impressed
on every chapter of the book, should be lost to science and
to literature. Professor Poulton, in editing a work left
incomplete at the time of the author's early death, has
admirably accomplished his task. The book is full of
important facts for the professional biologist, facts
gathered by first-hand study of living nature as well as
by laboratory work. Lovers and students of Natural
History will be enthralled by the descriptions and dis-
cussions provided for him in a manner at once pleasant
and lucid. The extraordinary facts narrated in the
chapter on " Ants and Plants " remind us of an entertain-
ing essay by the late Father Gerard, S.J., in which he
called attention to some of the difficulties these curious
facts raised in connection with the evolutionary hypo-
thesis—difficulties not yet cleared up. Quite a number of
plants of various Natural Orders exhibit " curious modifi-
cations of structure, such as huge bulbiform swellings
galleried in all directions, tubular stems and roots, and
curious appendages, which structures are constantly in-
habited by ants." Now the interesting query arises :
Are the structures developed for the benefit of the ants,
and if so what has caused this apparently altruistic action ?
Or have the ants made use of passages constructed by the
plant for its own purposes, and if so what were the pur-
poses for which the structures were formed ? When one
reads the title of " Mimicry " at the head of a chapter,
written by Mr. Shelford and edited by the distinguished
Hope Professor of Entomology at the University of Ox-
ford, one necessarily forms high anticipations of what it
is likely to contain. Nor were we disappointed. The
chapter in question is profoundly interesting. Particular
attention is due to the important statement now to be
quoted as it deals, and very judiciously, with matters at
this moment of paramount interest to the biological
world : " Whole-hearted supporters of natural selection
regard variation as indefinite and infinite, and only con^
trolled by natural selection ; but I am heretic enough to
believe that variation is defined and limited and con-
trolled only partially by natural selection. I regard the
lines along which variation in any organisni can proceed
as limited in number ; to use a metaphor j I look on
variation as an engine which can proceed only along certain
fails. There may be numbers of such rails going in dif-
ferent directions, but the engine cannot get off the rails."
A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Photo]
Plate I.
R. \V. C. SHELPORD.
[Maull & Fc
Frontispiece.
A NATURALIST IN
BORNEO
BY THE LATE
ROBERT W. C. SHELFORD
OF EMMANUEL COLL. CAMBRIDGE, M.A.,
F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S., LATE CURATOR
OF THE SARAWAK MUSEUM AND
ASSISTANT CURATOR OF THE
HOPE DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY
OXFORD UNIVERSITY MUSEUM
EDITED WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL
INTRODUCTION BY
EDWARD B. POULTON
D.SC., LL.D., F.R.S., HOPE PROFESSOR
OF ZOOLOGY AND FELLOW OF
JESUS COLLEGE, OXFORD
f
T. FISHER UNWIN LTD.
LONDON
ADELPHI TERRACE
First published in 1916
(All rights reserved]
22 1957
To
MY WIFE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION — BIOGRAPHICAL AND
GENERAL ...... xiii
AUTHOR'S [UNFINISHED] INTRODUCTION . .xxiii
I. MAMMALS . . . I
II. BIRD-NOTES . . 49
III. SNAKES . -74
IV. CROCODILES, TURTLES, AND TORTOISES . 105
V. COCKROACHES, MANTISES, AND STICK-INSECTS . 114
VI. BEETLES . • J56
VII. ANTS AND PLANTS . • ^5
VIII. MIMICRY . • 2°6
IX. AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN . 247
X. OTHER EXPEDITIONS . • 274
XI. ANIMAL LIFE OF THE SHORES : VISIT TO A
TURTLE ISLAND . . • 293
XII. NATIVES OF BORNEO . . 3°5
NOTES . • 312
INDEX ... • 321
vi
ILLUSTRATIONS
The plates indicated by an asterisk have been wholly, those indicated by f
in part, reproduced, by kind consent of Dr. Charles Hose, from his and
the author's copyright photographs.
All plates of which the source is not indicated are from the author's
photographs or drawings.
PLATE
I. The Author. (From a photograph by Maull and
Fox) ..... Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
II. Nest of the Maias. (From a photograph by Dr.
C. Hose) 3
*III. A Young Maias. (Photographed in an orange-tree
by Dr. C. Hose) . . . . .4
IV. The Bornean Lemur, the Tarsier, Tarsius spectrum.
(Photographed from life) . . . .15
V. Right foot and left hand of the Tarsier, Tarsius
spectrum, showing the clinging-discs. Also the
upper surface of a disc, seen from above . 16
VI. Skeleton of right fore-arm of the Flying Squirrel,
Petaurista nitida. Natural size . . . 36
VII. Tail of the common Bornean Porcupine, Histrix
crassispinis, and of the Bornean quill-less Porcu-
pine, Trichys lipura. (From drawings by G.
Talbot) -39
VIII. Head of young Wild Boar, showing the notch in
upper lip ready for the tush which has not yet
appeared . ... 44
ix
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE FACING PAGE
IX. Nest and egg of the Bornean Frog-Mouth, Batracho-
stomus auritus. (From a photograph taken by J. C.
Moulton in the Sarawak Museum, Kuching) . 52
X. The nest of Arachnothera longirostris, one of the
Sunbirds, with the leaf from which it is hung. (From
a drawing by Edwin Wilson of a specimen from the
Sarawak Museum. About f of the natural size) . 54
fXI. The Bornean Owl, Photodilus badius. (Photographed
from life) . . . . . .69
fXII. The two Bornean Pythons, Python reticulatus and
P. curtus. (Photographed from life) . . 87
XIII. The Bornean Flying Frog, Rhacophorus nigropalmatus,
with the tadpoles of some tree-haunting frog
which, like Rhacophorus, surrounds its eggs with
a mass of froth enclosed between leaves. (From
drawings found among the author's papers) . 105
XIV. "Trilobite- Larva" and an allied form. (From
photographs of living Bornean examples brought
to England by J. C. Moulton. Reproduced by
kind permission from Plate VII of Proc. South
London Ent. and Nat. Hist. Sac., 1912-13) . . 169
XV. The larva? of the Cassidid beetles " Tortoise-Beetles,"
Aspidomorpha miliaris (Fig. i) and Metriona
trivitata (Fig. 2) with their chains of moults
attached. The pupa of the Cassidid, Laccoptera
sp. ? (Fig. 3) retaining the larval shield. (Figs,
i and 2 after W. Schultze) . . . .181
XVI. Spider, Amycicea lineatipes, Keringa Ant, (Ecophylla
smaragdina, and Caterpillar. The posterior ends
of spider and caterpillar resemble the head of
the ant. The latter is shown using one of its
larvae to spin together the leaves of its nest.
(The ant after D. Sharp) . .230
XVII. The start of a Head-hunting Expedition . . 253
*XVIII. Awat-Awat, a Malay Fishing Village at the mouth
of the Trusan River . ... 280
ILLUSTRATIONS xi
pLATK FACING PAOB
XIX. The Upper Sadong River at Tabekang . 283
XX. Punan heads 284
*XXI. Land-Dayak Head-House, or Bala, of village on
Upper Sadong River .... 287
*XXII. Murut Head-Feast . \ • • .288
AT END OF VOLUME BEFORE INDEX
*XXIII. The Sarawak Museum, Kuching . „
XXIV. Kuching, from the Sarawak River . „
*XXV. Kuching, across the Sarawak River,
from the Astana or Rajah's Palace „
*XXVI. The Astana, or Rajah's Palace,
Kuching .... „
*XXVII. The Astana, Kuching, from the
Sarawak River . . . „
XXVIII. The Sarawak River, Kuching, on
Regatta Day : the Astana in the
distance .... „
fXXIX. The Paddock and two views of the
racecourse, Kuching ... „
*XXX. The Fort, Kuching, from the Sarawak
River ..... „
*XXXI. The Public Offices, Kuching .
*XXXII. The Square Tower and Gaol .
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION-
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENERAL
ROBERT WALTER CAMPBELL SHELFORD, the leading
authority on insects of the family Blattidce, and a
naturalist of very broad interests, was born at Singa-
pore on August 3, 1872 — the son of a merchant who
was a member of the Legislative Council, and made
C.M.G. in recognition of his many public services.
There is no evidence that Shelford's strong taste for
natural history was inherited, and it did not appear in
any other member of his family. Prevented by a
tubercular hip- joint from taking part in the games and
ordinary outdoor pursuits of a boy and young man, his
active mind turned to observation, and he became a
naturalist. He was educated privately until he entered
King's College, London, and later Emmanuel College,
Cambridge. At this University, where he took a second
class in both parts of the Natural Science Tripos, he
received a solid foundation for the excellent zoological
and anthropological work of his mature years.
After taking his degree Shelf ord became, in 1895, a
Demonstrator in Biology, under Professor L. C. Miall,
F.R.S., at the Yorkshire College, Leeds. Two years
later he went to Borneo as Curator of the Sarawak
Museum, established by Rajah Brooke at Kuching.
During his seven years' tenure of this position he
xiii
xiv EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
availed himself to the full of the abundant opportuni-
ties for studying the animal life of the tropics, and of
making observations in anthropology, a subject which
always strongly attracted him. His fruitful labours in
the increase and arrangement of the Sarawak Museum
naturally led him to take a wide survey of the animal
kingdom, and he soon began the study of mimicry, a
subject which regards from one point of view a multi-
tude of diverse forms, including insects of the most
varied groups and their vertebrate enemies. He found
Borneo a very rich and imperfectly explored field for
the study of this subject, and before long he entered
into a regular correspondence with me, sending large
consignments of insects for investigation and determi-
nation. The result of his observations and work was
the appearance in 1902 of an important paper in the
Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (p. 230).
This valuable and interesting monograph is illustrated
by five coloured plates showing Bornean mimetic insects
of many widely separated groups. Our correspondence
went on, and he continued to send the record of observ-
ations and specimens of great interest until his seven
years' tenure of the Curatorship came to an end in
1905. Towards the close of this period he wrote to me
saying that if it was impossible to provide a salary he
must really come and work in the Hope Department at
Oxford without one ! Fortunately, at this moment,
Magdalen College began to place an annual grant at
the disposal of the University for the provision of
extra assistance in the Departments, and it thus became
possible to establish an Assistant-Curatorship, with a
small income, augmented later on from the Common
University Fund. Shelford accepted this position, and
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xv
came to live at Oxford in the Autumn Term of 1905.
After leaving Kuching, and before returning home by
way of Japan, Vancouver, and the United States, he
spent several weeks travelling in the Malay Archipelago,
visiting many of the islands and making collections,
which he presented to the Hope Department. Some
of the specimens bear the record of interesting observ-
ations, throwing light on the difficult problems of adap-
tation and evolution in which he took so deep an interest.
On June 25, 1908, Shelford married Audrey Gurney,
daughter of the Rev. Alfred Richardson, vicar of Combe
Down, Bath.
At Oxford Shelford worked with the greatest energy,
at once beginning the study of the collection of Orthop-
tera in the Hope Department. He had always been
especially interested in this order of insects, and was
delighted when he found such an immense mass of
material at Oxford, rich in types of the species described
by the older authorities — Walker, West wood, and Bates.
He began with the Blattidce, or Cockroaches. In the
course of his work upon this group he worked through
and named the species in all the great Continental col-
lections, describing those that were new in a long series
of valuable memoirs.
Numbers of duplicates were received, and, as the result
of his labours, the Hope Department now contains by
far the finest and best-arranged collection of Blattidce
in the world, including types or co-types of a large
proportion of all the known species. Shelford then began
to study other Orthopterous groups, especially the Phas-
midce and the Mantidce. He was an indefatigable
xvi EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
worker, as will be realized by any naturalist who sees
what the Oxford Blattidce became in four years from
the autumn of 1905 ; and it must be remembered that
all the time he was helping the Department in many
other ways, particularly in the arrangement and cata-
loguing of the library.
Of all the memoirs which he wrote Shelford was, I
think, most interested in that " On Mimicry amongst the
Blattidce" (P.Z.S., 1912, p. 358) — a subject on which he
had reflected and had been accumulating material for
some years ; one, moreover, which combines two depart-
ments of natural history — Systematics and Bionomics —
departments as wide apart as the poles, but affording
each other mutual support, and both equally dear to
him. It was also a special delight to him to show the
high interest and in many species the extreme beauty of
the universally despised cockroaches. It is a pathetic
circumstance that the publication of this long-looked-for
paper was nearly coincident with its author's death.
In addition to the researches on insects which formed
the main work of his life, Shelford was a keen and
enthusiastic student of Anthropology, as the concluding
chapters of this book will abundantly testify.
He was especially interested in Bornean Tatu, and
wrote, in conjunction with Dr. C. Hose, an important
memoir on the subject,1 of which the greater part is
reproduced in Hose and McDougall's " Pagan Tribes of
Borneo," vol. ii. p. 245.
When three years old Shelford contracted tubercular
1 Journ. Anthrop. Inst., vol. XXXVL, n. Ser. IX (1906), pp. 60-91.
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xvii
disease of the hip-joint as the result of a fall downstairs,
and was condemned to spend many years on his back.
A severe operation was performed when he was ten, and
at thirteen he was able to leave home and reside with a
tutor. He was left with a stiff joint, and from time to
time suffered greatly from sciatica. During his residence
in Sarawak a fall from a rickshaw produced an abscess,
from which he entirely recovered. For the first four
years in Oxford his leg seemed to give him no trouble
except for occasional attacks of sciatica, and, in spite of
his lameness, he used to find great pleasure in playing
golf. He enjoyed life to. the full, his interests were
many-sided and keen, and he ran risks which, to one
with his active, energetic temperament, were perhaps
inevitable. An accidental slip, in April 1909, led to the
recrudescence of the old disease, and to all the terrible
suffering of his last illness. A too brief respite in its
course enabled him to return for a time and carry on
the old work for which he was always longing, and when
he was compelled to give this up he still continued, until
within a few months of the end, to help the Department
in many ways. In a letter from Margate, where he had
gone in the hope that the bracing air would restore his
health, he wrote : " I am so pleased to think that I can
do something at any rate, even if small, for the Hope
Department." His death, on June 22, 1912, was mourned
by a wide circle of friends interested in the most varied
sides of natural history, all of whom felt not only a keen
sense of personal loss, but also the loss to the science to
which they had devoted their lives. We at Oxford retain
grateful memories of pleasant years spent in hard work
and constant friendly intercourse, and his efficient
control of the Sarawak Museum and bright, attractive,
1*
xviii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
many-sided personality will be long remembered in
Borneo.1
This book was written by the author during his long
illness. Knowing the activity of his mind and his long-
ing for work I suggested to him that the notes and
memories of seven years in Borneo would form the
foundation for a volume which, I was sure, would
interest many readers. So from time to time he worked
upon the manuscript, and it is pleasant to think of the
interest and brightness brought to weary hours by the
task. But the pain, which, became worse and more
continuous towards the end, prevented him from com-
pleting his work, and the long delay in the appearance
of this volume is the direct result of the amount that had
still to be done before it was ready for publication. In
its preparation I have had much kind and efficient help
from several of the author's friends ; but help that is to
be of any use is almost invariably help given by those
who have already too much to do and cannot render
it continuously. Delay has been inevitable. In the
somewhat arduous task I have received the greatest
encouragement and assistance from my friend Dr.
G. B. Longstaff, whose book, Butterfly-hunting in Many
Lands, had been carefully read in proof by Shelf ord —
another piece of work which brought interest and
pleasure to the hours of enforced idleness. Dr. Long
staff took the manuscript of the present volume with
him on a voyage to the Cape towards the end of 1913,
sending back the chapters as they were finished. Again,
in 1914 it accompanied me, on the memorable visit of
1 This account of the author's life is founded on the present
writer's Obituary Notice in The Zoologist for July 1912.— E. B. P.
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xix
the British Association to Australia, by way of the Cape
and back by the Mediterranean. The manuscript has
also been read by Dr. Charles Hose and Mr. H. N.
Ridley, F.R.S., who, with their profound knowledge of
the East, have given me the greatest help. The proofs
have been carefully read, not only by these three, but
also by Mr. Henry Balfour, Dr. H. Eltringham, and
Commander ]. ]. Walker, all of whom have made sug-
gestions of great value and have helped in the detection
of printer's errors. Commander Walker also kindly
undertook the preparation of the index and Professor
Selwyn Image the design of the title-page. I have also
gratefully to acknowledge the assistance of friends, to
whom I have written for information on various doubtful
points — friends whose names will be found in footnotes
here and there throughout the book. Notes contributed
by any of the above-mentioned friends are indicated by
their initials.
The manuscript as I received it was very far from
ready for publication. Many references had been left
blank or incomplete, many names of species omitted.
In nearly all cases it has been possible to make good.
The author had written a list of chapters, with marks
indicating " rough draft " or " completed " or " almost
so." Chapters I (Mammals) and II (Birds) were marked
as rough drafts, III (Snakes) as completed, but all three
were carefully written in ink by Shelford himself, and he
had probably omitted to alter the sign for I and II.
Chapter IV, originally entitled "Other Reptiles and
Frogs," or alternatively, " Some other Reptiles and some
Amphibia," he had not marked at all, probably because
the frogs had been not even begun. The manuscript
xx EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
was written at Shelford's dictation by his wife. I have
altered the title to " Crocodiles, Turtles, and Tortoises,"
these being the actual reptiles treated of. Chapters V
and VI, marked as completed, are in Shelford's hand-
writing. The original title of V was " Orthoptera," but
as important sections of this order are omitted I have
altered it to "Cockroaches, Mantises, and Stick- Insects."
Chapter VI the author had called " Beetle Larvae," but as
there are also many observations on beetles themselves
and their pupae I have altered the title to " Beetles."
Chapter VII is entirely, and VIII, except for a few pages,
written in pencil, and both are marked as rough drafts.
The title of VII was "Flies and Hymenoptera and Ants
and Plants," but the manuscript treats only of the latter
subject, which I have retained as the title. " Mimicry/'
the title of VIII, is unchanged. It should be borne in
mind that this chapter, in its polemical style, was influ-
enced by a controversy which had been going on at the
time when it was written, a controversy in which the
author was keenly interested. The dispute concerned
the relative importance of two theories of mimicry.
Their validity was not called in question — only the
extent of ground which each was believed by its
advocates to cover. The remaining chapters stand
somewhat apart from the first eight, and the author
had arranged them differently. Chapter IX was the
" Natives of Borneo," which I have transferred to the
end. It is marked as completed, and, like all the re-
maining chapters of this volume, written carefully in
ink by the author himself. But it is a very brief
account of a very large subject, and it is rendered still
less complete by the entire omission of a chapter on
"Their Arts and Crafts" which was to have followed
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION xxi
it. I have therefore placed the author's Chapter IX at
the end, leaving the other three, all concerned with
expeditions, in the original order. The titles of IX and
X are unchanged ; XI, without a title, I have called
" Animal Life of the Shores : Visit to a Turtle Island."
There is a little overlap at the beginning of Chapters X
and XI, and it is possible that they were intended to
form a single chapter, of which the opening paragraphs
had been written twice. Allowing for the slight overlap
I believe that the arrangement here adopted will be
found convenient. The author's Introduction was never
finished. The first sentence had been written by him
carefully in ink, all the rest hurriedly in pencil, and the
last page on both sides of the paper.
The illustrations were the chief difficulty. Only for
Chapter I was there a full indication of what the
author's intentions had been, and even as regards this the
material for carrying them out was far from complete.
I was confronted with a mass of drawings, finished and
unfinished, named and unnamed, and with an immense
number of negatives arranged in many series, but without
numbers or any other indication by which to identify
them with the names on their respective lists. However,
by Dr. Hose's kind help, and by means of an album of
Sarawak photographs, published in 1905 by him and the
author, I was able to make out the subjects of a large
number of the negatives. The unnamed drawings which
had been prepared specially for the book were identi-
fied from internal evidence and by kind help which is
acknowledged in the descriptions of the plates. In this
way I have done my best to select suitable illustrations
and to provide the descriptive legends. At the end of
xxii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
the volume I have added a selection of photographs of
Kuching, the capital of Sarawak and the author's Bornean
home, beginning with the Museum, the scene of his
labours. These plates have been prepared from Shelf ord's
negatives, and, indeed, the whole of the illustrations except
the Frontispiece and Plate XIV have been selected from
the material collected by him. Plate XIV, facing p. 169,
has been very kindly lent by the South London Ento-
mological and Natural History Society.
The slight changes that have been introduced are the
direct result of the illness which prevented the author
from completing his task. Allowing for this, I hope and
believe that the book is what he would have wished it to
be. The volume opens with the chapters on the natural
history of the island. It will be realized by the reader
that the author's knowledge of the living animals of
Borneo was very wide and very intimate, and that these
chapters contain the most significant contributions to
learning that are to be found in the work. The con-
cluding chapters are full of charm, breathing the spirit of
living Nature and of man in the tropics, and revealing
the author as the keen and loving observer of both.
E. B. P.
AUTHOR'S [UNFINISHED]
INTRODUCTION
THIS book is the veriest hotch-potch of notes and
observations plucked from my journals and my memory,
together with a few extracts from scientific periodicals.
I have striven to weld the mass into a continuous and
symmetrical whole, but can hardly flatter myself that
I have succeeded. It appears to me that there is a small
but increasing section of the reading public that describes
itself as taking an interest in Natural History, and it is to
this section that I appeal for a verdict on the merits of
the book. This public reads popular works on Natural
History but not scientific journals, and yet in the volumes
of the latter are concealed amid a mass of technical and
arid detail facts and observations of the greatest interest
to all lovers of Nature. I have not hesitated to disinter
these facts whenever they relate to Bornean Natural
History and to interpolate them in my own story, but
I hGve been careful to acknowledge the sources from
which they are drawn, and I trust that by dressing them
up for popular consumption I have neither spoilt nor
altered their flavour. A comprehensive work dealing
with the realm of Nature in Borneo is not the labour
of one man but of many, not the outcome of observation
extending over seven years but over seventy times seven,
and this book pretends to be little more than a presenta-
xxiv AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION
tion of the facts and of the observations gleaned by the
writer during a seven years' sojourn in Sarawak. If my
readers in their reading can taste one-tenth of the
pleasure which I experienced in making my observations
and in setting them forth, I shall feel well rewarded.
For seven years I occupied the post of Curator of the
Museum at Kuching, Sarawak, and I would fain pay a
small tribute to the delights of this appointment. The
pay was adequate ; I was granted abundant opportunities
to visit other parts of the State for making collections ;
there was an entire absence of tedious officialism and
red-tape, for all the Museum accounts were kept at
the Treasury. The Museum was well stocked, and yet
acquisitions to it were always welcome, as the collections
were by no means complete. The Rajah had wisely
ordered that the Museum should be confined to the
fauna, flora, and ethnography of Borneo, and as this rule
was strictly adhered to, the collections did not become
unwieldy, and there was no great difficulty in the deter-
mination of species. The officials of the Sarawak
Government vied with each other in presenting
specimens, so that a constant stream of material flowed
into the Museum. In fact there never was a museum
where the accessions were obtained at so small a cost,
and as the Museum staff was composed of a Chinese
clerk, Malay attendants, and Dayak hunters, the wages
bill was small. The Museum to-day contains the most
complete collections illustrating the fauna, flora, and
ethnography of Borneo, and its annual upkeep amounts
to under ^750 [Note i, p. 312], A museum in the tropics
has a treble function : it provides for the inhabitants
of the country a constant source of interest ; it makes
possible an increase in the knowledge of the fauna, flora,
AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION xxv
and ethnography of the country ; and it is a centre of
scientific research. In establishing and maintaining the
Museum at Kuching, H.H. the Rajah of Sarawak has
deserved well of science. Although foreign countries
have been quick in expressing gratitude for the services
he has rendered to naturalists visiting his country,
the debt has never been acknowledged by a single
English learned society.
Sarawak, as most people know, is a large tract of
territory in Borneo, owned and ruled by the Rajah,
Sir Charles Brooke, G.C.M.G., second of his line.
This independent State is quietly prosperous, and, since
it is very much off the track of the globe-trotting tourist,
it is never much in the public eye. The annual revenue
now amounts to over 1,000,000 Straits dollars, a
proportion of which is derived from a poll-tax of two
dollars levied on every adult male. The State of Sarawak
is parcelled out into districts, each of which is placed
under the charge of one or more English officers known
as Residents. At headquarters is a fort where the
Resident lives, with a force of Malay police or of Dayak
soldiers under his command. When the time for collect-
ing the tax arrives the natives in the immediate vicinity
of the forts pay their dollars directly into the State coffers,
but visits must be paid to the outlying districts in order
to receive the sums due to the Government. The Rajah
believes — and believes justly — that the success of his rule
over the naturally turbulent and warlike tribes that make
up the bulk of the Sarawak population is due to the
personal influence exerted by himself and his officers.
The force majeure is rarely called into activity, because
the relations between rulers and ruled are for the most
part friendly and even cordial. Such results can only be
xxvi AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION
established by constant intercourse, and the annual tax-
collecting visits are utilized as opportunities to cultivate
friendly relations with new-comers to a district, to renew
old friendships, and to inquire into grievances. It may
seem strange to European minds that tax-collectors are
welcome visitors, but the natives of Sarawak consider the
blessings of peace and security as cheaply purchased for
an annual poll-tax, whilst the coming of a white man to
an inland village is an excitement that affords topics of
conversation for weeks after his departure.
Nearly the whole of Sarawak is smothered in dense
and luxuriant jungles, and as there are no roads beyond
the purlieus of the towns and stations, the rivers serve as
the highways. Unlike British North Borneo, Sarawak is
blessed with rivers that are navigable for miles inland,
and it is by the rivers that the Government officer
journeys into the " back blocks " of his district. The
lower reaches of these Bornean rivers are monotonous
in the extreme ; mangroves and Nipa-palms fringe their
sides for mile after mile, and the banks themselves at
low tide are uninviting stretches of black viscid mud.
Fortunate is that officer who has at his disposal a steam-
launch to convey him swiftly regardless of tide over
the first weary miles. Failing a launch, he must install
himself in a long, narrow canoe roofed with a thatch
of palm-leaf, and manned by a crew of twenty to thirty
sturdy Malays : here he must stay for hour after hour,
tying up to some riverside hut when the tide is against
him, waking the drowsy crew in the middle of the night
when it turns. And yet to one who has not to make the
voyage too often there is a charm about this method of
travel which is not to be found in the rapid transport
of the modern steam-launch. The traveller lies at his
AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION xxvii
ease on a mattress on the floor of his boat ; before him
are his crew, their backs swinging rhythmically and
untiringly to the paddle-strokes. Framed in the opening
to his covering of palm-leaf is the brilliant blue of the
tropical sky, a kite or osprey perhaps soaring in the
empyrean or sweeping in grand curves out of the field
of vision : the brown turbid water slides past unceasingly,
and the regular chunking of the paddles against the boat's
gunwale and the splash of the water upon the blades has
an indescribably soothing and even soporific effect. At
intervals the bowman or steersman gives a shout, and
the long, rhythmic swing is changed instantaneously into
a short, digging stroke that makes the boat quiver from
stem to stern and propels her with lifting jerks through
the water, until gradually the spurt dies down and the
old steady stroke is resumed.
THE PRINCIPAL CONTRACTIONS USED IN
THE FOOTNOTES ARE AS FOLLOWS :—
Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. — Annals and Magazine of
Natural History.
Journ. Anthrop. Inst. — Journal of the [Royal] Anthro-
pological Institute.
Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br. — Journal of the Straits
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Linn. Soc. — Linnean Society of London.
P.Z.S.— Proceedings of the Zoological Society of
London.
Proc. Ent. Soc.— Proceedings of the Entomological
Society of London.
Trans. Ent. Soc. — Transactions of the Entomological
Society of London.
Other contractions can be made out from elements in
the above, or are sufficiently obvious.
AUTHORSHIP OF THE NOTES.
Unsigned notes, or occasionally signed R. S., are by the
author.
Notes signed H. B. are by H, Balfour.
Notes signed C. H. are by C. Hose.
Notes signed G. B. L. are by G. B. Longstaff .
Notes signed E. B. P. are by E. B. Poulton.
Notes signed H. N. R. are by H. N. Ridley.
A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
CHAPTER I
MAMMALS
THE most interesting mammal in the island of Borneo
is, undoubtedly, the large Anthropoid Ape, Simia satyniSy1
for both in anatomy and habits it shows so many
resemblances to the highest type of creation, man him-
self, that we are justified in believing both man and
ape to have sprung from a common stock in "dim
ages past." The trivial names whereby this ape is
known to European zoologists, Orang, Orang-Utan and
Orang Utang or Outang, are rather unfortunate, for the
first is Malay for "man," the second means "man of
1 Changes of the scientific names of animals, especially mammals,
have been so frequent and numerous during the past ten years,
that only specialists are able to recognize the species under their
new names. The practice reached the height of absurdity when
Simia satyr us was solemnly re-named Pongo pygmceus. By this
ridiculous application of a Bantu negro name for the Chimpanzee
to a Malayan ape a storm of long-suppressed protest was raised,
and a committee of zoologists is now deciding what names of
animals are to remain unaltered. It was high time that such a
step should be taken, for who knows if Dr. Smellfungus and
Professor Dryasdust will not proclaim that the name Homo sapiens
should be altered ? But perhaps sapiens is a misnomer when applied
to these pedants.
2 i
2 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
the woods/' and the third means "debtor." Malays
never think of applying any of these names to the
ape ; they have their own name for it — Maias, and by
this name the animal will be styled in this chapter.
The Maias is fortunately still abundant in Sarawak,
but it is very local in its distribution, being found
only up the Simunjan, Batang Lupar, and Rejang Rivers.
A specimen was once recorded from the upper waters
of the Sarawak River, but it had evidently strayed from
its usual "beat," and soon disappeared. Some years
ago an American naturalist visited the Simunjan River
and slaughtered so many Maias that the Rajah of
Sarawak wisely issued an order in which the number
of specimens that could be killed by one collector was
strictly limited. The species at present is confined to
Borneo and Sumatra, but there are traditions in the
Malay Peninsula, where it is known as Mawas, of its
occurrence there in times past.
When I left England for Sarawak a distinguished
anthropologist of my acquaintance asked me to investi-
gate the habits of the Maias. " I want to know how
many wives he keeps," said my friend, "and how he
treats them." With the best will in the world I was
unable to settle these knotty points. The Maias is
essentially an arboreal creature, rarely coming down
to the ground except to drink, and its haunts are
situated, for the most part, in swampy and marshy
land, through which the eager investigator can only
laboriously make his way, whilst the object of his
search progresses at a fair pace in the tree-tops :
moreover, considering its size, the Maias is remarkably
inconspicuous in its natural surroundings. Until men
can acquire arboreal habits it seems likely that the
Nest (indicated by arrow) of the Maias, on the Asan River, Rejang District,
Sarawak. (From a photograph taken about 1904 by Dr. C. Hose.)
Plate II.
MAMMALS 3
domestic arrangements of the ape will remain undis-
covered.
The Maias is a great traveller, and I have never heard
of one haunting a small area for any length of time.
As they are fruit-eaters it is necessary for them to cover
a good deal of ground in order to find suitable and
sufficient food, and consequently unlike less dainty
animals they are continually on the move.
At night they make a kind of nest by pulling and
bending down small branches to form a little platform
in the fork of a bough. The platform is remarkably
small, often not much bigger than a rook's nest and
never exceeding 4^ feet in diameter ; it is constructed
in comparatively small trees.
When the Maias goes to rest, it lies flat on its back
on its nest and holds like grim death with hands and
feet to the branches in the fork of which the nest lies ;
and so it passes the night, half supported by the frail
platform, half suspended by the hands and feet, whose
grip is secure even in the deepest slumber. A young
Maias that I kept as a pet for many months always
slept in an empty room in my house : the only article
of furniture in this room was an iron bedstead, and on
to the steel laths of this the ape would solemnly climb
every evening at about 6.30 ; he invariably sprawled on
the flat of his back, pulled over his head and chest a
piece of sacking with which he was provided, and with
hands and feet got a good grip on the posts or frame
of the bed. In a few minutes he would be asleep, and
his snoring was so loud that it could be heard nearly
all over house.
If, in the daytime, this young ape desired to rest in
a tree, he would construct a rough attempt at a platform,
4 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
and lie on this, hanging to the branches with hands
and feet and swinging in the breeze for an hour or so
at a time. It is easy now to account for the fact that
the Maias makes its sleeping quarters amongst slender
branches in the tree-tops ; if the nest were made in the
fork of some huge bough the ape would have nothing
to grasp when asleep ; moreover, in the lower levels of
the tree there would be a dearth of branches suitable
for the construction of a sleeping platform, and these
would have to be carried from elsewhere. The Maias
evidently dislikes sleeping at too great a height above
the ground, for the nests are never found in the tops
of lofty forest giants, but in trees of quite a moderate
size and height, say 30 to 40 feet high. The natives
assert that the female Maias, when about to give birth
to a young one, makes a very large platform amongst
big branches and stays on it for several days ; but I
cannot vouch for the truth of this statement.
The Maias is a very harmless creature as a rule, but
it has been known to attack man when enraged. Wallace,
in his Malay Archipelago, cites an instance, and more
recently there was an account in the Sarawak Gazette
of one of these apes descending from a Durian-tree,
where it was feasting on the fruit, and making a furious
onslaught on a Dayak who was trying to drive it away
from its plunder. As the Maias is endowed with
colossal strength, the unfortunate native was seriously
injured, and would have been killed if his friends had
not come to the rescue and beaten off his assailant.
As a pet a young Maias is unrivalled ; it is cleanly,
affectionate, extremely intelligent and amusing. One
that I kept for some months used to throw itself about
and scream like a naughty child if it was teased, and
A young Maias from Sadong, near Kuching. (Photographed in an orange-
tree by Dr. C. Hose, at Marudi, Baram District, Sarawak, about 1900.)
Plate III.
MAMMALS 5
if it was left out^in the rain would yell until it was
brought under shelter ; but as a rule the Maias is a
very silent animal, only grunting a little in a fretful
manner occasionally. They are very sedate and de-
liberate in their movements, even when feeding. If
presented with a fruit or some other article of food
that is new to its experience, the Maias will carefully
scrutinize and smell the morsel, a small bite will be
taken, and the fragment of food will be rolled round
and round inside the mouth ; then the lower lip will be
shot out to its utmost extent with the piece of food on
it, and the ape will squint down his nose in the most
ludicrous manner, as if to see how the food is getting
on during the process of mastication.
The simian characteristics of the human baby have
been remarked frequently enough ; one little point has,
however, escaped notice. The young Maias when it
picks up a very small object, such as a pea or pellet
of bread, does so, not with the tips of the thumb and
first finger, but pushes the object with the ball of the
thumb against the side of the proximal phalanx of the
first finger, all the fingers being flexed, and, so holding
it, lifts it up. A young baby nearly always acts in
the same way when trying to pick up a small
object.
The young Maias is quite unable to swim, and if
thrown into deep water, flounders about in the most
helpless manner and soon sinks below the surface ; I
doubt if the adults are any more adept at swimming
than their young.
The other anthropoid ape of Borneo is the
Gibbon. There seems to be some doubt as to whether
the different varieties in the island are to be regarded
6 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
as distinct species or merely as local races, but the
following remarks apply to a uniformly grey form,
known as Hylobates mulleri, which is common through-
out the greater part of Sarawak. The Gibbons go
about in large herds ; their cry is extremely musical,
and in the early morning the jungle fairly rings with
it. I know no more joyous sound in nature than
the delightful bubbling shouts of these creatures, and
he must be indeed a confirmed slug-a-bed who can
resist their call to be up and doing in the most
delicious hours of the tropical day. The Malay and
Kayan names for the Gibbon — Wa-wa and Wok — are
onomatopoeic in that they represent two notes of the
series of whistles and hoots that the animals utter.
Forbes, in his Naturalist's Wanderings in the Eastern
Archipelago, has endeavoured to represent graphically
the cry of the Gibbon, but I know of no instrument
on which the cry can be well imitated except a simple
thing made by the Kayans out of a bamboo-joint and
known as Buloh Wok ; with this the cries can be
imitated with such great exactitude that the apes are
often decoyed within a few yards of the performer.
Gibbons make excellent pets, and are kept by natives
as well as by Europeans. The manner in which they
can swing from rafter to rafter in a native house gives
some idea of their perfect adaptation to an arboreal
life — a life for which they are much better adapted
than are the larger and heavier Maias, Chimpanzee, and
Gorilla. On the ground the Gibbon can progress in an
erect posture, but the arms are always carried aloft,
apparently to maintain the balance, and the gait is
rather staggering and uncertain. In intelligence the
Gibbon ranks far below the other anthropoids, and its
MAMMALS 7
gymnastic proclivities make it a very disturbing captive
in a European's house.
A careful examination of the hand of a Gibbon shows
that in every way it is beautifully adapted for gripping
the branches of trees. It is very long in comparison
to its width, owing to the great development of the
metacarpals and phalanges. The thumb is very short
and is scarcely opposable, in fact not nearly to the
same extent as is the big toe.1 Nearly all the creases or
lines, as a palmistry expert would call them, are for
the most part straight up and down, or transverse,
whereas these lines in the human palm are more or
less oblique. In the human hand the thumb can be
placed in opposition to each of the fingers, and the
movements of both thumbs and fingers are very com-
plex, but in the Gibbon the fingers are modified almost
entirely for gripping, and can do little but bend and
unbend. The fingers of the Gibbon on their palmar
aspect are very flat, and a long deep crease runs down
the middle of each. All the fine lines of the human
palm and fingers are much coarser in the ape, so that
a better grip is maintained with this roughened surface,
and on the fingers these coarse lines are arranged in a
chevron-like way converging on the middle crease, not
unlike the chevron lines on the driving wheels of
traction engines ; such lines are expressly designed to
prevent slipping, an object which is not attained so
well if the lines are directly transverse. Although an
examination of the Gibbon's hand shows that it is
wonderfully adapted for gripping, we also learn from
it how much man owes his position at the very summit
of the animal kingdom to the adaptation of his hand
1 Cf. Fitzwilliams, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (jSer.), XX. (1907), p. 155.
8 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
to all sorts of purposes. The great anatomist, Goodsir,
has pointed out that while the hand of an ape is well
fitted to grasp a cylindrical object like the branch of a
tree, it is unable to grasp a spherical object properly.
I found it very interesting to compare the methods
of drinking adopted by the Maias, the Gibbon, and the
common Macaque of Borneo. The first, if offered
drink in a bowl placed on the ground before it, will
generally bend down and drink out of the bowl with-
out handling it. The Macaque lifts the bowl up, if
not too heavy, with both hands and drinks out of it
very much as a man would drink. The Gibbon dips
one hand into the bowl and then, throwing the head
back, sucks the moisture off the hair on the back of the
hand ; it is a very characteristic action, and it is repeated
again and again until the thirst is satisfied.
There are two common Macaques in Borneo, and
one rare species, Macacus arctoides, which I have never
seen either alive or dead. Macacus nemestrinus, the
pig-tailed Macaque, or Brok of the Malays, is a highly
intelligent animal, and Malays train them to pick
coconuts. The modus operandi is as follows : — A cord
is fastened round the monkey's waist, and it is led to
a coconut palm which it rapidly climbs, it then lays
hold of a nut, and if the owner judges the nut to be
ripe for plucking he shouts to the monkey, which then
twists the nut round and round till the stalk is broken
and lets it fall to the ground ; if the monkey catches
hold of an unripe nut, the owner tugs the cord and
the monkey tries another. I have seen a Brok act as
a very efficient fruit-picker, although the use of the
cord was dispensed with altogether, the monkey being
guided by the tones and inflections of his master's voice.
MAMMALS 9
The males of this species are very savage, and a
friend of mine, who hunted all sorts and conditions of
jungle animals with a pack of mongrel dogs, told me
that the male Brok was the most dangerous of all to
tackle ; when at bay they stand with their backs to a
tree, and seizing the dogs with hands or feet slash and
tear them with their terrible canine teeth, sometimes
almost disembowelling them. The Brok goes about in
droves, a big male leading ; but often solitary males are
to be found, and these, I expect, have been driven from
the leadership of their droves by younger and more
powerful rivals, It must be these solitary males only,
or " Brok tunggal " as the Malays call them, which can
be hunted by dogs, for I do not suppose that any pack
could deal with a drove.
M. nemestrinus exhibits a peculiarity in the fine lines
on the palmar aspect of the finger-tips which I have not
observed in any other species ; the lines, which are
arranged in simple loops and not in the complicated
patterns characteristic of the human finger, are con-
nected here and there by little transverse bridges.
As a pet 'the Brok is distinctly amusing, but it must
be kept in a cage, or chained up, for if allowed full
liberty it is, with its congerer, M. cynomolgus, the most
wantonly destructive animal of my acquaintance. It
lives very well in captivity, but will not breed with
females of its own species, though hybrids between
the Brok and M. cynomolgus have been produced in
menageries more than once. A captive Brok spends a
great deal of time in making most hideous grimaces, and
in adopting ludicrous attitudes ; it does this apparently
for its own amusement. Mr. H. N. Ridley I relates of
1 Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 46 (1906), p. 143.
10 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
one in the zoological collection at the Botanic Gardens
in Singapore, that it would put one hind-leg over its
neck and beat it on the ground, pretending that it could
not get it back again to the normal position. Another,
that I kept in captivity for many months, would stand
on one leg, seize this leg just above the knee with both
hands and the disengaged foot, and then bend the body
up and down, "mopping and mowing" all the time
like an old witch.
The Crab-eating Macaque, M. cynomolgus, is un-
doubtedly the commonest monkey in Borneo ; it is
smaller, noisier, and more active than the Brok, and
has a long tail. The native name, Kra, is onomatopoeic,
and represents fairly well the grating cry that the
monkey utters when alarmed or defiant. This species
has, as a matter of fact, quite an extensive vocabulary,
including a shrill squeal of terror, a querulous sort of
sound really indicative of pleasure, a smacking of the
lips also showing pleasure, and a grunt of anger. Mr.
Ridley asserts that it is actually possible to distinguish
between the alarm note of this monkey for a tiger and
that for a man.
The trivial English name of the species is derived from
its habit of hunting for crabs on river-banks and even
on the sea-shore ; I have often seen them so engaged
at the mouth of the Sarawak River at low-tide in some
numbers hunting for little crabs of the genus Sesarma,
and occasionally diving into the water. They fall fre-
quently victims to the watchful crocodile. The Crab-
eating Macaques are almost omnivorous, and their tastes
in insect-food are catholic, as I found when experi-
menting on some with the intention of finding out the
relative palatability of certain insects.
MAMMALS 11
According to Mr. Ridley1 this species goes about in
groups consisting of two or more adult males, some
younger males and several females; these family groups
are very jealous, and a new member is not admitted
without a severe fight. "The leading monkey having
established his position, takes his food first, and has his
selection of the females first. The other males he drives
away should they presume to attempt to usurp his rights.
In processions from one place to the other he always
comes last, but if one of the younger monkeys gets into
a dangerous position or is attacked he always runs to
its rescue, and drives off the enemy, and the other big
males often assist him if necessary. The wild monkeys
always sleep in particular trees, those with bare branches
and very lofty, and towards evening they may be seen
slowly moving along, stopping here and there to eat,
till they reach the sleeping place about sundown, they
then settle down for the night, sitting usually in pairs
or singly on the bare boughs. The same tree is occupied
every evening for weeks at a time, and whereever they
are in the evening they make for the same spot. They
never sleep in a bushy tree, probably for fear of being
surprised at night by snakes. Young monkeys are
always born in the early hours of the morning before
daylight, as almost if not all mammals are, and are born
in the boughs, or if in a cage on the perch ; never I
believe on the ground. In cases of difficult parturition
at least, the other females act as accoucheuses, with
sometimes disastrous results to the baby. . . . The K'ra
breeds very easily in captivity, the females producing one
at a time about once a year. The young one when born
has black hair which gets lighter colored with age."
1 Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 46 (1906), p. 142.
12 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
All the other monkeys of Borneo belong to the
Semnopithecince, and fall into two genera — Nasalis and
Semnopithecus.1 Of the former genus only one species
has been found, Nasalis larvatus, and it is not known
to occur elsewhere. The adult male has a large fleshy
nose, which droops at the end almost over the mouth,
but in the young male and in the female the nose is
smaller and is distinctly retrousse. This is not the only
monkey in the world with a well-marked nose, for there
are two species of Rhinopithecus from China with sharply
upturned noses. The Malay name for Nasalis is " Orang
Blanda," or " Dutchman," a poor compliment to our
friends across the water. " Blanda" is, however, certainly
used by Malays very often as an adjective signifying
inferiority or coarseness, in the same way as we prefix
the word " horse" to certain words. Just as we talk
of " horse-chestnuts " and "horse-radish" so do the
Malays call the " Soursop " Anona muricata [Note 2,
p. 312], which is rather like, but much inferior to, the
true Durian, " Durian Blanda." 2
The Nasalis lives in small troops in trees growing in
swampy lands, and it feeds almost entirely on the fruit
and young shoots of the " Pedada," Sonneratia lanceolata.
As it is well known that all the Semnopithecince have
complex ruminating stomachs, and are purely herbivorous
in their diet, I was surprised to see, in the Field
1 Now known, I believe, as Presbytes.
2 The word "blanda" certainly means "foreign," being simply
a corruption of " Hollander." I should suggest that the long-nosed
ape is called "Orang Blanda" directly from its nose being like
that of a Dutchman (or European foreigner). In Timor Laut the
native, when he wants to carve a Dutchman, gives him a peaked
hat and a very sharp-pointed nose, the latter being a distinctive
character of the carving. — H. N. R.
MAMMALS 13
Columbian Museum at Chicago some years ago, a
mounted group of Nasalis, shown as robbing a wood-
pecker's nest and tearing the mother-bird to pieces ;
it is to be hoped that this "zoological inexactitude"
has by now been rectified. The animal does not flourish
in captivity, as it is difficult to obtain the proper food
in sufficient quantity. Captain Stanley Flower, Director
of the Ghizeh Zoological Gardens at Cairo managed to
keep a young male alive for some months, but even
this moderate success has not been repeated [Note 3,
p. 312]. The cry of the adult male is a sort of snorting
bark, and in the production of it the large fleshy nose
undoubtedly plays a part.
The species of Semnopithecus are all timid, gentle
creatures, very unlike the boisterous and easily tamed
Macaques. They are much more arboreal than the
Macaques, and they feed entirely on leaves, fruits, and
flowers. A specimen of S. cristatus that I kept for some
time as a pet throve fairly well on a diet of Hibiscus
flowers ; this is a pretty grey species with the native
onomatopoeic name of Bigit. S. femoralis, a black
species, and S. rubicundus, a russet-coloured species,
are fairly common, and go about in small troops of
seven or eight. There are several other species, but
attention need only be called to S. hosei, a handsome
black-and-white monkey, from which are obtained the
bezoar stones or gall-concretions so highly prized by
the Chinese for their medicinal qualities.
The Lemurs are represented in Borneo by two species —
Nycticebus tardigradus and Tarsius spectrum. The former
of these, the Slow Loris, is a small arboreal animal with
no tail and large eyes. In disposition they are very
surly, and I never succeeded in taming them, though I
14 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
have kept many in captivity. They spend the greater
part of the day huddled up in a ball with the head
bent down between the thighs and covered by the arms ;
if roused from slumber the head is slowly raised, a
querulous grunt uttered, and the somnolent attitude is
again resumed. All their movements during the day-
time are very slow and deliberate, but at night they
wake up, and then can move at a fairly rapid rate.
They feed very largely on insects, but thrive well in
captivity on fruit with a little raw meat. They must
be handled with caution, for they are very fierce, and
the bite of a newly captured specimen, which has
been living mainly on an insect diet, is very poisonous,
producing a nasty suppurating wound.
On account of its very peculiar appearance the Slow
Loris is considered by the Malays to possess magical
properties, and they have many quaint recipes for
employing various parts of its body for medicinal and
magical purposes.1 A few of these may be quoted
here.
"The right eye dried and ground to powder and
mixed with human or goat's milk and some sweet oil
may be used as an eye-ointment which will make dim
sight bright by the will of God. The left eye ground
fine and mixed with rose water, honey and camphor
(Sumatrari) can be used as an eye ointment or eaten
with * sirih ' leaf, the nerves of which meet together
causes all who look on us to love us, and if given to
a wild beast it will become tame. ... If its backbone
is buried beneath the door of the house we can prevent
thieves from entering. If the bone of its left leg be
kept in the mouth during a conversation with a rajah,
1 H. N. Ridley, Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 34(1900), pp. 31-34.
The Bornean Lemur, the Tarsier, Tarsi us spectrum. (Photographed from
life by the author, at Kuching.)
Plate IV.
To face p. 15,
MAMMALS 15
it will prevent his doing any acts of tyranny to us,
and if we cook it with oil of snake or tiger or olive
oil and rub it on the feet of a weak person, it will
strengthen him. ... If the liver be dried and a piece
taken and rubbed up and given to a woman to eat it will
produce in her feelings of love towards us." Its tears,
when applied to human eyeballs, are supposed to impart
such clearness of sight that ghosts become visible. Its
tears can be induced to flow by taking the Loris amongst
a herd of cows, whereupon it will weep copiously ;
another plan, which sounds more reasonable, is to
wrap the animal in a cloth and throw pepper in its
eyes.
Singular in appearance as is the Slow Loris, it is
less remarkable than the other Bornean Lemur, Tarsius
spectrum. The Tarsier is the most curious little ghoul
of an animal imaginable, and as no specimen has ever
reached a European menagerie, the naturalist, when he
first encounters the animal in its native land cannot
fail to be fascinated by its quaintly unfamiliar aspect.
The body, which is clothed in a soft brown fur, is
about 5^ inches long ; the tail is 6 inches in length
and is quite naked except for a tuft of sparse hairs at
the extremity. The head is almost globular and the eyes
are enormous. The large ears stand well out from the
head and are very mobile and sensitive ; in repose the
ear-conchs are wrinkled and partly contracted in trans-
verse folds, but on the slightest noise they are pricked
forward and all traces of wrinkles disappear. The muzzle
is quite short, and the lips are rather thick and fleshy,
giving the animal a ludicrously smug expression, which
is intensified during moments of content and well-being.
I have occasionally been asked by friends to admire
16 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
the "smile" of a favourite horse or dog, but after a
considerable experience of animals I can safely say that
none can smile like the Tarsier.
In proportion to the body the hind-legs are very
long, and consequently the Tarsier is able to make
prodigious leaps. But perhaps the most remarkable
features in its anatomy are the hands and feet ; these
are naked except for a little down on the back of the
metacarpals and metatarsals ; both fingers and toes
are extremely long and slender, terminating in large
flattened discs like the suctorial discs of a tree-frog.
The animal exhibits another froglike feature in the
great length of the ankle-joint. As in the Amphibia,
the astragalus and calcaneum (the two ankle-bones
which articulate with the shin-bones) are slender and
produced. By means of its sucking discs the Tarsier
can cling quite well to vertical surfaces, if they are
not too smooth. The nails of all the fingers and of
all the toes, except the second and third, are very
small, somewhat triangular in shape, and embedded in
the fleshy discs, but on the second and third toes the
nails are erect claws. The big toe is opposable, but
the thumb is not. If the under surfaces of the finger-
and toe-discs are examined with a lens, it will be seen
that they are traversed by fine longitudinal and parallel
lines ; similar lines, curiously enough, are present on
the upper surface of the discs, but here they are con-
centrically arranged. The skin covering the palmar
surface of the fingers and toes is broken up by deep
creases into numerous little blocks, more or less cubical
in shape, and each of these blocks has its own system
of fine lines, oblique, longitudinal, or transverse. This
arrangement is, I think, an adaptation enabling the
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MAMMALS 17
Tarsier to hold securely the insects on which it feeds,
for the palmar surface is roughened by its division into
innumerable little prominences, and the prominences
themselves are grooved by the 'lines which, as I have
said, run in all directions, on one prominence trans-
versely, on another obliquely, and so on.
I used to feed a captive Tarsier on cockroaches and
grasshoppers, and I observed that almost invariably the
little beast would spring on to its prey, grab it in one
or both hands, crunching it badly in the process, and
would then bite off all the parts of the insect that
protruded from its fist. Even the slipperiest cockroach
could not make its escape once seized in those long,
slender fingers. On the palms of the hands and soles
of the feet occur large pads, the position of which is
shown in the figures ; the surface of these pads is
grooved with lines, which I expect play a useful part
in grasping and clinging actions. The tail is not pre-
hensile, but its under surface is distinctly sticky, and
no doubt this helps the animal to cling to vertical
surfaces. Down the back of the thigh runs a strip of
skin devoid of fur, looking strangely like the apterium
of a bird.
The Dayaks assert of the Tarsier that it can turn its
head right round in a complete circle ; this is an
exaggerated statement of the fact that the animal can
turn its head through half a circle ; that is to say, if it
is clinging to a vertical surface it can, without moving
its position, look straight into the face of an observer
standing directly behind it.
During the day the Tarsier rests almost motionless,
clinging to some support, the knees drawn up almost
to the face, the eyes half closed, with their pupils con-
3
18 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
tracted to mere slits. But in the evening it wakes up
and commences its hunt for food, which consists
entirely of insects. One was seen hunting for insects
in the pitchers of Nepenthes, fishing out and devour-
ing with evident gusto the drowned beetles and flies
which had fallen into the water that always accumulates
in these curious vegetable insect traps.
The only sound that I have ever heard the Tarsier
utter is a little plaintive squeak. The creatures do not
flourish in captivity, and it always was a source of
annoyance to me that while the surly, cross-grained,
and comparatively uninteresting Nycticebus would
support captivity for months or even years, the docile
and highly interesting Tarsier would die in a few weeks
in spite of every care taken to secure a varied and
ample diet. The animal has a very characteristic odour,
which I can only describe as being a pleasant mouse-
like smell, if such an apparent contradiction in terms
can be realized. Both Nycticebus and Tarsius bear but
a single young one at a time ; the latter has been seen
carrying her baby in her , mouth, just as a cat carries
her kitten.
The Bats are represented in Borneo by forty-six
species belonging to twenty genera, but it cannot be
said that the habits of any single species are well
known.
The big Fruit- Bats, Pier opus edulis, are as familiar a
feature of a Bornean landscape at evening as are in
England the rooks winging their way home to roost;
the bats, however, are on their way to some fruit-trees
where they will feed all night, yelling and wrangling
the while like all the cats of Kilkenny. During the
day they hang in numbers from the branches of trees,
MAMMALS 19
often at a considerable distance from the last feeding-
place, and they look like bunches of some grotesque
fruit. In Java these bats are such a pest that most of
the cultivated fruit is plucked before it is properly ripe
in order to save it from their attacks. They bite very
fiercely, but though they have a disagreeable odour the
flesh is white and quite palatable. The lesser Fruit-Bats
of the genus Cynopterus are also common, and are even
more voracious than Pteropus ; a single bat will think
nothing of devouring far more than its own weight
in bananas in one night.
The external parasites of bats are very remarkable,
and quite unlike those which infest other mammals.
Fleas are rarely, if ever, found on bats, but their place
is taken by those strange apterous flies, the Nycteribiidce
and the Streblidce. The pupa? of some fly, not belong-
ing to either of these families, have been found
embedded in the wing membranes of a species of
Hipposiderus, one of the I ndo- Malayan insectivorous
genera. But most remarkable of all is the strange
earwig Arixenia esau which lives in the brood-pouches
of a large Bornean bat, Cheiromeles torquatus.
The bat itself is a peculiar-looking creature, almost
entirely devoid of hair and with thick, leathery wings,
the membrane of which is attached in such a way to
the sides of the body, upper arm, and thigh, that a big
pouch is formed under the armpits extending to the
back of the shoulders and sides of the chest. In these
pouches, which are present in both sexes, the young
are carried, and in the female the teats are situated
here, close to the armpits. It has been suggested that
when the female gives birth to twins, one of the off-
spring is carried about by the father, but I do not think
20 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
that any observations supporting this belief have been
made, and there is no reason why the female should
not carry both her young, as, of course, there is a
brood-pouch on each side of the body. On the other
hand, if the male never carries about the young, of
what use are the pouches to him ?
It is not known exactly how the parasitic Arixenia
lives ; fragments of chitin and part of the leg of a fly
have been found in the intestines of one of these ear-
wigs, from which it may be concluded that the parasite
at times leaves its host in search of living insects. If
living insects are the sole source of the earwig's food-
supply, it is not a parasite in the strictest sense of the
word ; the relations between bat and earwig would
then be better described as symbiotic. Parasites are
so rare amongst the Orthoptera that only one other
example is known, namely, Hemimerm talpoides, a
curious little insect, remotely connected with the ear-
wigs, which lives on an African rat of the genus
Cricetomys. Hemimerus is a true parasite, for it feeds on
the scurf and skin of its host.
In addition to the brood-pouches, both sexes of
Cheiromeles are furnished with a pouch across the base
of the neck. These pouches receive the openings of
glands that secrete a fluid with a most offensive odour,
which Dr. C. Hose compares to the smell of burning
leather. In spite of their odour, Dayaks will readily
eat these bats. Cheiromeles form small colonies in hollow
trees [usually the Tapang, Abauria — C. H.], but apparently
not in caves, in which, however, are found hosts of
other bats, such as Pipistrellus, Myotist and Vespertilio.
Galeopithecus volans, the so-called Flying Lemur, occu-
pies a very isolated position amongst the Mammalia.
MAMMALS 21
Originally placed amongst the Lemurs, it was then
transferred to that dumping-ground for so many ano-
malous creatures, the order Insectivora. Undoubtedly
it does show some affinities with the latter, but so
remote that it is now regarded as the sole representa-
tive of a distinct order, the Dermoptera.
Galeopithecus is nocturnal and arboreal in its habits;
during the daytime it hides amongst the leaves and
branches of trees, and, owing to the greenish-brown
mottled fur with which it is clothed, harmonizes very
closely with its surroundings.1 Occasionally a beautiful
rufous variety is seen, the hair in some lights being
almost golden.
Extending along each side of the body, and attached
anteriorly along the outer border of the fore-limbs, and
posteriorly along the inner border of the hind-limbs, is
a fold of skin, the parachute-membrane, which, when
the limbs are stretched out, becomes taut, but when
the animal is at rest lies in folds along the sides of
the body. The short tail is enclosed in a similar fold
extending between the hind-limbs, and other folds
extend from the sides of the neck to the inner border
of the fore-legs. By means of this parachute Galeo-
pithecus is enabled to take flying leaps from one tree
to another; the direction of the flight is, of course,
not strictly horizontal, for the animal has no powers
of propulsion once it is in the air, but terminates at
a much lower level than the point of departure. The
parachute can only serve to delay its fall and to
diminish the force of impact on landing, but in con-
1 Dr. C. Hose informs me that Galeopithecus often clings to the
trunk of a dead tree — a situation in which it is nearly invisible. —
E. B. P.
22 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
sequence of this equipment Galeopithecus is enabled to
traverse a greater space than could an animal without
any apparatus to buoy it up. Dr. H. Gadow, in his
delightful book Through Southern Mexico (1908), draws
attention to the fact that in the tropical American forests
a striking characteristic of the arboreal animals is the
prehensile tail, whereas amongst Malayan forest animals,
instead of the prehensile tail, all sorts of contrivances
for securing a parachute flight are developed. In sub-
sequent pages of this book attention will be called to
some of these contrivances.
On the ground or any flat surface Galeopithecus is
very helpless ; the limbs are weak and the animal
cannot stand on all-fours, but rests on the fore-arms
and shins ; it can scramble along in a shuffling sort
of way, but cannot be said to walk, the parachute
membrane appearing to hinder the free movements of
the limbs considerably. The claws are sickle-shaped
and very sharp, admirably adapted for sticking into
the bark of trees, and when the animal is placed on
the trunk of a tree far too large for it to embrace with
its arms, it can nevertheless " swarm " up the trunk
at a good pace, the sharp claws acting like climbing-
irons. The animal can also hang back downwards for
long periods of time ; in fact, when the female is
carrying about her single young one, the normal posi-
tion of rest appears to be this pendulous attitude ; the
young one clinging to the breast of the mother is
then almost as completely shrouded and protected as
if it were lying at the bottom of a bag. The mother
carries her young one about with her until another is
almost ready to be born.1
1 I have twice found Galeopithecus resting by day clinging flat to
MAMMALS 23
In its diet the Flying Lemur is a strict vegetarian,
feeding chiefly on fruit, but also on leaves and shoots,
as I found by an examination of the stomach-contents
of a specimen which I shot. The incisors are pecu-
liar comb-like teeth, and Dr. Annandale suggests that
they function as a strainer through which the pulp of
fruit is sucked into the mouth, stones and fibrous
matter being rejected. I doubt if this is a sufficient
explanation of the function of these teeth, for Galeo-
pithecus is provided with a full set of molars for grind-
ing and munching its food, and, as I have said, it
feeds on leaves as well as on fruit ; if it fed purely
on fruit pulp a marked reduction in the molar denti-
tion would surely be noticeable.
The animal has a peculiar smell, due to the secre-
tion of an open gland at the root of the tail, coloured
orange in the male. The eyes are very large, in adapt-
ation to nocturnal habits, and as the iris is very dark
the eye appears to be all pupil, like the eyes of deer;
the native name of Kubang Plandok for Galeopithecus
is indicative of this feature, for Plandok is the native
name for the Mouse-Deer Tragulus. These Flying
Lemurs are extraordinarily tenacious of life, not only
enduring long periods of starvation, but resisting all
but the most violent methods of killing ; none the less
they do not endure captivity well.
Ptilocercus lowi, the Pen-tailed Shrew, was first found
in Borneo, and was for long regarded as peculiar
to that island ; it has, however, turned up recently
a tree, holding the young one between it and the trunk, when,
owing to its speckled green-grey colouring, it was very difficult
to see. All I have opened had the stomach full of chewed-up
leaves, but I fed one on bananas, which it ate readily. — H. N. R.
24 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
in Bali and the Malay Peninsula. It is a little grey
Tree-Shrew with a long, slender tail, naked except for
some stiff white hairs at the end, arranged like the
vane of a feather. It is a rare animal, and I was
never fortunate enough to see it alive. It lives in
hollow trees, but stray specimens find their way into
houses ; the first specimen ever found was taken in
Sir Hugh Low's bungalow at Labuan, and a friend of
mine brought me one that had jumped out of a cup-
board in his house at Seyu, in Sarawak. The latter
specimen was seized by a dog, which, however, almost
immediately dropped the Shrew and shook his head
violently, as if to rid himself of a disagreeable odour
or taste. It is probable that all of the Shrew tribe are
distasteful creatures. There are several species of little
Ground-Shrews of the genus Crocidura found in Borneo,
and, like the English Shrew, their dead bodies are often
found lying on paths and roads. Natives, who are close
enough observers of nature, but are not good at finding
the causes of things, assert that it is death to a Shrew to
cross a road. The true explanation is that predatory
animals [including the small Owls (Scops) — C. H.] kill
Shrews but do not devour them ; those that are left in
the scrub or jungle are never found, but those that
are dropped on paths are easily seen.
The commonest Insectivores in Borneo are the Tree-
Shrews of the genus Tupaia, which have long excited
interest on account of the great resemblance that some
of the species bear, in their colouring [and move-
ments— C. H.] , to certain species of Squirrels.
The following table shows in a succinct manner the
general similarity in coloration between the principal
species of Borneari Tree-Shrews and some Squirrels : —
MAMMALS 25
Tupaia ferruginea j Unicolorous above, rufous-yellow below.
Sciurus notatus J Low country.
Tupaia minor | Unicolorous above, underside pale, tails long
Sciurus jentinki J and thin. Low country.
Tupaia gracilis }
Sciurus tennis | A similar Pair to the above. Low country.
Tupaia montana \ Unicolorous, rufous-brown above, paler below.
Sciurus everetti Mountains.
Funambulus laticaudatus is very similar in colour though a little
paler ventrally ; the snout is markedly elongate, and so some-
what resembles that of a Tupaia.
Tupaia tana | strf d dorsall
Funambulus insigms dtversus }
Tupaia ficta and T. dorsalis also have dorsal stripes, but in none
of the Tree- Shrews is the striping so well marked as in the
squirrel.
The local correspondence in these resemblances is
especially noteworthy. Thus, on Mt. Penrisen Sciurus
everetti replaces the common low-country species S.
notatus, and the very similar Tupaia montana is found
there instead of T. ferruginea of the lowlands.
This segregation in given localities of similarly coloured
species, belonging to two very different orders of mam-
mals, is evidence enough that the resemblances are not
fortuitous, but it is by no means easy to explain them
satisfactorily, It has been suggested that these facts
must be classed under the heading, Aggressive Mimicry,
it being supposed that the insectivorous Tree-Shrews, by
their mimicry of the harmless vegetarian Squirrels, are
enabled to approach more easily their unsuspecting prey.
There are a great many difficulties in the way of accept-
ing this view. In the first place it is by no means
certain that the species of Tupaia feed very largely on
26 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
insects ; they certainly feed to some extent on fruit.
Mr. H. N. Ridley J has seen in Singapore a Tupaia
ferruginea capture and drag off into the jungle a large
Bull- Frog, Calhila pulchra ; presumably the Shrew cap-
tured the frog in order to eat it, and this in spite of
the fact that Callula pulchra exudes a sticky substance
from the back when irritated. Even if insects were the
staple form of the Tree-Shrew's diet, there is no reason
to suppose that any insects are endowed with sufficient
intelligence to appreciate the differences or resemblances
existing between any two groups of mammals ; the mere
approach of any mammal, bird or reptile, is enough to
scare away a palatable insect from its resting-place, a
fruit-eating Squirrel acting quite as efficiently in this
respect as a Tupaia. In other words, the disguise of
the Tupaia — if disguise it be — has not been gained for
the purpose of deceiving creatures so low in the scale
of creation as insects. For my own part, I believe that
if we are to regard these resemblances as mimetic, the
advantages of the mimetic association are on the side
of the Squirrels ; that is to say, it is the Squirrel which
mimics the Tupaia, not the Tupaia the Squirrel. A
Squirrel is a toothsome morsel, as any one can find
out for himself : a Tupaia is just the opposite, as I
and one or two other naturalists have found out by
actual experiment. If the tastes of the animals which
prey on such small deer as Squirrels at all coincide
with those of man, I can well imagine that an animal
which had once killed and eaten a Tupaia would not
desire to repeat the experiment unless hard-pressed by
hunger, and if a few Squirrels out of some hundreds
escape on account of their resemblance to Tree-Shrews
1 Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 45-(i9o6), p. 279.
MAMMALS 27
the object of the mimicry is attained. The Squirrels
are much more abundant than the Tree-Shrews, and
this complicates the problem still further, for in mimetic
associations it is almost invariably found that the dis-
tasteful, or so-called protected form, is very much more
abundant than the mimicking form.
The distastefulness of the Insectivora reaches its
culminating point in Gymnura rafflesii, an animal of
about the size of a rabbit, but resembling more than any-
thing else a big white rat with a long, pointed snout.
The body is clothed with a scanty white fur, but the tail
is nearly naked : some varieties are blotched with black.
It is a somewhat repulsive-looking creature, and it
possesses a most disagreeable acrid odour, which makes
it an unpleasant captive to keep anywhere near a house.
The conspicuous appearance of the animal — and there
is nothing more conspicuous in the jungle than dead
white — is correlated with the distasteful odour. This
is a pretty general rule in the animal kingdom, and
many other examples of it will be noticed in the course
of this work. It can readily be understood that if an
animal is possessed of an odour or taste disagreeable
to its possible enemies, it is of the utmost importance
that these properties should be sufficiently advertised,
otherwise there is grave danger that the foe will not
discover them until their possessor has fallen a victim
to the onslaught The suitable name of "warning
colours " has therefore been applied to the various
devices whereby certain animals attract attention to
their dangerous or distasteful properties.
The Felidce are represented in Borneo by six species.
The largest of these is the Clouded Leopard, Felis
nebulosa. Its beautiful skin and the canine teeth are
28 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
so much in demand by Dayaks, Kayans, and other
tribes that few specimens ever find their way into
museums. The skin is made up into war-coats and
the teeth are worn in the ears by chiefs, a large hole
being punched in the upper part of the conch for the
reception of these remarkable ornaments. The Clouded
Leopard spends much of its life in trees, and, unlike its
congeners the Tiger and Panther of the Malay Peninsula,
is somewhat timid and retiring, and has never been
known to attack man.
Owing to the absence of ferocious Carnivores, camp-
ing out in Borneo is not attended with the anxiety about
their attacks which travellers in the Malay Peninsula or
Sumatra must feel. In the Land-Dayak village of Singgi,
Upper Sarawak, a Tiger's skull is preserved in the chief's
house, and is regarded as a very potent charm, ensuring
the prosperity of the village. The late Mr. A. H. Everett,
the naturalist who did so much to make known the
fauna of Borneo, tried very hard to examine this skull
more closely, but he was not allowed to do so. The
skull is of an unknown antiquity ; there is, however,
no evidence to show that it once belonged to a Tiger
indigenous in Borneo.
Felis bengalensis is the commonest Cat in Sarawak,
and it wreaks havoc amongst native hen-coops ; the
kittens are the most beautiful little creatures imaginable,
with their fluffy fur and bright blue eyes ; there are
usually four young ones at a birth. Of F. planiceps
Dr, C. Hose records1 that " it is very fond of fruit,
and has constantly been known to dig up and eat the
potatoes which are grown by the natives of Borneo " ;
certainly a very remarkable habit for one of the cat
1 Mammals of Borneo, London, 1893, p. 20.
MAMMALS 29
family. F. badia is a very rare species of a handsome
chestnut-red colour ; it is peculiar to the island.
It may be mentioned here that the domestic Cat of
the Malays is quite a distinct variety, which, however,
on account of its ugliness, is never likely to become as
popular in cat-fancier circles as the beautiful Siamese
breed. It is a very small tabby with large ears and a
body so short and hind-legs so long that it altogether
lacks the sinuous grace which even the most mongrel
English Grimalkin exhibits. The tail is either an absurd
twisted knot or else very short and terminating in a
knob ; this knotting of the tail is caused by a natural
dislocation of the vertebrae so that they join on to
each other at all sorts of angles. A cross between
the Malay breed and an English Cat produces a hybrid
with a tail that has a slight kink in it, just two of the
vertebrae, perhaps, joining at an angle, and the kink in
the tail is one of the most important "points" of the
Siamese Cat — in fact, I doubt if a Siamese Cat with a
perfectly straight tail would take a first prize at a
Crystal Palace Show.1
The Musteline Carnivora are represented in Borneo
by a fair number of species. Mr. R. I. Pocock has
recently a published a very interesting memoir on the
coloration of these animals, and has shown in the
most convincing way that certain forms are protected
by nauseous odours or other distasteful properties,
1 H. O. Forbes, I think, exhibited a kink-tailed Malay Cat [Note 4,
p. 312], showing the cause of the phenomenon to be the|development
of wedge-shaped cartilages between the vertebrae of the tail. It
is said that these Cats are common in Portugal, whence perhaps
they were introduced into Malaya. A pure-bred Siamese Cat has
a straight tail ; a kink shows crossing with a Malay Cat.— H. N. R.
a P.Z.S., 1908, pp. 944-59.
30 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
which are advertised by conspicuous markings. The
most familiar example is the Skunk of North America,
which advertises from afar its appalling odour by its
large white tail borne aloft like a banner. Rivals of
the Skunk in malodorous properties are the species of
Mydaus, a Malayan genus. M. meliceps, the Bornean
representative, is very rare, but its congener, M.
javanensis, is quite common in Java, and another
form is not uncommon in the Natuna Islands. Mr. E.
Hose, who collected in the Natunas, told me that
his native hunters flatly refused to skin the specimens
that he shot, on account of the revolting odour, and
Mr. Hose was therefore obliged to skin the animals
himself, but he had to pay for his zeal with much
nausea and vomiting.
The Bornean, Javan, and Natuna Islands forms of
Mydaus are all darkly coloured animals, striped or
otherwise conspicuously marked on the back or
head with white — a type of coloration which Mr.
Pocock shows to be highly characteristic of distasteful
Mustelines. In Java Mydaus is mimicked by a non-
distasteful Musteline, Helictis orientalis, which is striped
with white just like its repulsive model. In Borneo,
however, the only species of Helictis occurring in the
island, H. everetti, is a cryptically coloured animal,
that does not mimic the Mydaus at all. For some
reason which can only be guessed at, the Bornean
Mydaus is exceedingly rare, whereas the Javan species
is fairly abundant. It is quite obvious that if a
distasteful species is not dominant, a mimic of it is
less likely to acquire immunity from attack than the
mimic of an abundant species, and it is also plain
that if a distasteful warningly coloured species be-
MAMMALS 31
comes extinct its mimic runs grave danger of becom-
ing extinct too ; for its conspicuous livery is now
a signal of palatable qualities instead of being associ-
ated in the minds of its enemies with the nauseous
properties of the extinct model. It is therefore in the
highest degree probable that the rarity of Mydaus
meliceps accounts for the fact that it is not mimicked
by the Helictis, as is M. javanensis. Evidently Mydaus
meliceps has a great struggle to maintain its position,
if it is not actually on the verge of extinction, and
on account of its rarity its conspicuous colouring
cannot be a very familiar object to the creatures that
prey on small Carnivora — in fact, to put it crudely,
the Mydaus in Borneo is a poor model to copy. The
fact that a highly distasteful form is extremely rare
in one island and is comparatively abundant in another
is very instructive, for it shows that unpalatability is
not necessarily a complete protection. The numbers
of the Bornean Mydaus may perhaps be kept down
by parasitic worms, or it may be peculiarly susceptible
to certain bacterial diseases from which the Javan
form is free.1 These are mere speculations, but it is
well to realize that an animal, which naturalists call
" protected " by nauseous properties, may have hosts
of enemies entirely indifferent to these properties.
The Bornean Stoat, Putorius nudipes, is rusty-red
1 Dr. Hose writes : " Mydaus is found in Borneo where the land
has been cultivated, and but seldom in the dense forest. It makes
burrows in the earth and feeds to a great extent upon worms. It
would be impossible for it to get worms in the net-work of roots
in the forest. In the hilly cultivated districts of the interior
where the old jungle has been completely cleared it is not
uncommon." — E. B. P.
32 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
in colour with a white head ; it is, like its European
relatives, a ferocious little creature.
There are two species of Mongoose in Borneo, but
neither of them is as docile as the Indian species,
and weeks of captivity do not soften their naturally
savage disposition. A number of native stories have
collected round the Malayan Mongoose, but all of
them are quite unfit for publication.
Cynogale bennetti is a most peculiar mammal, super-
ficially resembling an Otter. It is clothed in a thick
brown fur, grizzled on the head and fore-quarters ;
long stout whiskers spring from the lips and cheeks,
and the muzzle is broad and heavy. The tail is short
and the feet are webbed. It is found in swampy
places, and on the banks of rivers ; it can swim well,
but, according to Dr. Hose, will climb trees when
pursued. On account of its peculiar odour, resembling
that of newly cut rice ears, the Malays name it " Padi
bharu" ("new rice").
Nearly all the Viverrine Carnivora of Borneo make
good pets, for they are practically omnivorous and
flourish well in captivity on a diet of fruit. All the
species are arboreal, and their dexterity in climbing
is very wonderful, seeing that they are not endowed
with fully prehensile tails nor, as a rule, with grasping
feet. Arctictis binturong, the Bear-Cat or Binturong,
does, however, possess a prehensile tail : this animal
and the Scaly Manis enjoy the proud distinction of
being the only non-Marsupial mammals in the Old World
that are thus fully endowed [Note 5, p. 313]. The Bintu-
rong is black in colour grizzled with rufous-grey, the ears
are tufted and the tail is very long. When the animal
is young the grip of the tail is sufficiently powerful
MAMMALS 33
to sustain the weight of the suspended body, but with
advancing years and increase of weight the Binturong
cannot remain long suspended by the tail alone.
Another adaptation for tree-climbing is exhibited by
the hind-feet ; these are capable of such freedom of
movement at the ankle-joint that their soles can be
turned inwards until they face each other. When a
Binturong descends a branch of a tree, it does so
head foremost, firmly gripping the branch with the
widely spread hind-legs, the soles of the feet closely
pressed to the bark : it can rest quite comfortably in
this attitude, and even raise the fore-part of the body
away from the branch. In walking along more slender
boughs great use is made of the tail, which is wound
round the support. Two young are brought forth in
some hollow tree, and the little creatures when weaned
make the most delightful pets, playing together like
kittens, and uttering all the time the most absurd
querulous squeaks.
Of the two Bornean Palm-Civets or Munsang [in
Dayak, Musang in Malay — C. H., H. N. R.]; one, Para-
doxurus leucomystax, is rather uncommon ; the other, P.
hermaphroditus, is extremely abundant and is a great
nuisance to fruit-growers and keepers of poultry. Both
Macaques and Munsangs are very fond of ripe coffee-
berries and do much damage in plantations. The planter,
however, gets a bit of his own back, for the animals
cannot digest more than the soft pulp surrounding the
hard kernel or u berry " of the coffee-fruit ; consequently
the berries are passed entire and uninjured, and are care-
fully collected. As only the ripest and best fruit is
selected by the monkeys and Munsangs for their meal,
the dejecta are regarded as of first-rate quality and fetch
4
34 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
a good price in the market — a fact which is mercifully
concealed from the British consumer. Though without
the prehensile tail, the Munsang is an adept at climbing
and moving about in trees. A captive specimen of mine
could walk along a stout wire stretched between two
posts, turn round in the middle and walk back to the
starting-point ; in this balancing feat the tail was waved
from side to side and served to maintain the equili-
brium. Both species of Paradoxurm have at times rather
a disagreeable odour, proceeding from the secretion of
glands under the tail.
Closely allied to the Mimsangs is Hemlgale hardwickci ;
it is fawn-coloured with broad transverse bands of
chestnut-brown, which give the animal a conspicuous
appearance when removed from its natural haunts. In
its own surroundings, however, the alternate dark and
light bands serve to break up the outline of the body
and so render it almost invisible ; the striping of the
zebra has exactly the same effect.
I have no personal acquaintance with any other of
the Viverridce, and will therefore pass on to the little
Malayan Honey-Bear, Ursus malayanus. This is one of
the smallest members of the bear-tribe ; when standing
upright on its hind-legs it does not attain five feet in
height. The hair is short and sleek, black in colour
except for a large cream-coloured patch like a torque
on the throat. The torque is hidden when the Bear
walks on all-fours, but is very conspicuous in the erect
attitude which he adopts when at bay, and Mr. Pocock
has suggested that this patch of colour is of the nature
of a warning signal to foes ; this is a bold attempt to
account for a very peculiar type of marking that un-
doubtedly must have some significance. When driven
MAMMALS 35
to bay by dogs, the Bear becomes very bewildered and
backs up against the trunk of a tree, shielding its head
and neck with the fore-paws, and occasionally striking
out at its enemies : then woe betide the dog that is
within reach, for one slash with the powerful hooked
claws will disembowel it.
The Bear feeds very largely on the honey of wild bees.
There are three species of Apis in Borneo, and all of
them construct single combs which are suspended from
the branches of trees, and these must afford a succulent
feast for Bruin. Far more abundant, however, are the
little stingless bees of the genus Melipona, which make
their nests in hollow trees. The combs in which the
dark and rather bitter honey is stored are not made up
of beautifully symmetrical hexagonal cells like those of
the honey-bee, nor are they in the form of flat sheets,
but they are irregular masses of little urn-like cells
adhering to the walls of the nest or rising in shapeless
piles from its base. The entrance to such a nest, or
hive, is often a mere slit in the hollow trunk, and if the
slit or passage is too large the bees partially close it up
with a resinous sort of wax, and frequently build out
in addition a porch or even a tunnel of the same
substance, in order to prevent rain from entering. The
Bear can, of course, easily pull to pieces the fragile
defences built by the bees, and if the slit in the tree-
trunk is wide enough to admit a paw, the contents of
the hive are soon scooped out and devoured. But
sometimes the entrance is too narrow, and the grooves
scored in the wood and bark around it show that Bruin
has been frustrated in his attempts at stealing a meal.
Dr. Hose tells me that the Malayan Bear also feeds
on Termites ; the strong claws are certainly very suitable
36 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
for pulling the nests to pieces, but otherwise the creature
shows no modification of structure adapted to this diet,
as do the Ant-Eaters and the Scaly Manis. Perhaps it is
the enormously distended queen Termite which is the
dainty sought by the Bear. In captivity this animal
flourishes on fruit, and no doubt in a wild state this is
also a regular item in a very catholic menu. When
young, Malayan Bears are amusing and docile pets, but
as they grow older they are apt to grow vicious and,
on account of their strength, dangerous. When irritated
the adult utters a loud bark.
The great order Rodcntia is well represented in Borneo
by sixteen species of Squirrels, twelve species of Rats,
and three species of Porcupines.
The beautiful Flying Squirrels of the genera Petaurista
and Sciuropterus are not very common ; the most
abundant species is Petaurista nitida. It measures about
1 8 inches in body-length and the tail is equally long ;
the colour of the fur is a rich maroon-chestnut above,
becoming almost black on the spine and paler on
the belly. In Petaurista a flap of skin extends from the
outer border of each fore-limb along the sides of the
body on to the hind-limbs ; the flaps are somewhat
triangular in shape, being broader in front than behind.
From the outermost wrist-bones springs a stout, curved,
cartilaginous spur, which is embedded in the front edge
of the parachute skin-flap and serves to stiffen it ; the
bones of the arm are long and very slender. The car-
tilaginous spur is capable of a certain amount of
movement, for when the Squirrel is not taking a para-
chute flight it lies almost in a line with the bones of the
fore-arm, but when the parachute is spread it projects
at almost a right angle to the wrist, thus drawing the
R. Shell orcl </t'/.
Skeleton of right fore-arm of the Flying Squirrel, Pctaurista uitula,
showing the curved cartilaginous spur which supports the front
edge of the parachute-like skin-flap. Natural size.
Plate VI.
To face p. 36.
MAMMALS 37
membrane taut and giving it a considerable outward
extension and support. There is no membrane between
the hind-legs, so that the tail is quite free, nor is there
any skin-flap extending from the sides of the neck on
to the inner border of the fore-legs. This animal is
quite as good a flyer as Galeopithecus, but I have not
seen the little Sciuropteri fly at all, though they have all
the apparatus for so doing. The tail in Sciuropterus is
very broad, owing to the long hairs standing out on
each side of the vertebras at a right angle, and the tail
looks rather like a beautiful soft feather. When these
little Squirrels go to sleep they roll up like a Dormouse,
and the broad feathery tail curls up over the face and
top of the head as far as the nape of the neck.
Rhithrosciurus macrotis is a magnificent species found
only in Borneo ; it is chestnut-brown in colour with
an enormous bushy grey tail and long pencils of hair
springing from the tips of the ears. The Dwarf Squirrels
of the genus Nannosciurus are pretty little creatures.
Mr. H. N. Ridley has seen N. exilis, a species which
occurs both in Borneo and Singapore, catching and
eating winged Termites as they emerged from the nest
to take their nuptial flight ; surely a very curious habit
for an animal belonging to a family regarded as strictly
frugivorous.1
All but two of the Bornean Rats belong to the world-
wide genus Mus. One of the commonest species about
Kuching is Mus ephippium ; it rarely conies into houses,
but lives in burrows in clay banks or else frequents
undergrowths and bushes. The common house Rat is
1 The flight of the winged Termites is a great event in the animal
year. I have in Ceylon seen a dog eating them greedily, and am
told that cats do the same.— G. B. L.
38 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Mm neglectus, a form of the widely distributed Mits
rattus.
Mus sabanns is a large rufous Rat with white belly ; it
is generally found in caves, especially such as are formed
in limestone cliffs and are frequented by the Swift,
Collocalia, which constructs the edible nests so beloved
by the Chinese.
The common Porcupine of the country is Hystrix
cmssispinis. It does considerable damage in pine-apple
plantations, and specimens which have fed on this
luscious fruit are remarkably good to eat. The Porcu-
pine is easily tamed and thrives in captivity. A pet
specimen of mine escaped from its cage one brilliant
moonlight night, and strolled in a leisurely manner
across the lawn in front of my house ; my two dogs,
on catching sight of the animal, hastened out with the
intention of worrying it, but the Porcupine proved to
be quite capable of taking care of itself, and the sub-
sequent proceedings were amusing to watch. The
Porcupine would run full tilt for several yards with the
dogs in hot pursuit, then it would halt suddenly and
run backwards, elevating all its quills and producing a
loud rattling noise with its tail. Sundry yelps from the
dogs showed that they found the Porcupine a very
awkward customer to tackle ; they could not seize it
by the throat, for it was always too quick for them,
either turning the hind part of the body towards its
assailants or else dashing away at full speed. Eventually
I drove the dogs off and rescued the Porcupine from
the encounter, which, however, it seemed to enjoy as
much as the dogs.
The rattling noise which the Porcupine makes is
produced by means of a very simple mechanism.
The tail (H. c.) of the common Bornean Porcupine, Hystrix crassispinis, show-
ing the modified quills, enlarged at a, which make the rattling noise.
Tail (T. 1.) of 'quill-less Porcupine, Trichys lipurr., showing the scaly covering
and the fine terminal quills, enlarged at b.
Plate VII.
To fa:e p.
MAMMALS 39
Amongst the ordinary sharply pointed, stiff quills on
the tail are a number of peculiarly modified quills ;
their stalks are very slender, but they expand at the apex
into a thin-walled and hollow cylinder open at the top.
When the tail is violently agitated these hollow cylinders
wag to and fro on their slender stalks, and bang against
each other and against the stiff tail quills, thus pro-
ducing a loud rattling noise. The well-known black and
white quills, that cover the Porcupine's body, serve to
make the animal very conspicuous, and as the quills are
really quite formidable weapons, being sharp and strong
and capable of penetrating the skin of an enemy such
as a carnivore, it seems likely that both the colouring
of the Porcupine and the rattling noise produced by the
tail are warning signals, comparable with the white
bushy tail of the Skunk and the rattle of the Rattle-Snake.
In the embryo Porcupine the developing quills are
arranged in longitudinal rows, so that a striped appear-
ance is produced — a character, be it noted, of the young
of many mammals.
The curious quill-less Porcupine, Trichys lipura, is pecu-
liar to Borneo. The following account of this animal
is quoted from Hose's Mammals of Borneo (p. 61) :
" All the upper and lateral parts of the body are densely
covered with flat flexible bristles of moderate length,
grooved on the upper as well as the lower surface.
Underfur very scantily represented by fine woolly hairs ;
and on the rump some long hair-like bristles project
beyond the flat ones. . . . The general tint of the upper
parts of the animal is brown, each spine being white
at the base, and brown towards the point. On the
sides the brown colour gradually passes into the white
of the lower parts." An adult measures in body-length
40 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
from 15 to 17 inches and the tail is about 8 inches
long. At the extreme base the tail is furnished with
spines, but throughout nearly "the whole of its
length it is covered with rhombic scales of relatively
large size, and arranged regularly in oblique series or
rings. A short fine hair . . . starts from the base of
each scale and lies closely adpressed to its median line,
giving to the scale the appearance of being keeled (like
the scale of a snake). Towards the end of the tail the
hairs become longer, and the terminal quills are much
elongated, 2-3 inches long, and compressed with a
shallow groove, like blades of grass, only much narrower,
and form a thin bundle. The majority are truncate at
their extremity and hollow." These quills may be
regarded as homologous with the peculiarly modified
caudal quills of other Porcupines, but their structure
shows that no rattling noise can be produced by them
when the tail is shaken. Curiously enough, adult speci-
mens are sometimes found without any tail at all, and
for some time it was supposed that there were two
species of Trichys in Borneo, a tailed species and a
tailless one. Dr. Hose, however, procured a tailless
female accompanied by her young one, which was
furnished with a fully developed and normal tail. This
proved beyond reasonable doubt that there was only one
species of Trichys in Borneo, but what has never yet
been satisfactorily explained is the reason of the dis-
appearance of the tail in certain individuals.1 Can this
Porcupine shed its tail, when seized by that appendage,
as do so many lizards ? This question has yet to be
1 Dr. Hose writes : " The tailless specimens of Trichys I have
noticed in nearly every case are females, and I am inclined to think
that the tails are often bitten off when chased by the males."— E, B. P.
MAMMALS 41
settled. The loss of the tail may be related to the
very remarkable thinness and delicacy of the skin of
the body. In dead specimens the skin tears almost as
easily as tissue paper, and it is not easy to prepare good
museum specimens. The Trichys lives in burrows, and
is largely a nocturnal animal.
The Ungulata are but poorly represented in Borneo
and the noblest of them all, the Elephant, occurs in
British North Borneo only, and there in very small
numbers. These are probably the descendants of a
small herd presented long ago to the Sultan of Brunei
by a Sultan of some Malay State. Tradition has it
that the Sultan of Brunei soon tired of his expensive
present, and turned all the animals adrift into the
jungle. That the Elephant was once truly indigenous
in Borneo is, however, proved by the discovery in a
limestone cave at Ban, in Upper Sarawak, of a semi-
fossilized fragment of an Elephant's molar, but it
must have been long since this species ceased to
range the Bornean jungles, for not one of the native
tribes have any word in their language for Elephant
other than the Malay name Gajah, nor is there any
tradition of such animals having existed in Sarawak.
The Rhinoceros, R. sumatrensis,1 is still extant, but
it seems to be confined to the mountainous regions in
the far interior of the island, and I do not suppose
that more than half a dozen specimens have been
sent to European museums. The horn is much prized
by the Chinese for medicinal purposes, but the other
parts of the animal, having no commercial value, are
not brought down by the inland natives to the bazaars
1 Common in British North Borneo. ,1 passed four in one
trip.— H. N. R.
42 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
of the river towns and Government stations. In many
books it is stated that 'R. sondaicus also occurs in
Borneo, but I do not know what authority there is
for this statement.
Three species of Wild Boar are now distinguished
from Borneo ; the commonest is Sus barbatus, and so
far as I know the habits of all the species are very
similar. The gregarious instinct of the Wild Boar is
well marked. At times great droves of them pass
from one part of the country to another ; hundreds
may be seen for a day or two trotting through the
jungle, and when they come to a river they plunge
into it without hesitation and swim across to the
other side.1 The non-Islamic tribes of Borneo hail
with joy these migrations, and slaughter the beasts
wholesale. Driving them on to some point of land
projecting into the river, the hunters spear or shoot
the Boars as they emerge from the jungle and plunge
into the water. The cause of these migrations is
obscure ; perhaps they are due to a failure of food-
supply in certain tracts of the country, but it has
also been suggested that an outbreak of swine-fever
or some allied epidemic drives the animals to seek in
haste some non-infected area. That wild swine are
1 It has been asserted, though with how much truth I cannot
say, that the domestic pig, when forced to take to the water, cuts
its throat in the act of swimming, the hoofs of the fore-legs slashing
the fat jowl until some large blood-vessel is severed. If this be
true of the domestic pig, it is certainly not true of the wild species,
for they swim admirably. — R. S.
The statement is certainly not true of the domestic pig, as I
know from experience. The mistake was corrected by A. R.
Wallace in Geographical Distribution of Animals, 1876, vol. I., p. 13.
— H. N. R.
MAMMALS 43
subject to periodic devastating epidemics is a fact
that becomes patent to any one who has occasion to
travel about much in the country; moreover, such
epidemics are frequently communicated to the domestic
pigs belonging to native tribes.
The following incident, illustrating the gregarious
instinct of wild swine, is vouched for by one of the
most trustworthy naturalists of my acquaintance, Mr.
Ernest Hose, who was an actual eye-witness of the
scene. Hearing one day in the jungle, close to his
house at Santubong, a tremendous noise of wild pigs
grunting, snorting, and squealing, he ran out to see
what was the reason of it, and presently came on a
large Python that had seized a young pig and was endea-
vouring to crush it. The snake was surrounded by
a number of full-grown swine, which were goring it
with their tusks and trampling on it; so resolute was
their attack that the Python was compelled to relin-
quish its hold of the loudly protesting young pig,
when the herd, catching sight of Mr. Hose, hastily
made off, the young one, apparently little the worse
for its adventure, trotting away with its companions.
Mr. Hose examined the snake, and found it to be so
slashed and mangled that it was unable to crawl away
from the scene of battle.
In old jungle not uncommonly may be found areas
in which the ground appears trampled and the under-
growth broken and tossed on one side ; these are
the resting-grounds of Wild Boars or places where a
sow has given birth to her young. The unwary
traveller who sits down in one of these spots has
soon plentiful occasion to rue his lack of experience,
for they literally swarm with ticks and other parasites
44 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
of the swine. The dancing- grounds of the Argus
Pheasant present a very similar appearance, but are
a good deal smaller.
The young of Sus vernicosus are striped with rusty-
red, but the stripes disappear as soon as the young
are old enough to look after themselves. In the
young pig the upper lip on each side is deeply
notched to accommodate the tushes which, however,
have not yet made their appearance. This is an in-
teresting point, for we must suppose that the notching
of the lip was originally brought about by the hyper-
trophy of the tushes, whereas the notches now ante-
date their original cause by several months. An
argument more favourable to Lamarckism could not
well be found.
The Mouse-Deer, or Plandok, of which there are
two species in Borneo, Tragulus napu and T. javanicus,
is the hero of many native beast stories which bear
the closest resemblance to the " Brer Rabbit" tales
of the American negro. Just as Brer Rabbit outwits
animals stronger than himself, such, as the Wolf and
Fox, but in turn is outwitted by animals weaker than
himself, such as the Tortoise, so does the Plandok gull
the Deer, the Pig, and the Bear, and is deceived by the
Tortoise and the Hermit-crab. Anthropologists can
quote scores of such parallels in folk-lore, existing
amongst widely sundered races, and attention will be
called to one or two in a later chapter of this book.
Of the instance quoted above only this need be said :
The Brer Rabbit stories originated in West Africa,
where there is an indigenous species of Hare; through
the channel of slavery the stories were carried to
North America, and the characters, though not the
|
<u OH
MAMMALS 45
lotif, of the stories became somewhat altered to
suit the change in the fauna.1 The Malayan stories
undoubtedly owe nothing to the West African negro,
for there can be no community of descent in the two
races ; they must have been independently evolved.
It is legitimate to suppose that the two sets of native
races, the West African and the Malayan, impressed
by the fact that such defenceless creatures as the Hare
and the Mouse-Deer could flourish amidst far more
powerful animals, sought to account for it by attri-
buting to the weaklings a superior intelligence and
cunning, and their belief has been enshrined in these
folk-tales. It is true that the upper canine teeth of
the male Plandok are long and sharp, and severe cuts
can be inflicted by them, the head being moved
rapidly with a curious sideways action, but on the
whole the Plandok is a very defenceless creature, and
trusts to its remarkable speed to elude its enemies
rather than stand on its defence.
The other Deer of the island are the Barking Deer, or
Kijang, Cervulus muntjac, and the Rusa, Cervus equinus.
The antlers of the Rusa are rather small, and make but
poor trophies when compared with those of the Sam-
1 It is interesting to note that one of the Brer Rabbit stories has
been transplanted to Europe, and in the process has become greatly
changed to suit, not a difference of fauna, but a different moral
code. The Hare and Tortoise story has been told to many an
English child in order to inculcate the maxim " Slow and sure wins
the day." The Hare, too confident of victory, lies down to sleep
after running a short distance, and the plodding Tortoise arrives
first at the winning-post. Readers of the incomparable " Uncle
Remus" need not be told that the tortoise defeats Brer Rabbit by
pure guile and deceit, and the story is the reverse of moral accord-
ing to English ideas. The Hermit-crab employs exactly the same
deceit against the Plandok.
46 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
bur and Red Deer ; they have only six points. A very
curious abnormality of the antlers has twice been found
in Borneo. The tines are expanded into curious spatu-
late processes and the shafts are much thickened. A
specimen now in the British Museum of Natural His-
tory, was picked up in the jungle by a native. It
would be interesting to know if this remarkable vari-
ation is correlated with abnormality of the sexual
organs.
The tear-pits of the Deer are called " night-eyes " by
the Malays, who believe that the animals see with them
in the dark. The young Deer are sometimes, but not
invariably, spotted, and a melanic variety is also known
to occur in the damp forests of Mt. Dulit, in the
Baram district of Sarawak.
The Wild Ox, or Tembadau, elsewhere known as the
Banteng, Bibos sondaicus, is not abundant ; it is found
in the north and in the interior of the island. The
well-known Water-Buffalo, Bos bubalus, has been
domesticated by the inhabitants of the northern parts
of Borneo, and is quite a familiar object of the
country-side. Two or three herds have run wild at
the mouth of the Baram River, and have afforded
exciting sport to not a few of the Sarawak Govern-
ment officials.
Dugongs, Porpoises, and even Whales have been
found in Sarawak waters. Of the three or four species
of Porpoise, the most remarkable is Sotalia bomcensis,
known only from three specimens, all taken close to
the mouth of the Sarawak River. In life this is a beau-
tiful creature about 7 feet long, with a pure white
glossy skin marbled with grey spots on the back.
When the skin is bruised it turns red, and when dried
MAMMALS 47
changes to a dark mahogany colour. On the forehead
is a large globular swelling, cartilaginous in its frame-
work, with fat or blubber in the interstices.
A large Rorqual, or Fin-back Whale, apparently to
be identified with Balcvnoptera schlegelii,1 was once
stranded on the Sarawak coast near Lundu. It was
over 60 feet in length, and its vast putrefying carcase
supplied food to Dayaks, wild pigs, Crocodiles, and
Monitor Lizards for some weeks. The gathering together
of the bones, their transport, and the subsequent
mounting of the skeleton, taxed the resources of the
Museum and the ingenuity of its curator to the utter-
most, but finis coronal opus, and the mounted skeleton
is still displayed in the grounds of the Sarawak
Museum, a never-failing source of wonder to up-country
natives.
The Edentates have but a single representative in
Borneo, namely the Scaly Ant-Eater, Mauls javanica,
the Tengiling of the Malays. The body and tail above
are covered with large imbricated scales, and the tail
is prehensile. With its strong claws the Manis can
excavate and rip to pieces the nests of Termites, on
which insects, together with ants, it feeds. As in the
Ant-Eaters of South America, the jaws, mouth, and
tongue are all highly modified for this particular diet.
The Manis makes a docile pet, but it is difficult to
obtain sufficient suitable food. In proportion to its
size, the strength of the animal is prodigious ; a live
specimen was brought to me late one evening, and I
placed it temporarily in a small packing-case with a
large slab of stone as lid, but in the course of the
1 Generally considered now to be a mere variety of, if not actually
identical with, Balccnoptera physalus.
48 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
night my prisoner succeeded in prising off the stone
and escaped. When the animal is molested it curls
itself up into a tight ball in order to protect the scale-
less and vulnerable under-surface of the body, and it
is well-nigh impossible to pull it out straight, so great
is its muscular strength. If imprisoned in a space
sufficiently confined to hinder it from curling up, the
Manis strongly arches its back and exerts such a pres-
sure on the roof of its prison that this, if not most
strongly secured, bursts open. More than one observer
has seen this species " swarm " up tree-trunks, the
strong claws getting a good hold of the bark. My
Chinese assistant in Sarawak saw a Manis hurl itself
from a tree and, curled up in a semicircle, fall on its
back ; it seemed to be none the worse for its fall, and,
rolling on to its feet, walked off.
This chapter may close with a pleasing Malay story
of the ingenuity of this animal. When the Manis can
find no ants' or Termites' nests, it lies down in the
jungle curled up and pretends to be dead. Those
universal scavengers the ants flock in hundreds to feast
on the supposed corpse, and as the edges of the
Manis's scales are slightly raised owing to its curled-
up position, the ants swarm underneath them in order
to attack the soft skin. When the Manis considers
that it has collected sufficient numbers of the ants, the
corpse comes to life again, straightens itself out, and
in so doing shuts down the scales and imprisons the
ants. It then trots off to the nearest pool of water
or stream, into which it plunges and arches its back,
thus raising the scales again. The ants float off on to
the surface of the water and are licked up with the
long slender tongue.
CHAPTER II
BIRD-NOTES
IT is popularly supposed in England that nearly all
the birds of the tropical regions are brilliantly coloured
and either most unmelodious in their cries or else
entirely silent. It is certainly true that during the
heat of the day the jungle is a silent place, and it is
equally certain that the harsh shrieking of the gorgeous
Macaw and the metallic note of the brightly coloured
Barbet are anything but pleasing to the human ear.
However, it is never safe to generalize from insufficient
evidence, and further inquiry reveals the fact that in
any tropical area the number of dull-coloured, soberly
clad birds exceeds the number of brilliant species,
while every tropical land can boast its songsters which
rival, if they do not excel, those of the temperate
regions.
In Borneo the Dayak omen-bird, Nan dak, Cittocinda
suavis, is a frequently heard and a most melodious
song-bird ; the Magpie-Robin, Copsychus saularis, also
sings sweetly ; the melody of the Bulbuls is far-famed.
The song of the Crested Bulbul, Trachycomus cristatus,
a species occurring in gardens and along the river-
banks of Sarawak, is, in my humble opinion, quite
unrivalled ; it is a richly bubbling, gurgling melody,
5 49
50 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
poured out in an almost unceasing flow for several
minutes ; instinct with a gladsome vitality, it infects the
sympathetic listener and vividly suggests the luxuriant
wealth of tropical life.
Copsychus saularis is one of the commonest Bornean
birds ; it frequents the lawns and shrubberies of gar-
dens, and is as familiar to the English exile as the
House-Sparrow is to his stay-at-home fellow country-
man. It is a black-and-white species, about as large
as a Blackbird, to which it is more nearly related than
it is to the Robin. In the evening this bird used to
assemble in small numbers on the gravel path outside
my house, and the males would indulge in what I can
only call singing contests. One or two would begin
the performance by spreading out the wings and tail
and depressing them, so that they touched the ground ;
the head was raised and thrown back, and in this pos-
ture the birds would scuttle about the path singing
loudly all the time ; then they would stop and two or
three others would repeat the manoeuvre. I never saw
any hen-birds in these assemblages of males, which
apparently indulge in the contests out of sheer exuber-
ance of spirits, and not with the idea of attracting the
females.
Mr. F. M. Chapman, in his Camps and Cruises of an
Ornithologist^ records of the Prairie-Cock of Nebraska
displays and fights of the male birds which are un-
witnessed by the hens, and, if my memory serves me,
Mr. Edmund Selous has observed much the same thing
of the European Blackcock. Mr. Chapman writes :
" Probably we may regard these exhibitions as the
uncontrollable manifestations of that physical energy
which in animals reaches its extreme developmen
BIRD-NOTES 51
during the mating season," and this, I believe, is the
correct explanation. No doubt the birds will behave
in the same way when actually courting the females —
in fact, Mr. H. N. Ridley's description1 of the courting
performances of Copsychus saularis tallies pretty closely
with the above account of the males' singing contests —
but it is clear that the presence of the female is not the
only stimulus required to call forth these " manifestations
of physical energy." Mr. Ridley remarks (pp. 83, 84) further
of C. saularis that it is "a most useful insect-destroyer,
attacking and devouring even large caterpillars. I once
saw one pecking at an unfortunate young mouse, which
had apparently been somehow washed out of its nest by
a heavy storm of rain. On another occasion I saw one
furiously attack a squirrel (Nanosciurus exilis) which
was climbing on a tree and knock it off the branch
to the ground. Again the squirrel attempted to climb
up, and again it was struck to the ground ; even then
the Murai pursued it till it fled to refuge in the bushes,
still pursued by the bird."
Another bird, whose note soon became familiar to
me, was the common Night-Jar of the country, Capri'
mulgus macrurus. On bright moonlight nights these
birds love to settle on roads and paths and utter their
single monotonous note, "tok, tok, tok"; the sound
may aptly be compared to the noise made by a stone skip-
ping along a sheet of ice, and this comparison by some
strange reflex saved me from the irritability which so
many Europeans display when on some stifling tropical
night the bird strikes up its monotone within their hear-
ing ; to me the sound recalled cold days at home, the
ring of skates on ice, frost-bound earth and water, and
1 Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 31 (1898), p. 84.
52 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
the mere thought of such things was soothing. I never
heard this species utter the jarring "churr" of the
English Night-Jar.1 It is singular that in many parts
of the world sinister habits are attributed to the Night-
Jar. In England the bird has been accused of sucking
the udders of cattle and goats, as its alternative name,
the Goat-Sucker, signifies. The more Rabelaisian fancy
of the Malay charges the bird with attacks on human
beings, which for modesty's sake I dare not specify
further.
That curious bird, the Frog-Mouth, Batrachostomus
auritus, is also a member of the Night-Jar family, but
is much more uncommon than Caprimulgus macrurus,
and is never seen near towns or human habitations.
The nest is a curious structure, being a thick circular
pad of fine down closely matted together and firmly
attached to the slender branch of some shrub or small
tree ; a single egg is laid. The egg by its weight soon
forms a small depression in the pad of down, but at
first there is no such depression, and it is never deep
enough to hold the egg securely. It is difficult to
understand how the egg is kept in position ; the slightest
oscillation of the branch on which the nest is made
would suffice to throw the egg to the ground, if the
mother-bird were not incubating it. I am inclined to
suppose that a very small quantity of some albuminous
or glutinous substance may help to hold the egg in
its precarious position. This may seem a far-fetched
suggestion, but it is quite certain that the down com-
posing the nest is felted together with some glutinous
substance secreted by the bird, and the under-surface
of the nest is stuck fast to the bough on which it is
1 It does do so in the breeding season for a short time. — H. N. R.
Nest and egg of the Bornean Frog-Mouth, Batrachostomns anritns.
(From a photograph taken by J. C. Moulton in the Sarawak
Museum, Kuching.)
Plate IX.
To face p. 52.
BIRD-NOTES 53
built up by the same secretion ; a slight excess of the
secretion would serve very well to fasten the egg to
the upper layer of down [Note 6, p. 314].
The Frog-Mouth, when incubating her egg, rests in
the characteristic Night-Jar attitude, along and not across
the branch bearing the nest. It is interesting to note
that Caprimulgi are closely related to the Swifts, one
species of which, the Edible-nest Swift, Collocalia
fuciphaga, constructs its white nest entirely of a muci-
laginous substance secreted by the salivary glands.
Some of the nests contain a few embedded feathers,
whilst in others (e.g. Collocalia lowi) the proportion is
so great that the nests are useless from a gastronomic
point of view [Note 7, p. 314].
The nest of the Crested Swift, Macropteryx contains,
is a tiny cup of feathers and down closely cemented
together with mucin, and the single pure white egg,
which measures 20 millimeters by 15, fits accurately
into it. The nest itself is attached to some slender
twig at the top of a lofty tree, and in a stiff breeze it
must be jerked to and fro to a considerable extent,
exposing the egg to not a little danger when the
mother is not actually protecting it with her body.
Here again I would venture to suggest that the egg
is partially secured in position by an excess of the
mucilaginous matter with which the substance of the
nest is cemented together.
In the bird-realm there are few more remarkable nests
than that made by Arachnothera longirostris, a member
of the Sunbird family. The species of this genus have
long and slender bills, and they live on spiders and
insects which they extract from flowers, crevices in the
bark of trees, and other hiding-places ; the bill un-
54 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
doubtedly plays no small part in the construction or
the nest. I have seen but two examples of the nest of
A. longirostris, and both of them are in the Sarawak
Museum ; the curator of the Museum, my friend Mr.
J. C. Moulton, kindly lent me one of the specimens, from
which Mr. Edwin Wilson made the two beautiful draw-
ings shown on the opposite Plate. The nest is attached
to the under surface of a large leaf,1 and at first sight
appears to be composed entirely of skeleton leaves, but
a closer examination shows that these are merely the
covering of the nest proper, which is a hemispherical
cup of interwoven fibres, apparently the mid-ribs of
leaves ; it is slung by silken threads to the leaf which
supports it, there being a space of less than an inch
between the rim of the nest and the under surface of
the leaf, just room enough to let the bird creep in.
These suspensory threads, which are taken from a
spider's web, are passed through holes made in the leaf
by the bird's bill and the ends twisted up into knots
to prevent slipping. The nest proper is covered over
with skeleton leaves, the covering extending much
beyond the confines of the nest, so that the whole
structure appears to be a roughly oval mass. These
skeleton leaves are also secured by transverse lashings
of spider silk passing through the supporting leaf and
knotted at each end. At one end and at the sides of
the structure the skeleton leaves are lashed down tightly,
but at the other end their attachment is looser, and this
marks the entrance to the nest ; the mother-bird here
can creep under the protective covering of skeleton
leaves and so into the nest proper. On the upper surface
1 The other specimen in the Sarawak Museum is attached to
the under side of a banana-leaf.
The nest of Arachnotlicra longirostris, one of the Sunbirds, seen from the under
side. The entrance is at the upper end of the figure. On the left hand is
seen the upper surface of the leaf from which the nest is hung, showing the
knotted ends of the suspensory threads. (From a drawing by Edwin
Wilson of a specimen from the Sarawak Museum. The figure is about f of
the natural si/,e.)
Plate X.
To face p. 54.
BIRD-NOTES 55
of the supporting leaf are visible in a double row^the
knotted ends of the silk threads which sling the nest
and serve to keep in position the skeleton leaves. A
nest such as this is not only pretty secure from observa-
tion but is well protected from snakes, those inveterate
destroyers of birds' eggs; moreover, the protective
covering of skeleton leaves keeps the nest from swinging
about, and there is no danger of the eggs being thrown
out, however violently the leaf to which the nest is
attached may wave in the breeze.
Mr. Ridley (loc. cit., p. 87) describes the nest of
another Sunbird, Arachnothera modesta, as "made of
skeletons of leaves and fibres and bast, apparently from
the lining of a squirrel's nest, and bark, between two
leaves of these plants \Heliconia]t which had been
pegged together by bits of stick, by some person." I
have little doubt in my own mind that the "person"
who pegged the leaves together was the bird which
built the nest.
Mr. Ridley also describes (p. 86) the nest of another
Sunbird, Anthothreptcs malacccnsis : " It makes a hanging
nest on the end of a bough, about six inches long, of
bark fibres and nests of caterpillars, and lined with
feathers. The nest is pear-shaped with a hole at the
side, and a kind of little eave is thrown out over it
to keep the rain from getting into the nest." I do not
exactly know what " caterpillars' nests " J are, unless
by this term the writer means the large communal
cocoons woven of silk and attached to tree-trunks by
the larvae of a Noctuid moth belonging to the genus
Hyblcea ; there is also a Pyralid moth which has
1 They were large communal webs like those of Clisiocampa made
over bushes.-— H. N. R.
56 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
much the same habit, and as these cocoons do not
contain any of the urticating hairs which render the
cocoons of some moths most unpleasant, if not
dangerous, to handle, they might doubtless prove
extremely suitable for nest-building.
To Mr. Ridley we are also indebted for an interest-
ing observation on the habits of the Racket-Tailed
Drongo, Dissemurus platyurus.1 This bird has often
been seen in some numbers accompanying a troop
of the common Macaque, Macacus cynoinolgus, as it
wends its way through the tree-tops in the jungle.
So familiar is the sight to Malays that they have
nicknamed the bird "the slave of the K'ra." The
reason of the habit is this : the monkeys as they move
through the trees disturb all sorts of insects, such as
grasshoppers, mantises, and moths, and the Drongos
snap them up as they fly into the air away from the
monkeys. It is therefore the monkeys which serve
the Drongos by flushing the insects, and it is not the
Drongos who slave for the monkeys.2 The Drongo
is mimicked by a cuckoo, Surniculus lugubris, which
deposits its egg in the nest of its model. It need
not be supposed that the sole object of this mimicry
is to enable the cuckoo to approach unnoticed the
nest of the Drongo ; it is far more probable that the
1 Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 35 (IQOI), p, 105.
2 The Malay is a good observer of Nature, but he generally comes
to grief when attempting to give reasons for the phenomena which
he has witnessed. The relations existing between the Drongos and
monkeys is a case in point ; another may be quoted here. The
habit which certain fossorial wasps exhibit of storing their nests
with caterpillars is well known to the Malay, but he accounts for it
by naively supposing that the wasps, being childless, steal and
adopt the children of more fortunate insects.
BIRD-NOTES 57
cuckoo, on account of its resemblance to a bold,
gregarious bird, escapes the attacks of hawks and
other birds of prey. Drongos are quite capable of
looking after themselves, and will mob a hawk without
the slightest fear or hesitation.
That very remarkable Passerine bird, Pityriasis
gymnocephala, is found in Borneo alone. Unfortu-
nately very little is known about its habits, and, in
spite of the efforts of the three men who, more than
any one else, have made known to science the avifauna
of Borneo, viz., the late Alfred Everett, the late John
Whitehead, and Dr. Charles Hose, the nest of this
species still remains undiscovered. My predecessor
at the Sarawak Museum, the late Edward Bartlett,
by a lucky accident discovered what the egg was like ;
he shot a female, whose oviduct contained all ready
to be laid a large, pale blue egg, spotted with brown ;
the shattered fragment is still preserved in the Sarawak
Museum, and is the only " document " relating to the
breeding habits of the bird that we possess. That
Pityriasis has more or less gregarious habits is shown
by the fact that the call of a wounded individual
attracts all the others that are anywhere within hear-
ing, and the distressed bird is soon surrounded by a
flock of his friends, uttering their harsh cries and
fluttering their wings in anger at the enemy.
The bird, which is about the size of a Jackdaw,
owes both its generic and specific names to the
peculiar head-covering, or lack of covering, of the
adult. The head is bald save for a clothing of peculiar
yellow scurf-like scales ; so much does the head look
as if it was affected by a skin -disease, that the name
of one, Pityriasis, has been employed for the generic
58 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
term. The plumage is black, except for a red
ruff round the neck ; the sexes are similar. The
fully fledged young birds differ from the adults in
having the crown of the head covered with red
feathers like those round the neck, but after the
first year these are shed and replaced by the scurfy
scales.
Bald-headedness in birds is uncommon and most
difficult to explain. The naked head and neck of the
Vulture are adaptations to a scavenger's life ; we may
even stretch a point and similarly account for the
bald cranium of the Adjutant Bird, though one might
have supposed that the long beak would keep the
head out of reach of the sullying offal on which this
bird feeds. But why should the insectivorous or
frugivorous Pityriasis and Allocotops calvus, one of
the Mountain-Babblers of Borneo, be bald ? The
latter species has no feathers, not even scurf on the
top of its head ; the bare skin is dull yellow in colour
and the female is as bald as the male. Sexual adorn-
ment, though it would be strange to apply the term
adornment to baldness and scurfiness, evidently cannot
be invoked, and the phenomenon remains a mystery.
The hypothesis that baldness in these birds is now
a normal condition, originally derived from a
pathological condition, is so wildly fascinating that
it must be repulsed as one of the wiles of the Evil
One.
The exact systematic position of Pityriasis amongst
the Passeres is very uncertain. Some ornithologists
have regarded it as a sort of Shrike, others, as related
to the Starlings, whilst I always thought that it had a
very Crow-like appearance. Mr. Pycraft, however, our
BIKD-NOTES 59
greatest authority on bird-anatomy, places it amongst
the Shrikes, in the Family GymnathidaJ
The nesting habits of the Hornbills are very remark-
able, and though they have been studied by more
than one naturalist, there is much that still remains
to be discovered. The nest is always built in a
hollow tree, and it is essential that the cavity should
communicate with the exterior by means of a slit or
hole. Very often the hollows in trees are the result
of the ravages of Termites, and it is no uncommon
thing to find a Hornbill's nest built on the top of a
Termites' nest. If the slit, whereby the hollow com-
municates with the outer world, is not at exactly the
right elevation — and this must happen very often —
the hollow has to be filled up from the bottom with
sticks and other vegetable detritus until the pile reaches
such a height that the hen-bird when sitting on it
can thrust her bill through the slit. On the top of
the pile of decayed wood and sticks is a thin stratum
of feathers, evidently plucked from her own body by
the hen-bird.
The next stage in the building process is the wall-
ing-up of the hen-bird by the male. The sides of the
orifice leading into the hollow of the tree are plastered
with a peculiar substance, apparently secreted by the
bird, until merely a long and very narrow slit is left,
up and down which the beak of the imprisoned female
can move. I have examined some of the material used
by Buceros rhinoceros to seal up the opening to the
nest ; it was quite hard, but rather friable on the sur-
face, and was made up of woody particles in a matrix
1 See Dr. Hose's note on this species in The Ibis (6 Ser.), V. (1893),
PP- 393-94-— E. B. P.
60 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
which dissolved after a prolonged soaking. It looks
as if the Hornbills swallowed fragments of wood, and
then regurgitated them in a comminuted condition,
together with a copious secretion of either salivary or
proventricular glands; but this is a point that requires
further investigation.
Until the nestlings are from two to three weeks old
the female is kept a close prisoner, and is fed by
the male with fruit, seeds, insects, and parts of frogs
and lizards ; each portion of food is enclosed in a
membrane of rubber-like consistency, a product of the
proventricular glands ; from this it is clear that the
male, when foraging for his mate, swallows the food
destined for her and regurgitates it in the form of these
membrane-enclosed pellets. While feeding the female,
the male clings to the bark of the tree, or sits on a
branch if conveniently near, and jerks the pellets into
the gaping beak of the hen as it protrudes from the
slit ; two to four pellets are said to form a meal.
When the female is biting the food some fragments
of it are apt to fall to the ground ; any seeds which
these fragments may contain take root, germinate, and
sprout, and expert natives can approximately judge,
not only the date of incubation by the age of the
seedlings, but also the number of years during which
the Hornbills have nested in the same tree. Generally
when the nestlings are two to three weeks old, but
perhaps later, the hen-bird leaves the nest, breaking
down with her beak the woody plaster until she can
effect her exit, after which the orifice is closed up as
before, and both parents now devote themselves to
feeding their young, until they are old enough to be
released. This sealing-up of the mother and young
BIRD-NOTES 61
affords splendid protection against the attacks of snakes,
monkeys, and predaceous arboreal Carnivora, such as
Arctogale} Heiuigale, Paradoxurns, etc.
One pair of Hornbills will use the same tree as a
nesting-place for many years in succession, and, seeing
what difficulty there must be in finding a suitable
site, and what labour goes to the perfecting of it, this
constancy to locality is no matter for surprise. One,
two, or three eggs are laid ; the egg of Buceros rhino-
ceros is white, closely mottled with brown, giving it
a pepper-and-salt appearance ; that of Anthracoceros
malayanus is pure white. The young nestlings are
hideous, naked squabs with protuberant abdomens and
loose, wrinkled skin. The pygidium, which is that part
of a bird's anatomy known colloquially as the " Pope's
nose," is turned upwards and forwards, thus conceal-
ing the oil-gland. The feet are relatively very large ;
their soles and the prominent "heels" (junction of
tibia and metatarsus) are densely covered with granular
scales. It is chiefly on the heels that the young nest-
ling rests, and not on the plantar surface of the feet,
as erroneously shown in Wallace's Malay Archipelago.1
Even in a six weeks' old nestling the feathers merely
show as small points just pushing through the skin,
and it is not till the ninth or tenth week after hatch-
ing that the nestlings present a decently clad appear-
ance.
In spite of their repulsive appearance, Dayaks will
eat the young nestlings raw. The native method of
catching the female during incubation is ingenious,
though decidedly brutal. The tree is scaled, the en-
trance to the nest is broken open, and the frightened
1 Vol. I., p. 212 of the original (1869) edition,
62 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
bird flutters up the hollow trunk of the tree, but is igno-
miniously brought down by means of a thorny stick,
which is thrust after her and twisted about until a
firm grip in her plumage and flesh is obtained.
Dr. Hose witnessed an interesting incident in Horn-
bill life on Mt. Dulit, and I retail it here in his own
words : " Espying on a tree the external signs of a
Hornbill's nest, and a male Buceros rhinoceros perched
close by, I shot the male, and while waiting for my
Dyak collectors to make a ladder up the tree to secure
the female, I observed several young male birds fly to
the nest and assiduously ply the bereaved widow with
food, a fact which seems to indicate a competition ... as
severe as that among human beings.''1
Hornbills are interesting and amusing pets, for they
become exceedingly tame, and will follow their owner
about like a dog. They are extraordinarily adept at
catching food thrown to them, and Mr. Ridley2 records
of a captive Anthracoccros convexns that it would catch
the sparrows which flew through its cage, and, after
crushing them in its powerful beak, it would throw
them up into the air, catch them again, and swallow
them whole. In all except one species, Rhinoplax vigil,
the casques on the bills of these birds are hollow,
or rather partially filled with cancellated tissue, so
that they are quite light. In Buceros rhinoceros the
casque is brightly coloured, being orange and red ;
the pigment is situated in a layer of horny tissue
lying immediately under a thin outer transparent layer.
It has been observed that this species frequently
polishes up its beak by rubbing it against the oil-gland
' The Ibis (7 Ser.\ V. (1899), p. 549,
2 Journ. Roy. As. Soc, S. Br., No. 31 (1898), p, 78.
BIRD-NOTES 63
situated at the base of the pygidium, and after this
operation the colours of the beak appear brighter than
ever. This is simply due to the fact that the oiling of the
beak makes the outer layer more transparent, and con-
sequently the underlying pigment shows through more
distinctly. If the bird is not in a good state of health,
the oil-gland does not secrete properly, and the colours
of the beak become much duller. Some time after
death the outer horny layer becomes quite opaque and
the beak turns to a dirty white, but much of its pris-
tine beauty can be restored by the application of a
little vaseline or salad oil. Rhinoplax vigil has a small
but perfectly solid casque, and the beak of this species
is therefore a rather formidable weapon. The use or
purpose of the casque in the Hornbills is quite obscure :
as it is present in both males and females, it is not a
sexual adornment comparable with the tail of the Pea-
cock, and it does not add to the effectiveness of the
beak as a weapon or tool, owing to its extreme light-
ness, R. vigil of course being an exception.1
The Cuckoos are represented in Borneo by a number
of species, all but two of which are parasitic, laying
their eggs in the nests of other birds. The two species
which make their own nests are Carpococcyx radiatus
and Centropus sinensis. Nothing much appears to be
known of the habits2 or nest of the former species,
1 Dr. Hose kindly sends me the following note : " The casque
of Buceros rhinoceros is hollow except for a fine network inside, and
it has occurred to me that it might possibly affect in some way the
call of the bird, which makes a deep note resounding through the
jungle. Hornbills make holes in trees sometimes, and the heavy
bill with a casque attached would, it seems to me, be of some use
in so doing." — E. B. P.
a Dr. Hose informs me that Carpococcyx, like Centropus, frequents
64 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
which is distinctly rare, but the latter is one of the
commonest birds in the country. It is a large black
and rusty-brown coloured bird which frequents gardens
and any land that has been cleared of forest.
The native name for this Cuckoo, Bubut, is onoma-
topoeic, and the monotonous call is very often heard
in the places which the bird frequents — scrub and
waste land overgrown with long grass and Lantana
bushes. It feeds on all sorts of insects, even the most
obnoxious species, such as the " woolly bear " cater-
pillars of Lasiocampid moths, the hair of which will
produce sores on the human skin. Dayaks assert that
the excrement of the bird will remove the skin from
the hand, and even if this is an exaggeration it is
quite evident that Centropus must be blessed with an
intestinal canal of "triple brass."
There is an amusing folk-tale concerning this bird
and the Argus Pheasant, which runs as follows : Once
upon a time the Ruai (Argus Pheasant) and the
Bubut met together in the jungle and agreed to
disguise themselves with tatu marks, as their enemies
were over-plentiful and vigilant. The Bubut tatued
the Ruai in a very effective way, as the plumage of
the bird bears witness to this day, but the Ruai was
lazy and could not be bothered to tatu his friend in
return; so, crying out that his enemies were approach-
ing, he picked up the vessel containing the tatu-pigment,
poured it over the Bubut's head, and then hastily
decamped ; to this base treatment the Bubut owes its
peculiar colouring.
The nest is a large, untidy structure, of loosely
open spaces of cleared land, and is seldom met with in the
forest.— E. B. P.
BIRD-NOTES 65
woven " lalang " grass (Imperata cylindrica) ; it is
placed on the ground, and is well hidden amongst the
tall rank grass which furnishes the bird with its build-
ing material. The embryos, when nearly ready for
hatching out, and the young nestlings present a most
peculiar appearance, for they are clothed on the dorsal
surface with a mane of long white hairs which affords
a striking contrast to the inky-black skin ; the ventral
surface is naked, and on the chin and belly the skin
is whitish. These hairs in reality are the immensely
prolonged tips of the feather-sheaths, the feathers being
still incompletely developed and quite hidden under
the skin. Since these structures are not true hairs it
is better to apply to them the name of " trichoptiles."
In the nearly ripe embryo the trichoptiles are very
long and are directed backwards in a flowing mane,
but a few days after hatching out the mane becomes
very rumpled, and the tips of the trichoptiles are
broken off, no doubt as a result of the movements
of the young birds in their nest and of the brooding
of the mother-bird. The bodies of adult birds are not
uniformly clothed with feathers, even though at first
sight they may appear to be, but the feathers grow
in certain tracts, known as " pterylae," and the bare
unclothed spaces are known as "apteria." The shape
and arrangement of the pterylae and apteria are of
great importance for purposes of classification. Seeing
that the trichoptiles are merely the elongated tips of
the sheaths which enclose the definitive feathers, it
might be supposed that their distribution over the
body of the embryo and nestling would be strictly
prophetic of the arrangement of the feathers of the
adult bird; but this is not so, for the trichoptiles are
6
\
66 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
absent from the ventral surface of embryos and nest-
lings, and these parts are covered with feathers in the
adult. It is clear therefore that the ventral feather-
sheaths of the adult are not produced into trichoptiles,
and this is probably due to mechanical reasons. The
embryo lies in the egg in a curled-up position, the
head being bent over to cover the belly in part, and
consequently there is no room for a dense mane of
trichoptiles to develop, as on the back. Moreover, the
young nestling squirms about on its belly and chest,
and a trichoptilar covering of these parts would quickly
be worn off ; as it is, the dorsal mane soon becomes
sadly rumpled and abraded. It is reasonable to suppose
that ventral trichoptiles are not developed, because if so
they would be worn away on, or soon after, their first
appearance. As the nestling grows older the horny
feather-sheaths push through the skin ; those on the
dorsal surface are rufous with black bands, while the
ventral ones are cream-coloured ; the trichoptiles are
now very short, and before long they entirely disappear.
When finally the feather-sheaths are shed the young
Bubut appears in a livery of yellowish red, banded
with black, and it is a year before the adult colours
are assumed. The significance and purpose of the
trichoptiles is quite unknown to me ; they do not
serve to render the nestlings inconspicuous, quite the
reverse ; the nestlings, being buried in a deep nest
hidden in dense grass, are presumably independent of
adventitious aids to concealment ; and the fact that
the trichoptiles are far better developed in the embryo
than in the nestling seems to dispose of the suggestion
that their purpose is to aid the mother-bird in deter-
mining the exact position of her young, shrouded in
the obscurity of the nest.
BIRD-NOTES 67
The monotonous notes of the Cuckoos are quite a
family characteristic. There is one species, Caco-
inantis merulinus, which is suitably known as the Brain-
Fever Bird. It has the maddening habit of perching at
night in some tree or shrub close to a house, and there,
for hour after hour, at more or less irregular intervals,
it will whistle its monotonous call. This call is a
descending chromatic scale, and if this scale were
always of the same number of notes the monotony
could possibly be endured ; but it varies, sometimes
being of only three notes, sometimes of six or seven.
He who is trying to woo the sleep that is so elusive
on a hot, still night is compelled against his will to
listen and to count the varying notes of these oft-
repeated scales until he is driven to a frenzy, which may
culminate in a volley of boots and household articles
in the direction of the bush in which the maddening
songster is concealed.
Two other species, Hierococcyx fugax and the closely
similar H. nanus* frequenters of old jungle, whistle in
the twilight four notes, which Malays interpret as
"Abang Kantong," i.e. "elder brother Kantong." The
story goes that a cruel elder brother cut off the bird's
The author had not written the name of the Cuckoo he was
referring to. The following note by Dr. Hose makes it clear
that two species are involved, and I have altered the text in this
sense (E. B. P.) : " I know these birds by the native name Kong-ka-
put and Kapa-kapang, names which have been given from the note
of the bird. It is supposed to foretell a good fruit year. The fact is
that it feeds on insects on the blossoms and keeps up its monotonous
note while engaged in searching for its food. Hierococcyx fugax is the
species he probably means, and is the most common ; but H. nanus
is so like H. fugax that it is hardly possible to see any difference.
Their notes cannot be distinguished. — C. H."
68 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
leg, and ever since it has haunted the jungle calling
to its brother to restore the limb. I asked the Malay
who told me this tale if all these Cuckoos were one-
legged, to which he diplomatically replied that if his
story was true, then had the birds but one leg apiece.
Another familiar night-sound is the whistling hoot,
usually of two notes only, of the little Scops Owls ;
these pretty little creatures have been known to fly
into houses to catch the geckos which run about on
walls and ceilings in numbers. Malays consider the
appearance of one of these birds in the house as an
omen of approaching death.
For nearly three years I kept in captivity a specimen
of the owl, Photodilus badius. When first the bird came
into my possession the contour-feathers were white,
narrowly barred with brown, but as time went on its
plumage became darker and darker until the feathers
were all dark brown with narrow bands of reddish
brown. This change of colour was not effected by
moulting, that is to say, by new feathers replacing old
ones, but simply by the spreading of pigment along
the barbules of the original feathers, so that the narrow
dark bands of the young bird gradually encroached
on the white parts of the feathers. This Owl had at
least three distinct cries : a harsh scream, uttered when
the bird was hungry ; a sort of chuckling sound when
the food offered was seized, or when the bird was
tickled behind the ear ; and a noise like the loud
crack of a whip, made in moments of fright. I could
never discover how this cracking noise was produced ;
the beak was moved slightly but not sufficiently to
cause of itself the sound ; probably the tongue played
some part in the performance, but its action could not
The Bornean Owl, PJiotodilns badius. (Photographed
from life by the author, at Kuching.)
Plate XL
To face p. 69.
BIRD-NOTES 69
be seen. The power that the bird had of discerning
the approach of an enemy on the darkest of nights
was very remarkable, and I tested it frequently. At
this time I had also in captivity a young Palm-Civet,
and if I carried this pet in my arms towards the end
of the verandah of my house, where the Owl lived,
no matter how dark the night, I would hear the loud
cracking noise and great flutterings of wings, betoken-
ing violent efforts to escape, long before I could see
the bird myself. If I approached alone, the Owl, being
extremely tame, would show no signs of terror at all.
I feel sure that the Owl was actually able to see the
Palm-Civet, that it was not indebted only to its sense
of smell for the power of distinguishing its enemy in
the darkness, because if after handling the Civet-Cat
I went near the Owl the bird was quite at its
ease, though my hands and clothing must still have
borne distinct traces of the effluvium which these
mammals emit.
It interested me greatly to note the very important
part which the tongue of Photodilus badius plays in
the deglutition of food, and I have little doubt that
other birds of prey, both Hawks and Owls, put it
to the same use when swallowing their meal. The
tongue of Photodilus badius may be roughly described
as shaped like an arrow-head, the tip of the arrow
pointing forwards, the barbs pointing backwards. This
arrow-head is borne on a thick muscular stalk, the
attachment being midway between the barbs and the
point. The arrow-head is rather horny, and its upper
surface is roughened : it may be sensory, but I
doubt it.
No predatory bird munches or chews its food. If
70 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
the prey is small, it is bolted whole ; if large, pieces
are torn off it and swallowed. My Owl was fed mainly
on the carcases of birds, the skins of which went to
enrich the collections of the Sarawak Museum, and I
watched the way in which the food was devoured
many scores of times. If the food offered to the Owl
was the carcase of some small Passerine, it would be
held in the grasp of one foot while the Owl, bending
its head down, would peck at the food in a tentative
way ; then all of a sudden the carcase would be seized
in the beak, and the Owl, throwing its head up, would
jerk the food well back into the gape of the mandibles.
The pointed tip of the shell-pink tongue could now be
seen pushing out from under the carcase, and finally,
as the food was shaken further and further back into
the gape, the whole arrow-head part of the tongue would
appear projecting beyond the carcase. As soon as this
point in the proceedings was reached, the tip of the
arrow-head would be depressed and the barbs would
correspondingly rise, then with a powerful muscular
contraction of the tongue-stalk the whole tongue
would be withdrawn, carrying with it the mass of
food, against which the elevated arrow-barbs strongly
pressed. In fact, a tongue of this type is nothing
but an apparatus for hauling bulky masses of food
from the mouth down the throat. I expect it will be
found that this type of tongue is almost universal
amongst raptorial birds.
The end of my pet was a sad one. I had occasion
to be absent from Kuching for over a month, and
during this time the Owl was fed on lumps of meat
and bullock's liver. On my return the diet' of small
birds' carcases was resumed, but with fatal results, for
BIRD-NOTES 71
I found by autopsy that the gizzard had become — as
a result of an unnatural food — so soft and flaccid that
a bone of one of the ingested carcases had penetrated
its wall, and peritonitis had ensued. This case is
parallel with the classic one of John Hunter's Sea-Gull.
The Adjutant Bird is by no means so common in
Borneo as it is in some parts of India, where it serves
the useful purpose of general scavenger. The bird has
a very raffish and dissipated look, and one that lived in
captivity — or perhaps I should say under surveillance —
in the Museum compound was always alluded to by a
friend of mine as " that bird of yours which looks like
a drunken parson." The black and white plumage, the
bald head with sparse hair-like feathers on the back
of the neck and the fishy eye suggested the resemblance,
and when the bird stalked about the lawns in front of
my house, it bore certainly a comical resemblance to a
stooping old gentleman in a black tail-coat and white
shirt-front with his hands behind his back.
The Adjutant is a most voracious feeder and is
practically omnivorous. One day a Malay brought me
for the Museum collections a snake about 5 feet long,
but as there was already an abundance of examples of
this species in the Museum, I cut the newly acquired
specimen in two and gave one half to my Adjutant Bird,
the other to a Sea-Eagle which was at that time a guest
of mine. The Adjutant, after a few preliminary pecks
at the snake, seized one end of it, and, with a little
shaking of the head and prodigious gulpings, bolted
it whole ; the Sea-Eagle was still tearing at his moiety
of the snake twelve hours later. Adjutants soon attach
themselves to their human friends, and become so
tame that there is no need to confine them in
72 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
way. My specimen spent much time stalking over the
large grounds which surrounded the Museum, looking
for frogs, lizards, and such-like small deer. One day
an amusing rencontre between my Adjutant and a
small Malay boy was witnessed. A broad gravel path
leads across the Museum grounds, and along this at
noon was walking a Malay urchin, a string of fish
recently purchased for his parents' dinner dangling
from his hand. The Adjutant Bird spied these tasty
morsels and soon was alongside the little boy, making
vicious dabs with his huge, powerful beak at the fish ;
the urchin hastily plucked a fish from the string,
threw it from him as far as he could, and took to his
heels. It was the work of but a few moments for the
Adjutant to retrieve the jettisoned fish and take up the
pursuit again. Once more a fish was sacrificed, and
with the same result as before, and finally, when their
number was reduced to a scanty few, the unfortunate
infant flung all to his insatiable pursuer and burst into
tears. When the Adjutant Bird expects food to be
thrown to it, it squats down so that the entire length
of the metatarsi rests on the ground and then nods its
head up and down, uttering the while a continuous
harsh grating sound like a rusty saw cutting through
wood ; at other times it is a very silent bird.
Few birds exhibit a more remarkable adaptation of
structure to a specialized way of catching prey than
the Indian Darter, Plotus melanogaster. This species
was very common in North-East Sarawak at the
mouths of the Trusan and Limbang Rivers. The birds
could be seen perched in trees on the river-banks,
with the wings widely spread out and the long neck
bent near its base at an angle. The Darter feeds on
BIRD-NOTES 73
fish, which it captures by diving into the water and
bayoneting them with its long sharp beak. The edges
of the mandibles are finely serrated, so that the
struggling fish, after it has been freed from the
"spear-point," can be securely held. The head is very
small, not exceeding in circumference the thinnest
part of the neck, which tapers from the base. The
"kink" in the neck is due to a peculiar arrangement
of the vertebrae ; the eighth vertebra is articulated at
right angles with the seventh and almost at right
angles with the ninth. Powerful muscles pulling on
the vertebrae can temporarily increase or decrease the
angles at which this eighth vertebra is set in relation
to those in front of and behind it, and as the Darter
swims through the water in pursuit of a fish, the head
and neck are constantly being jerked backwards and
forwards, in a manner which has aptly been compared
to the action of a man poising a spear preparatory
to hurling it. When the Darter is sufficiently close to
its prey, the head is driven forwards with great rapidity
and the fish is impaled on the beak. The large
webbed feet enable the Darter to rush through the
water at a high rate of speed, and as the entire
plumage is very oily, the bird when in the water is
clothed with a pellicle of air shining like silver. The
feathers on the neck are quite minute and set very
closely together, so that they more resemble a furry
covering than anything else.
CHAPTER III
SNAKES
BORNEO, like other tropical countries, is a land abound-
ing in reptiles, and a newcomer is apt to scrutinize
with care the odd nooks and corners in his house
which he thinks likely places for the harbouring of
venomous serpents, or to tread delicately when first he
ventures into the jungle, lest he disturb some monster
Python or vicious Cobra. But a few months' experience
will soon teach him that his fears are groundless.
Snakes are not creatures that obtrude themselves on
the notice of mankind, and the idea that a poisonous
snake savagely attacks its human enemies or even stands
boldly on its own defence is for the most part quite
erroneous. Moreover, in a densely forested country like
Borneo snakes have innumerable hiding-places and are
never easy to find ; as will be seen later on, many species
spend much of their lives in trees, and to this fact may
be attributed the great rarity of cases of snake-bite in
the Malayan region. During a seven years' residence in
Borneo not half a dozen came under my notice. In
India, with its dense population, cases are common
enough, but I believe that a scrutiny of statistics would
reveal the fact that the majority of snake-bites occur in
74
SNAKES 75
those parts of the Empire in which there is comparatively
little dense forest.
The great majority of Born can snakes are harmless to
man. Excluding the Sea-Snakes, which are all extremely
poisonous, there are, out of a total of 113, only n
poisonous species ; or, including the Sea-Snakes, 24
out of a grand total of 125. The knowledge that only
a small proportion of snakes in any given locality is
poisonous affords small comfort to most people. In
some the mere sight of a snake inspires terror, in
others a Berserk desire to kill the noxious object, all
investigation of its dangerous or harmless properties
being postponed till the creature is dead. There can
be little doubt that this honor of snakes manifested by
all men is instinctive, and it is interesting to learn from
some experiments conducted in the Zoological Society's
Gardens by Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell and Mr. R. I.
Pocock1 that our nearest relatives in the animal king-
dom, the Primates, also show extreme terror when
confronted by snakes, even though these may not be
poisonous species. These observers, writing of the panic
shown by two Orangs, state : " Both ... are usually
extremely slow and deliberate in their movement, but as
soon as they got sight of a snake and long before it
was near them, they fled silently but with the utmost
rapidity, climbing as far out of reach as possible with
a ludicrous celerity." Chimpanzees, on seeing the snakes
brought near their cage, " fled backwards, uttering a low
note sounding like ' huh, huh/ They soon got more
excited and began to scream." Of all the Anthropoid
Apes the Gibbon showed the least alarm, and it is
suggested that these animals, being arboreal in their
1 P.Z.S., 1907, pp. 792-4.
76 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
habits, are brought less into contact with snakes, so that
their natural fear has been lost ; but it may be pointed
out that the Orang is almost as arboreal in its habits as
the Gibbon. Furthermore, a very large number of snakes
in the Malayan region are tree-dwellers. Baboons,
Macaques, Langurs, Spider-Monkeys, all showed ex-
treme fear at the sight of snakes, but Lemurs, the next
order to Primates, exhibited no fear at all, but instead,
interest and curiosity. Other animals, such as rodents,
ruminants, and birds, were quite indifferent to the
presence of snakes. Mr. H. N. Ridley,1 however,
obtained rather different results in some similar experi-
ments conducted on animals kept in captivity in the
Botanic Gardens, Singapore. He found the Orang
indifferent to snakes, but I believe that the specimen
was very young, and its horror perhaps had not
developed. "Common monkeys [i.e. Macaques] are
usually very excited, crowding together to look at it,
and chattering loudly. . . . The binturong, on bringing
a cobra near it, turned its face away as if in horror, but
really no doubt recognizing that its most vulnerable
portion was its face. The Water Mungoose, Herpestes
brachyurus, like the Indian Mungoose, bristles up its
fur and attacks and devours the snake. Some deer,
when a large python was brought past their paddock,
though at some distance, crowded together at the bars,
gazing at it and stamping their feet, evidently recognizing
it as a dangerous enemy." To these experiments I may
add that a small workshop attached to the Sarawak
Museum was freed in a day or two of a veritable plague
of Rats by a small Python that had found its way into
this happy hunting ground. The Python unfortunately
1 Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 32 (1899), p. 204.
SNAKES 77
did so much damage amongst the glassware stored in
the workshop that it had to be removed, and the Rats
soon made their reappearance. A stuffed specimen of a
large Python was then substituted for the living one, and
for a long time proved very effectual as a "scarecrow,"
but eventually the Rats overcame their terror of this
dummy and resumed possession of their old quarters.
A certain number of Bornean snakes have burrowing
habits ; such are the species belonging to the genera
Typhlops, CylindrophiSy Xenopeltis and Calamaria. These
snakes, though belonging to different families, yet present
a general similarity that is brought about by the burrow-
ing habit. The head is blunt, the eyes small, the body
is shining and quite smooth, thus offering little resistance
to the soil as the snakes bore their way underground ;
they are, moreover, of almost equal diameter throughout,
so that without careful examination it is difficult to tell
where the body ends and the tail begins. The species
of Typhlops are the most modified for burrowing ; they
are little, worm-like snakes that spend nearly all their
life underground or under stones, and nothing seems
to be known of their habits. Cylindrophis rufus is a
very common species ; it is black with a few white spots,
an orange collar, and the tip of the tail is marked with
red and is pointed ; the ventral surface is banded with
black and white. This snake is extraordinarily flexible ;
when handled it assumes every sort of shape from
cylindrical to nearly flat and ribbon-like, and this
power of altering its form enables it to squeeze through
extremely narrow clefts. A specimen that I kept alive
in a box half filled with clay and covered with a bell-
jar pressed down into the clay until the rim touched
the bottom of the box, burrowed into the clay and
78 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
eventually escaped by squeezing itself under the rim
of the bell-jar. When the snake is teased it assumes a
very characteristic attitude ; the head is more or less
concealed under coils of the body, but the tip of the
tail is raised in a threatening manner and bears a
rough resemblance to a head.1 In this attitude the
red colouring of the tail is displayed to the best ad-
vantage and, with the resemblance to a head, serves
no doubt to intimidate prospective enemies. The natives
of Sarawak aver that the snake has a head at each end
of the body and that a bite from either head is very
deadly ; I once demonstrated to a Malay the innocuous
character of this creature by opening its mouth and
forcing it to bite my finger, and showing him the tiny
teeth too small to inflict a wound on a moderately
thick skin, but I only drew from him the comment
that white men were certainly wonderful beings, for
they were immune to serpents' venom ! This species
does not, like Typhlops, live entirely underground, but
occasionally takes to water ; one specimen I found in
an old well, and its stomach contained an eel almost
as large as itself ; another example in the Sarawak
Museum was taken in the act of swallowing a Water-
Snake, Fordonia leucobalia. Another species of the same
genus, Cylindrophis lineatus, is very rare ; only three speci-
mens have been discovered, one in Singapore and two in
Sarawak ; it is characterized by two broad red lines
running along the back, and by a red head and tail-
tip. Xenopeltis unicolor is a beautiful iridescent snake ;
an adult specimen observed by Captain S. S. Flower2
used to twist itself, when annoyed, into an "irregular
1 Flower, P.Z.S., 1899, p. 656.
Ibid., p. 657.
SNAKES 79
pile of tight coils, except the tail, which was held on
one side, raised from the ground, and the tip kept
vibrating at a great speed."
Since the trees in the Bornean forests are even more
densely crowded with animal life than the floor of the
jungle itself, it is not surprising to find that some
snakes are driven to search for their prey in surround-
ings that we are not accustomed to associate with
limbless animals. Snakes can easily climb trees by
working their way up the trunks, their ventral scales
getting a good hold on the asperities in the bark, or
they insinuate themselves between the twisting stems of
the creepers which festoon most of the jungle trees,
forming rope ladders, of which they readily avail them-
selves. No doubt most kinds descend by the way up
which they climb, but three species have the power
of making a sort of parachute flight from a lofty eleva-
tion to a lower level. These three are Chrysopelca ornata,
C. chrysochlora, and Dendrophis pictus. To assert that
snakes can " fly " is bound to challenge criticism, if
not to provoke vigorous protests against wilful perver-
sion of the truth ; it will be well then to give in
some detail an account of the " flying " habit mani-
fested by Chrysopelea ornata. When I first arrived in
Sarawak I was entertained by some of the Kuching
residents with stories of the strange and wonderful
habits of the animals of the jungle ; many of the
stories were palpably manufactured with intent to
deceive the guileless newcomer, and the story of the
flying snakes was one that I inwardly put into this
category. When the Dayak hunter attached to the
Sarawak Museum brought in one day a dead specimen
of Chrysopelca ornata and remarked that he had seen
80 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
it fly out of a tree I paid little serious attention to
his statement. However, some weeks later the same
man brought in a specimen of Chrysopelea chrysochlora
and said that he had seen this also fly out of a tree.
On cross-examination I found that by "flying" he
meant to say that the snake shot out at an angle from
a tree and descended in an oblique line to the ground
with its body held quite straight. The matter seemed
now to be worthy of serious investigation, and I gave
instructions that the next specimen captured was to
be brought to me alive, and eventually a living
example of C. ornata was found. As soon as I
handled the snake I gained some idea of the means
whereby it could " fly." The scales along the belly
in snakes are broad plate-like structures, and in C.
ornata and also in C. chrysochlora each scale has a
hinge-line on either side, marked a in the adjoining
diagram. As the snake writhed about in my hands
I could feel that every now and then the ventral scales
by a forcible muscular contraction were drawn in-
wards, so that the snake became deeply concave along
all its under-surface. The scales moved inward on
their hinge-lines, and at the same time there was a
slight spreading out of the ribs. When the muscles
working the scales relaxed, the snake re-assumed its
ordinary cylindrical shape. The snake, in fact, may
be compared, when at rest, to a cylindrical piece of
bamboo ; when restive, to a cylinder of bamboo bisected
SNAKES 81
along its length, convex on one side, concave on the
opposite side. Now if a cylinder of bamboo and a
split length of bamboo of equal weight be dropped
from a height, the former will reach the ground before
the latter, provided that the latter be dropped with
the concave surface directed downwards, for by virtue
of its concave surface it will be buoyed up to a certain
extent ; now, it seemed to me that the same might be
the case with the " flying " snake. So I took the snake
up to the verandah of the Museum and threw it into
the air, but I was disappointed to see it fall in writh-
ing coils to the ground, which it hit with a distinct
thud. Then I allowed the snake merely to fall from
my hands to the ground, and after one or two false
starts eventually I felt it glide rapidly through my
hands, straightening itself out, and hollowing-in its
ventral surface as it moved ; this time it fell not in a
direct line to the ground but at an angle, the body
being kept rigid all the time. The height from which
the snake descended was not great enough for it to be
possible to determine with any accuracy whether the
snake fell more slowly than when it tumbled in
irregular coils, but this certainly appeared to be the
case, and there can be little doubt that the hinged
ventral scales of these snakes, enabling them to draw
the belly inwards, are a modification of structure render-
ing a parachute flight possible. Some years later I
gained an indirect confirmation of the "flight" of
snakes, for another Dayak hunter brought me a speci-
men of Dendrophis pictus, and asserted that he had seen
it "fly" down from a tree. On examining the snake
I found that this species also possessed hinged ventral
scales, and that it too had the power of hollowing-in
7
82 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
its ventral surface so as to become very concave. It
is interesting to find confirmation of the " flying " habit
in snakes from other observers. Captain Flower x reports
having seen a small specimen of Chrysopelea ornata
"take a flying leap, from an upstairs window, down-
ward and outward on to a branch of a tree and then
crawl away among the foliage. The distance it had
jumped was measured and found to be nearly 8 feet."
Mahon Daly,2 writing from Siam, says that he and a
Kareen interpreter " saw a snake, about i\ feet long,
sail from a very high tree on one side of the road to
a lower one the opposite side."
Chrysopelea ornata has a wide distribution, ranging
from India to the Malay Archipelago and Southern
China, and Mr. G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S., informs me
that more than once he has received specimens at the
British Museum from various parts of its range with
the note that the specimens had the reputation of
being able to " fly." More than one writer waxes very
enthusiastic over the agility and activity of this snake,
and it certainly is a very beautiful creature. It is
variable in colour, but the commonest variety is black
above, each scale with a round greenish-yellow spot
and a series of coral-red spots along the back — each
of these spots like a tiny four-petalled flower in shape ;
the ventral scales are green, edged with black. Its
congener, C. chrysochlora, is also a handsome species.
These snakes prey for the most part on tree-haunting
lizards, but one has been reported to have eaten a bat.
Green is a colour that, as might be expected, is
characteristic of tree-haunting snakes, and three
' P.Z.S., 1899, p. 684.
3 Journ. Bombay N.H. Soc., XII. (1898-99), p. 589.
SNAKES 83
common Sarawak species are of a very vivid green.
These are Coluber oxycephalus ; Dryophis prasinus, the
Whip-Snake ; and Lachesis wagleri, the Tree-Viper. The
first two of these belong to the great family Colubridce,
but to different sections of that family. The Colubridce
are divided into three sections — the Aglypha, the Opis-
thoglypha, and the Proteroglypha. The Aglypha are not
poisonous, and all the teeth are solid ; the Opisthoglypha
have the hinder teeth situated on that part of the
upper jaw known as the maxilla ; these teeth are
grooved, and some of the species are poisonous,
though their poison has seldom much effect on man.
The Proteroglypha are provided with a deadly poison,
and have the front teeth or fangs on the maxilla
grooved or perforated ; the ducts of the poison glands
lead to these fangs. Coluber oxycephalus is one of
the Aglypha, Dryophis prasinus one of the Opistho-
glypha, or suspected Colubrines, as the snakes
belonging to this section are sometimes called : the
Cobra is an example of a Proteroglyphous snake.
Coluber oxycephalus is found amongst herbage, in
bushes, or in trees. The body is bright grass-green,
but the tail is of a peculiar brownish colour, and as
there is no gradation from the one colour to the other
at the point of junction of tail and body, the snake has
a rather curious appearance. The Malays calls this
species " ular ikor mati," or the snake with the dead
tail ; the Sea-Dayaks say of it that if a man be bitten
by it when the moon is full he will take little or no
harm, but if bitten when the moon is new, then he
will certainly die. One specimen I found amongst
scrub growing on the sandy foreshore at the mouth of
the Trusan River in Northern Sarawak. In adaptation
84 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
to its surroundings this specimen was bright ochreous
except the tail, which was of the usual brown colour.
On bottling the specimen in formalin I was surprised
to see that the ochreous colour very soon turned into
the bright grass-green of the tree- and shrub-haunting
form. From this observation it is quite obvious that
this species has considerable powers of altering its
colour to suit its surroundings ; its usual habitat is
arboreal, and the green colour is the more primitive.
In response to a change of environment the snake can
alter its colouring, but sudden death destroys the
mechanism whereby this change is brought about, and
the snake in death reverts to the primitive colouring of
the species [Note 8, p. 314],
Another species of the same genus, Coluber tceniurus,
is found in limestone districts amongst rocks, and its
mottled colouring harmonizes wonderfully well with
the limestone and the lights and shadows produced
by overhanging foliage. Mr. H. N. Ridley obtained
specimens inside quite dark caves in the Malay Penin-
sula, and found them very much paler than specimens
caught outside the caves — in fact, almost white. These
cave-dwellers lived on the bats that thronged about
them. The two last-named species are then charac-
teristic protectively coloured snakes, but their congener,
C. melanurust though not a very conspicuous species,
does not rely so much on its resemblance to its sur-
roundings to protect it as on a very aggressive attitude
that it adopts when irritated. It is rather a savage
snake ; when it is teased it raises the front third of
the body just slightly off the ground, throws this part
into a series of S-shaped curves, and hisses threaten-
ingly. In this attitude the front part, at least, of the
SNAKES 85
animal, which has a series of prominent black markings
on the sides of the neck, looks very much larger than
it really is, and presenting a sort of dim resemblance
to the dilated hood of a Cobra, is sufficiently alarming.
Another Malayan species — though not occurring in
Borneo — C. radiatus, has the neck, according to Cap-
tain Flower, "apparently dilatable," but this observer
does not state whether this species sits up like a Cobra
when teased.
Dryophis prasinus is the most beautiful and graceful
creature imaginable; it is quite gentle, and is one of
the few snakes which Malays and Dayaks acknowledge
to be harmless, and they have little or no objection to
handling it. To see one of these snakes gliding
amongst foliage is to realize the meaning of the
phrase "poetry of motion." Often they may be seen
with the tail and part of the body twisted round a
branch, whilst the front third of the body is held out
almost straight, the head and neck slowly turning from
side to side ; and the sinuous grace of this posture
reveals the wonderful perfection of a serpent's mus-
cular development. The commonest variety of this
snake is grass-green in colour, but I have also met
with salmon-pink, pale brown, and speckled grey
forms. I do not know if these varieties are constant,
or if one form is capable of turning into another, as
in the case of Coluber oxycephalus. A nearly allied
species of Dryophist — D. mycterizans, from India, has the
reputation of being rather savage, and the Tamils and
Singhalese apply to it names which signify that it
strikes at the eyes of persons and cattle. Curiously
enough, this idea has received support from a European
observer who, when handling some specimens, was
86 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
bitten by one which darted at his eye ; * two punc-
tures were made by the snake on his eyelids, and a
tooth of the snake was found in one of the wounds.
Capt. F. Wall,2 a leading authority on the snakes of
India, relates that an Indian native bitten by a Dry-
ophis mycterizans had his hand and forearm greatly
swollen, and though there was no pain they felt
numb, and the swelling did not subside for about two
days ; so there can be no doubt that the secretion of
the salivary glands of this species possesses toxic pro-
perties. I have never known D. prasinus to bite, so
cannot say if it resembles its congener in the degree
of potency of its salivary secretion, but it is probable
that all the Opisthoglypha secrete poison which is
sufficient to paralyse their prey.
The third arboreal green species is the Tree-Viper,
Lachesis wagleri, a snake with a head like the ace of
spades in shape, a short tail, and a covering of small
scales. All the Viperidce are venomous, but L. wagleri
is not dangerous to man, and though the fangs are
rather formidable-looking the poison-gland is small.
Whilst in Sarawak I heard of one or two cases of
Viper-bite, but in no case was the bite followed by
death, or even by much pain and inconvenience.
Some varieties of the green Tree-Viper are ornamented
with narrow red bands, and the young (which are
brought forth alive) are always red-banded, yet these
red bands do not in the lights and shades of the forest
render the snakes conspicuous, but serve rather to
break up its outlines, cause the animal to merge into
its background.
1 Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, LXVII., Pt. II. (1898), pp. 66-7.
2 Journ. Bombay N.H. Soc., XVI. (1904 -5), p. 549.
II
The two Bornean Pythons, Python rettcnlatus, above, and P. cnrtus, below.
(Photographed from life by the author, at Kuching.)
Plate XII.
To fare p. 87.
SNAKES 87
Lachesis borneensis is a brown species, and is found
on the ground amongst decaying vegetation. A young
specimen that I captured was coiled up, and so closely
resembled a fungus that I nearly placed my hand on
it before I realized its true nature. All the Bornean
vipers are sluggish creatures, and trust to their protec-
tive coloration and to immobility to elude the obser-
vation of their enemies rather than to hasty flight.
They lie in wait for their prey ; and here again their
colouring plays an important part, for their victims
are as easily misled as are their enemies.
The snake which perhaps is more feared than any
other is the Python. There are two species in Borneo
— Python reticulatus, which is common and sometimes
attains enormous proportions, and Python curtus, a
much rarer form and considerably smaller. Tales of
the prodigious strength of these crushing snakes are
told by native and European alike, but a good dis-
count must generally be allowed for exaggeration.
Fables, too, have grown round these monsters, such
as the belief of the Dayaks that if the terminal bone
of the vertebral column be planted in the ground a
new snake will grow from it. Much virtue is attached
by the Chinese to the fat of the Python, which is re-
garded as a cure for rheumatism ; the excrement [solid
urine] also, which is dry and bright primrose-yellow in
colour, is considered- to be a very efficacious remedy
for many complaints. The popular belief that the
Pythons and also the Boa-Constrictors of the New
World, after crushing their prey into a shapeless mass,
plentifully beslaver it with their saliva in order to
make swallowing easier, is quite erroneous. The prey
is seized with a violent bite, and if it is small the
88 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
snake makes no attempt to surround it with coils of
its body, but if the prey is of large size, or if it
struggles violently, then it may be embraced in one
or more coils. When the victim is suffocated the
Python * " passes its head all round the prey, playing
over it with its forked tongue, and by some means
other than that of sight, as the choice is made equally
in the dark, perhaps by the sense of touch in the
muzzle or lips, selects the head of the carcase to begin
the process of swallowing." The amount that a
Python of over 20 feet long can swallow is some-
thing astounding. Mr. Ridley states that a specimen
measuring 22 feet in length that was brought to him
at the Botanic Gardens in Singapore contained the
remains of a deer, and I have seen a specimen of
1 8 feet in length which had just swallowed a large
pig ; in this example the middle of the body was
enormously distended, so that the skin was stretched
almost to bursting-point, and the scales, instead of
lying side by side and almost overlapping, were
situated quite far apart, and between them it was
possible to see the hairs of the pig through the skin
and stomach-wall of the snake. This power that
snakes have, of swallowing very large masses, is, as is
well known, due to the loose attachment of the
various bones by which the jaw apparatus is slung on
to the skull, permitting a wide gape to be made ; the
mandibles, or lower jaws, also are not fused in front
but the two halves are merely joined by elastic tissue.
The process whereby a Python swallows its meal has
been described as follows:2 "It gives a huge gulp
1 Mitchell and Pocock, P.Z.S., 1907, p. 786.
3 Ibid., p. 787.
SNAKES 89
and fixes its teeth as far back over the body [of its
prey] as is possible, and then slowly, in big wrinkles,
pushes a portion of its mouth and gullet forwards ;
then with another gulp gets its teeth fixed still a little
further on to the prey and repeats the forward bring-
ing up of the body, the general appearance of the
motion being similar to that of the progression of an
earthworm." The colouring of Python reticulatus strikes
a visitor to a museum as highly conspicuous, but as
a matter of fact the snake in its natural haunts in
jungle is difficult to see ; it is occasionally found
coiled up amongst the roots of some forest giant, but
when on the look-out for a meal is said to hang head
downwards along the trunk of a tree with its tail
coiled round a branch ; from this position it can make
a grab at any passing animal. Only two authentic
cases of men having been attacked by a Python have
ever come to my notice. One of these was a Land-
Dayak who was seized by the calf of the leg as he
was passing a tree down whose trunk hung a Python ;
a companion who was walking behind him chopped
off the head of the snake, but the man still bore the
scars of the Python's bite some years after.
The following is quoted from the Sarawak Gazette
of April 1891, p. 52 : —
"At Judan, a village some six miles from Muka, a man and his
son, aged from 10 to 12 years, were sleeping in their house, inside
a mosquito curtain. They were on the floor near the wall. In
the middle of the night the father was awakened by his son calling
out, the lamp was out and the father passed his hand over his son
but found nothing amiss, so he turned over and went to sleep again,
thinking the boy was dreaming. Shortly afterwards the child again
called out saying that a crocodile was taking him. This time the
90 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
father, thoroughly aroused, felt again and found that a snake had
closed his jaws on the boy's head ; he then prized open the reptile's
mouth and released the head of his son, but the beast drew the whole
of his body into the house and encircled the body of the father ;
he was rescued by the neighbours who were attracted by the cries
for help of the terrified couple. The snake when killed was found
to be about 15 feet long. The head and forehead of the boy are
encircled with punctured wounds produced by the python's
teeth."
A third instance of a Python attacking a man appeared
at the time to be authentic, but since my return to
England I have had reasons to doubt it. The story is
this : Two Malays who had been trading amongst the
Dayaks of the Samarahan River reported to head-
quarters in Kuching that, one evening whilst camping
on the river-bank, a companion went down to the
river to bathe ; shortly afterwards they heard his shrieks
for assistance, and running to the rescue, found him in
the coils of a huge Python ; they attacked the Python
with their chopping knives and eventually succeeded
in freeing their friend, but the snake escaped and its
victim, all his ribs and one arm being broken, shortly
expired ; in a tropical climate a corpse cannot be kept
for long, so they buried him. Their story was accepted
in good faith by the authorities. The late Colonel
Bingham, a well-known naturalist who had had a wide
experience as a forest officer in Burma, to whom I
retailed this story, told me that two similar reports
were made to district magistrates in Burma to account
for the disappearance of two natives. In each case the
magistrates, suspecting foul play, caused the bodies to
be exhumed, and it was found that the unfortunate
men had been murdered ; their , bodies had been
entwined with coils of rattan which were hauled
SNAKES 91
tighter and tighter by the murderers until life was
extinct. The murderers, contemplating an investiga-
tion into their crime, had chosen this method of com-
mitting it in the erroneous belief that the weals and
bruises made by the rattan thongs simulated the marks
made by a crushing snake, and that consequently the
authorities could be gulled into believing that the
murdered men had met their death in encounters with
Pythons. With this gruesome evidence before one, it
is permissible to regard the Sarawak Malays' story
with considerable doubt.
The poisonous land-snakes of Borneo are represented
by six Protcroglypha of the sub-family Elapince, and
by five Vipers. The Elapince include two very venomous
" Kraits," as they are called in India — the Banded
Krait, Bungarus fasciatus, and the Red- Headed Krait,
B. flavicepsy known to the Sea-Dayaks as Kendawan.
The former is broadly banded with cream-colour and
black ; the latter varies in colour on the back from
uniform olive-brown to deep black with brownish
head ; below it is grey or bluish black ; lips, chin, and
throat are bright yellow. My friend Mr. H. N. Ridley
informs me that B. fasciatus when irritated thumps
its tail loudly on the ground ; this action may be
interpreted as a warning signal, for if the snake is
surprised in the jungle the beating of the tail against
the dead leaves strewing the ground makes a con-
siderable rattling noise that can be heard for some
little distance. In India the Kraits are responsible
for a great many of the deaths attributed to snake-bite,
and from experiments conducted on animals it appears
that the common Indian Krait, B. candidus, is even
more deadly than the Cobra. Both the Cobra, Naia
92 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
tripudians, and the King-Cobra, or Hamadryad, N.
bungarus, occur commonly in Sarawak, but I cannot
say that I ever heard of any one being bitten by either
of them. Both species have the habit, when irritated,
of rearing up the head and front part of the body,
and expanding the skin of the neck — the so-called
hood. The Indian Cobra is much paler than the
Malayan form, and the hood is ornamented at the
back with the well-known spectacle-marks, which
make it very conspicuous. The Bornean Cobra and
the Hamadryad are dark-brown snakes, but the skin
on the neck between the scales is yellow, and when
the hood is spread out this yellow skin shows up very
distinctly between the scales. There can be no reason-
able doubt that this hood-dilating habit is a danger
signal, and we will discuss later on the reason
why poisonous snakes display these signals whenever
they are excited. The Malayan Cobra, in addition
to rearing up its body and dilating its hood, has the
habit of squirting out its saliva for a considerable
distance and of uttering a peculiar snorting noise.
Mr. Ridley T states that he was once struck in the
face by the saliva, at a distance of 8 feet ; the saliva
causes only a very slight irritation of the skin, but if
it enters the eye much inflammation is set up. The
same spitting habit has recently been recorded for a
West African Viper [see Note, p. 104]. The Hamadryad
sometimes attains a very large size ; the biggest that
I have seen measured 14 feet ij inches. It was found
in a dying condition in a ditch, and fell an easy prey
to two Tamil coolies, who brought it in triumph to
the Sarawak Museum. A few days before, this Museum
1 Journ. Roy. As. Sac, S. Br.} No. 32 (1899), p. 201.
SNAKES 93
had received a specimen of 9} feet in length, which
had made its appearance inside a house in Kuching,
and another of over 10 feet. This species is a snake-
eater, and I am inclined to think that snakes form
its sole article of diet. Mr. Ridley has seen a
Hamadryad holding a small Python in its mouth ;
the Python was not dead, but expired very shortly
after its enemy had been driven off. A Malay reported
to my predecessor at the Sarawak Museum, the late
Mr. Edward Bartlett, that he had seen a Python and
a Hamadryad fighting, but he killed both snakes whilst
the issue of the combat was still in doubt. Capt. F.
Wall r gives a list of snakes that have been recorded as
victims of the Hamadryad : these are the Banded Krait,
the Cobra, the Hamadryad itself, and the Indian Python.
Mr. L. Wray records Adeniophis (Doliophis) bivirgatus,
the Banded Krait, and two non-poisonous Colubrines
as having been taken from the stomachs of Hama-
dryads captured in the Malay Peninsula.2 It is quite
evident that snakes are not immune to the poison
of other snakes, even to that of their own species,
and in a combat between two poisonous species he
must be four times armed who "gets his blow in
fust."
The next species on our list of poisonous snakes are
Doliophis bivirgatus and D. intestinalis, two small and
very brightly coloured species. The natives of the
Malay Peninsula assert that both species progress
with their tails held up in the air, thus exhibiting
to best advantage the red colouring of the under side
and warning their enemies of their poisonous properties ;
1 Journ. Bombay N.H. Soc.f XVII. (1906-07), p. 393.
a Journ. Fed. Malay States A/MS., II. (1907), p. 64. Signed L. W.
94 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
but the statement needs confirmation.1 Mr. Ridley 2 states
that D. intestinalis [referred to as Callophis — E. B. P.]
beats its tail upon the ground when annoyed, like Bun-
gar us fasciatus. Both species of Doliophis are remarkable
for the enormous development of the poison glands,
which extend down the anterior third of the body,
displacing backwards the heart and other internal
organs ; but though these snakes must have a bigger
supply of poison than other Colubrines they are by
no means vicious, and there is no record of men
having ever been bitten by either of them.
The Vipers are represented in Borneo by five species
of the genus Lachesis, but only two of these,
L. wagleri and L. borneensis, are at all common.
Museum specimens of L. sumatranus, one of the rarer
species, are brightly coloured, but I am not acquainted
with it in a state of nature, and would not be sur-
prised to learn that in its natural surroundings it is as
inconspicuous as its congeners.' The Vipers differ
from the poisonous Colubrines not only in important
anatomical details, and in their sluggish habits, but
also in the character of their poison. If an animal be
bitten by a Cobra the first symptom that manifests
itself is a pronounced lethargy, then the hind-quarters
became paralysed, the paralysis spreads slowly over
the body, there is great difficulty in breathing, and
finally death ensues through the paralysis of the
respiratory centre in the brain. The heart, however,
is not affected, and is found to be still beating in
animals that have recently succumbed to the action
of the poison. An examination of the blood of such
1 Annandale, Fasciculi Malayenses, Zoology, Pt. I. (1903), p. 169.
2 Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 32 (1899), p. 195.
SNAKES 95
an animal shows that the red blood corpuscles have
been broken up, and the clotting of the blood when
drawn off into a vessel is much retarded. In the case
of man, death from a Cobra bite ensues in three to six
hours, but it is even more rapid in the case of small
mammals such as rabbits. The symptoms of Viper-
poisoning are very different ; in cases where a very
venomous species, such as the Daboia Viper of India,
has injected a lethal dose, the power of equilibrium
of the stricken animal is upset, but there is no paralysis ;
violent convulsions ensue and terminate in death in
ten to fifteen minutes ; examination of the blood shows
that extensive clotting has taken place in the veins
and arteries, causing suspension of the heart's action.
Less powerful doses of the poison bring about fainting
fits, and the animal may live for many hours, or even
recover ; in these cases there is no intravascular
clotting, but the blood corpuscles are broken up, and
the walls of the small blood-vessels and capillaries
are injured, so that there is much extravasation of
blood from the various organs of the body. When
Dr. Calmette discovered an antidote for Cobra poison,
" anti-venin " as it is termed, it was hoped that this
would be efficacious in all cases of snake-bite, but
now that we know how different is the action of Viper
poison and Colubrine poison, it is not very surprising
to learn that it is of no avail in cases of Viper-bites.
It is, however, certainly surprising that the anti-venin
of Cobra is inefficacious in cases of poisoning from
Kraits, which in their symptoms are very like Cobra-
poisoning ; yet such is indeed the case, and it is now
certain that these anti-venins, many of which have
been prepared, are specific in their action, so that
96 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
a man bitten by a Krait can only be cured by the
Krait anti-venin, and one bitten by a Cobra can only
be cured by the Cobra anti-venin.
The Sea-Snakes, constituting the sub-family Hydro-
phiince of the Colubridce-Proteroglypha, have a wide
distribution, ranging throughout the Indian Ocean so
far south as the Cape of Good Hope and throughout
the Western South Pacific. All the species, with one
exception, are truly aquatic, spending their life in the
sea or in tidal rivers, though I have taken one of the
marine forms, Distira cyanocincta, on land at some dis-
tance from water. Platurus is a somewhat anomalous
genus connecting the Hydrophiince with the Elapince ;
one species is frequently found on land, and one speci-
men has been taken on a rocky island of the Philip-
pine group at a considerable elevation above sea-level.
This species, though provided with the formidable
poison-apparatus characteristic of the Sea-Snakes, is very
gentle, and allows itself to be handled without attempt-
ing to bite.1 All the Bornean Sea-Snakes, of which
there are thirteen, are very poisonous and vicious.
One of the commonest species is Enhydrina valakadien,
and I have seen great numbers of it in the sea between
Singapore and Sarawak, and have admired the graceful
way in which they swam. The species are generally
banded in two colours, black and yellow, grey and
white, or some other combination, and are consequently
very conspicuous. The tail is flattened from side to
side, and forms a very effective paddle for swimming.
I have taken specimens that have been much infested
by small barnacles of the genus Dichdaspis attached to
the scales. A friend once caught a specimen of Enhyd-
1 Boulenger, Natural Science, I. (1892), p. 44.
SNAKES 97
rina valakadien in rather peculiar circumstances : we
were fishing with a seine net in very shallow water at
the mouth of the Trusan River, and after one haul I
noticed the head and neck of a Sea-Snake protruding
through the mesh of the net ; since the mesh was fairly
wide, I could not understand how so slender a crea-
ture failed to get through and make its escape, but on
closer examination I saw that its passage was blocked
by the enormous distension of its stomach, which con-
tained a fish measuring about 3 inches in depth ; if
ever a snake could express disgust at an awkward situa-
tion resulting from its own greed, that snake certainly
did. The same haul of the net brought up a young
Sawfish, and the tremendous power exhibited by the
thrashing blows of the saw against the sides of our
canoe as the fish twitched its head from side to side in
the convulsive movements of death was quite a revela-
tion to me. What with an angry poisonous snake
entangled in the net, and a lusty young Sawfish leap-
ing about the floor of a crank canoe cumbered with
fishing gear, we had quite a lively time of it until the
fish received its quietus, and the snake found its last
resting-place in a jar of spirit. The fish found in the
snake's stomach was Chorinemus toloo, one of the Horse-
Mackerel tribe : it is provided with a strong dorsal and
two strong pectoral spines.
Dr. Annandale1 records the occurrence of this Sea-
Snake in great quantities in Patani Bay, Malay Penin-
sula, and states that they feed very largely on Siluroid
fish and others provided with strong spines. As he
took many specimens of the snakes with these spines
protruding from their bodies, and as they did not seero
1 Fasciculi Malayenses, Zoology, Pt. I. (1903), p. 167.
8
98 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
to be inconvenienced in the slightest degree thereby,
he believes that the fish-spines are eliminated from the
body of the snakes by passing simply through the wall
of the alimentary canal and through the body-wall to
the exterior. It is difficult to see how the spines of
such a fish as Chorinemus toloo could pass out of the
snake's body in any other way. The same naturalist
confirms an observation that I have made more than
once, that Sea-Snakes, when irritated, do not hiss but
utter a low gurgling noise.
It is of interest to find that in each of the three
sections of Colubridce there is one sub-family of aquatic
snakes. In the section Aglypha we have the Acrochord-
ince, powerful crushing snakes, living in the sea near
the shore and in rivers ; in the section Opisthoglypha
we have the Homolopsince, some species of which are
commonly found in mud on the banks of rivers, others
in the rivers themselves, others on the sea-shore ; and
in the section Proteroglypha, the Hydrophiince, which in
their structure are far better adapted to an essentially
marine life than either of the other two sub-families.
This short and incomplete review of the snakes of
Sarawak may conclude with some remarks on their
coloration and its significance. We have seen that
certain poisonous snakes, the Vipers, as well as certain
non-poisonous snakes, are coloured in harmony with
their surroundings. This resemblance of animals to
inanimate surroundings is a very common phenomenon
in Nature, and in the case of plant-eating defenceless
creatures has a protective purpose and is termed "pro-
tective resemblance." In the case of snakes, animals
which prey on other animals, this resemblance plays a
double role, for it enables the snakes to escape not
SNAKES 99
only the observation of their enemies, but also the
observation of the creatures that form their prey, and
has been termed "aggressive resemblance." We have
also seen that other poisonous snakes are conspicu-
ously marked with alternate bands of colour (Hydro-
phiince, the Banded Krait), or are brilliantly coloured
(Doliophis, Red- Headed Krait), or display characteristic
warning signals when annoyed (Cobra, Hamadryad).
It is another common phenomenon in the animal
world that creatures protected by poisonous, or naus-
eous, properties advertise these qualities by bright and
conspicuous colouring or by warning signals. It may
be asked why such deadly snakes as the Rattle-Snake
and the Cobra should trouble to advertise their dan-
gerous character, the one by springing its rattle, the
other by expanding its conspicuous hood; they are, it
is argued, sufficiently armed against all possible enemies
by their poison, and therefore they need neither fear
nor warn their enemies. But snakes, both harmless
and deadly, have numberless enemies. Captain Wall
has compiled a long list of them, drawn from records
in scientific literature, varying from man to ants. An
Elephant, a Deer, or Buffalo plunging through the jungle
might tread on a Cobra and crush its life out had the
snake no means of advertising its presence in a con-
spicuous manner ; the Cobra in its dying convulsions
might inject a deadly dose of poison into the animal
that had trodden on it, but how would the cobra be
benefited by that dying effort ? The whole conception
of a poisonous snake as a ferocious animal that stealth-
ily pounces on and kills every creature that disturbs
it, wittingly or unwittingly, is quite erroneous ; the
belief that the Hamadryad will chase a man, if he dis-
100 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
turbs it, is a pure myth. All who have observed these
deadly snakes in their natural conditions agree unani-
mously in stating that the Cobra and Hamadryad are
only anxious to get away from those who disturb
them, and they have no desire to waste their precious
supply of poison on an animal too large for them to
devour subsequently. Professor Minchin when in India
came suddenly on a Cobra in the road ; the Cobra
reared up and displayed its hood in the best approved
manner, but while Professor Minchin was watching it
he perceived that the tail of the Cobra was moving
about the surface of the ground, and eventually slipped
into a large fissure for which the snake had evidently
been feeling, and, in less time than it takes to write
it, the Cobra had slid down into the fissure and was
gone. The late Colonel Bingham encountered in a
Burmese jungle a pair of large Hamadryads, male and
female ; he was cornered between them, for one was
on his right, the other on his left ; but they made no
attempt to attack him, and when they realized that he
had no intention of attacking them, they lowered their
erected crests and silently glided away. Many other
observations of a similar nature could be quoted, but
these suffice to show that we can safely regard a
poisonous snake as a somewhat timid creature, admir-
ably equipped with a complicated poison mechanism
for the capture and destruction of its prey, but resort-
ing to the use of this for purposes of defence only in
the last extremity, though advertising the possession of
it by signals which to the knowing eye read as plainly
as the printed words Nemo me impune lacessit.
The question of mimicry amongst animals is one
that will be discussed at greater length in a later
SNAKES 101
chapter. Here let it suffice to state that, when an
animal which is not protected by some special means
of defence imitates the colours and form of some
other species that is so protected, the imitating species
is termed a mimic, and the assumption is that the
mimic thereby acquires a certain amount of immunity
from attack, since its enemies are deceived by the
resemblance to an animal which experience has taught
them to avoid. The best examples of mimicry amongst
snakes are furnished by some harmless South American
species which imitate very closely in their colouring
certain poisonous species ; but instances are not lacking
amongst Oriental snakes. The Indian Viper Echis cari-
nata is apparently mimicked by one of the Opistho-
glyphous Colubridce — Dipsadomorphus trigonatus,1 though
it is possible that a large part of the resemblance is
due to the fact that both species are coloured in
harmony with the desert surroundings in which they
occur. A better example of true mimicry is furnished
by Chersydrus granulatus, one of the Acrochordince, an
aquatic sub-family belonging, as already pointed out,
to the harmless section of the Colubridce ; this species
in its young stages is conspicuously banded with
black and white, and is remarkably like several of the
poisonous Sea-Snakes proper (Hydrophiince). They are
1 Dipsadomorphus dendrophilus seems to be a close mimic of
Bungarus fasciatus. Both snakes have exactly the same colouring,
black with yellow bands, and live coiled up on branches of trees
in the mangrove swamps or over rivers. At a little distance it is
impossible to distinguish them apart. Bungarus fasciatus is a very
vicious poisonous snake. Dipsadomorphus when caught has a
habit of ejecting from the anus a large quantity of very foul-
smelling brown liquid by way of a defence (Journ. Roy. As. Soc.
S. Br., No. 32 (1899), p. 199).— H. N. R.
102 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
found in the same situation as the Sea-Snakes, and are
of approximately the same size. The adult, which is
more capable of taking care of itself and a good deal
larger than an average Sea-Snake, is frequently found
at some distance from the sea, and is not conspicuously
banded. A young specimen of this species was caught
in a cast-net at the mouth of the Sarawak River, and
when it was brought to me I was so convinced that I
had to deal with one of the poisonous Hydrophiince, that
I exercised the utmost caution in transferring it from
the net to a jar of spirit, and only discovered that my
caution was unnecessary when I attempted some days
later to identify the species. The habit of the Cobra
and Hamadryad of rearing up the head and expanding
the hood is simulated by more than one species of
non-poisonous snakes. Mr. H. N. Ridley records * of
Macropisthodon rliodomelas that when irritated " it
sits up after the manner of a cobra, and seems to
flatten out its neck as if it was trying to imitate that
species, while from the bluish patch on its neck are
exuded some drops of a white viscid liquid represent-
ing the well-known cobra marks. I noticed that my
dog, seizing this snake in its mouth to worry it, pre-
sently foamed at the mouth, as if he had been licking
a toad, and soon dropped the snake." The Macr-
opisthodon is not coloured at all like a Cobra, being
terra-cotta with a black V on its neck and a black line
down the back, but the dilatation of the neck and the
rearing-up of the anterior part of the body are certainly
Cobra-like habits. Just as in the Cobra, this attitude
is a warning signal advertising the poisonous bite, so
in the Macropisthodon the same attitude advertises the
1 Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. BY., No. 32(1899), p. 198.
SNAKES 103
nauseous excretion of the skin-glands at the back of
the neck, and may have been evolved independently
of mimicry altogether. Zaocys carinatus is in colouring
very like a Cobra, but I am not aware if it imitates its
attitude. Its near ally Zamenis mucosus is said by
Captain S. S. Flower1 to rear up its head like the
Cobra and to dilate its neck ; this, however, is not
effected by lateral extension as in the Cobra, but by
the ventral shields, which are thrust out so far as to
become acutely keeled, the skin on the side of the
neck being widely stretched, and showing up the yellow
skin between the brown scales just as in the Cobra. The
resemblance between Coluber radiatus and the Cobra
has already been noted. The same authority states
that the similarity in colouring between the harmless
Lycodon subcinctus and the deadly Bungarus candidus
is very close, but it is to be noted also that though
the geographical ranges of these two species overlap
they do not coincide entirely, for the poisonous species
is unknown in Borneo, although the non-poisonous
one occurs there. Brilliant scarlet in combination
with other colours is, as we have seen, characteristic
of three of the Bornean poisonous snakes, and it has
often occurred to me that this scarlet colour when
appearing in other snakes may possibly be regarded
in these cases also either as warning colours adver-
tising distasteful properties, or as mimetic of warning
colours. For instance, one of the harmless Colubrines
Calamaria leucogaster [leucocephala 1 — C. H.] has a red tail
and belly: again in Cylindrophis rufus the red on the
tail is conspicuously displayed when the animal is in
a posture of defence, whilst its near relation C. lineatus
' P.Z.S., 1899, pp. 666-7.
104 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
has, like the Red-Headed Krait, a scarlet head and
tail, though otherwise it is not at all like the poisonous
species. If these are examples of mimicry, the mimicry
is very far from being exact, and it may well be asked
how such imperfect resemblance can be of any value
to these defenceless snakes. It is perhaps a legitimate
answer that snake-enemies have, through the action of
natural selection, learnt instinctively to regard scarlet
as an advertisement of poisonous properties, just as it is
almost certain that animals and birds avoid poisonous
plants and fruits, not from experience of the ill-effects
of eating these, but from an instinct called into being
by selection. If a patch of scarlet colour inspires
dread or even only caution in a snake-destroying
animal, the display of this colour by a non-poisonous
snake will suffice to scare away a certain number of
its enemies. Theories of this nature, however, require
a large body of experimental evidence to support them
before they can meet with wide acceptance, and such
evidence is unfortunately entirely lacking in the in-
stances just quoted.
Note, p. 92. — Malayan Cobra. The Ringhals, or Spugh-slang
("Spitting Snake"), Sepedon hcemachates, of South Africa, has
the same habit. The discharged saliva is very acrid and a
powerful irritant. This snake is nearly related to the Cobra. —
H. B.
See The Snakes of South Africa, by F. W. Fitzsimons, F.Z.S.,
1912, pp. 183-91 ; pp. 488-9.— G. B. L.
. ; .
Above, the Bornean Flying Frog, Rhacoplwrus ingropalviatus. Below, the tad-
poles of some tree-haunting frog which, like Rhacoplwrns, surrounds its eggs
with a mass of froth enclosed between leaves. (From drawings found
among the author's papers.) (See Note 9, p. 314.)
Plate XIII.
To face. p. 105.
CHAPTER IV
CROCODILES, TURTLES, AND TORTOISES
OF all the reptiles of Borneo by far the most important,
when it is considered in relation to man, is the
Crocodile. I explained in a previous chapter that cases
of snake-bite in Sarawak were extremely rare, but the
Crocodile exacts a considerable annual toll from the
native population. Some rivers are positively infested
with these grisly creatures, and the Sarawak Govern-
ment pays a reward of 36 cents (about 9d.) per foot
for every one killed, and a couple of cents for every
egg destroyed. At Kuching alone several hundreds of
dollars are paid annually for Crocodile rewards.
The species which occurs in Malayan waters is
Crocodilus porosus, and all who have observed it,
whether in captivity or in a state of nature, are agreed
that of all the Crocodile tribe it is the most savage
member. Muggers, Alligators, Caimans are more or
less amenable to kind treatment, and may even be-
come comparatively tame, but the Malay Crocodile
never.
I have seen a young one, scarcely 4 feet long, which
had been brought to the Museum for me to inspect,
when released from its bonds rush with open jaws at
105
106 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
the natives who were standing by, so that it was a
case of sauve qui peut. Even this youngster could
deliver a blow with its tail which stung the legs like
the lash of a heavy cart-whip.1
I once had a batch of eggs of this Crocodile brought
to me, and on opening some of them they proved to
contain nearly fully developed embryos. I was much
amused to find that if the egg membranes were stripped
from off these blind unborn babes and their muzzles
gently tickled with a lead pencil, they instantly seized
it between their jaws. Thus early does the ferocious
instinct manifest itself in this cruel reptile. C. porosus,
like all the members of the Crocodile tribe, is fond of
sunning itself on river-banks with its jaws widely open
— a habit, the object of which it is not easy to explain.2
I am inclined to suppose that it is connected with the
respiratory needs, for I have observed more than once
that if a Crocodile has its jaws tightly lashed together,
and is then exposed to the full blaze of a tropical sun,
it will die in an amazingly short space of time — in fact,
this was the usual way in which we killed the specimens
that were brought to the Museum.
I once received from an officer in the Sarawak
service a number of pebbles, which, together with
some peculiar-looking objects, he had removed from
the stomach of a large Crocodile killed in his district.
The latter I could not at first identify, but at last came
to the conclusion that they were the empty and de-
flated eggshells of some species of Turtle (probably
1 When the head is cut off the eyes continue to blink, and it
will snap its jaws on a stick for some little time. — C. H.
2 Natives say that sandpipers pick something off the teeth of
the Crocodile.— C. H.
CROCODILES, TURTLES, AND TORTOISES 107
Trionyx subplanus), surely a very curious article of
diet for a Crocodile. The presence of large water-
worn pebbles in the stomach was of great interest,
for the place where the reptile was killed was situated
in the vast delta of the Rejang River— an area made
up of nothing but swamps, where one might search
for a year without finding a pebble. It is evident, then,
that this Crocodile had travelled some hundreds of
miles towards the head-waters of this, or some other
river, in order to get the stones, and it is equally
evident that the stones played some important part
in its digestive economy. Doubtless these creatures
swallow stones, as many birds do, for the purpose of
triturating their food. The observation is of further
interest because water-worn pebbles have been found
in juxtaposition to the bones of Ichthyosauri, and it
has been suggested that these were swallowed for the
precise purpose mentioned above.
Large balls of hair about the size of a man's head
are not unfrequently found in Crocodiles' stomachs.
These are generally formed round some nucleus which
appears to be of a concretionary nature, and are, of
course, derived from the hair of the Crocodile's victims.1
The common Macaque, in spite of its wiliness,
frequently falls a prey to the Crocodile. The monkey,
as I have already stated, is fond of feeding on the
crabs which abound in brackish waters : in the eager-
ness of his pursuit he draws too near to the huge
reptile lying immobile on the mud and looking like
some old log ; nearer and nearer he draws, there is a
sudden swish of the huge tail, and the monkey is
In many cases the hair is found to be that of wild pigs and
deer.— C. H.
108 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
knocked flying into the river, where his inferior
powers of swimming avail not to save him from
his foe.
It has been asserted by competent observers that
the Crocodile, if it has seized a victim too bulky to be
swallowed at once, thrusts its prey deep into the mud
of the river bottom and leaves it there until putre-
faction has reduced the corpse to such a state that
it can be readily torn into pieces.
The eggs of C. porosus are long ovals measuring
about 3^ inches by 2j inches ; the shell is pure white
and of a texture like porcelain ; the yolk has a peculiar
rank odour, and is not fluid like the yolk of a bird's
egg, but rather viscous, and granulated in appearance.
Thirty to forty are laid by a single female in a depres-
sion which she makes in the mud, amongst the stems
of the Nipa-palms, usually at some little distance from
the river-bank. It seems that the mother may exercise
a certain amount of supervision 'over her nest, as the
following instance shows. My friend Mr. E. A. W.
Cox, of the Sarawak service, when returning with
some native followers and his dogs from a day's hunting
in the swamp-land of the Baram River, came across a
Crocodile's nest and proceeded incontinently to destroy
all the eggs in it. The natives besought him to fly
the spot at once, alleging that the mother was close
at hand and would certainly come to wreak vengeance
on the destroyers of her progeny. Mr. Cox deter-
mined to wait and see what would happen, and, sure
enough, after some time a large female Crocodile made
her appearance on the scene, and after a prolonged
and exciting struggle succumbed to the spear-thrusts and
sword-wounds delivered by the waiting hunters. The
CROCODILES, TURTLES, AND TORTOISES 109
only other. Crocodilian in Borneo is the Gavial [Garial],
Tomistoma schlegelii. This has a long slender snout
and is said to be harmless to man, feeding principally
on fish. At one time it was regarded as peculiar to
Borneo, but it has recently been discovered in the
Malay Peninsula. In Borneo its distribution is very
local — in fact, the only river in Sarawak where it can
be said to occur in any abundance is the Sadong ;
only stray specimens have been taken elsewhere.
The Green Turtle, Chelone mydas, is very abundant in
the seas round Borneo. At the close of the North-
east Monsoon the females lay their eggs in the sandy
beaches of some coral islands that lie off the mouth
of the Sarawak River. The round eggs are enclosed
in a leathery shell, which can easily be torn open with
the fingers. The yolk is stiff, pale yellow in colour,
and not transparent. These eggs are considered a
great delicacy, but the taste for them is certainly an
acquired one. The egg-laying has been described as
follows * : —
"The turtles on arrival extend round the shore and
pair, during which process great fights take place
among the males for the females. The latter ascend
at night the small sand beaches, which occur at
intervals along the coast, and dig deep holes in the
sand, the fore-flippers being chiefly used for the
task. . . . The number of eggs laid is about 200 :
and the females are supposed to come up the beach
twice in each season [with an interval of about a
month — C. H.]. They always ascend with one flowing
tide and go to sea again on the next ; consequently a
night with the tide becoming high at sunset is the
x Fryer, Trans. Linn. Soe. London, (2 Ser.) Zool, XIV. (1910-12), p. 422.
110 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
most favourable [during the months of February,
March, and April — C. H.]. The young turtles hatch
in 40 days and go straight down the beach to the
sea. The hatching of all the eggs in a nest takes place
almost simultaneously, and the young turtles dig their
way up out of the sand as fast as they can be counted
and crawl down to the sea in a long procession.
By what sense they find the right direction was not
discovered ; their eyes are not open but even if
placed on a flat surface [or taken into the forest for a
hundred yards or so] they know their way to the sea.
The hatching of the whole nest only takes about
10 minutes and forms a remarkable and pretty sight."
In Sarawak the Green Turtle is rigorously preserved,
the destruction of one entailing a heavy fine. Owing
to the large number of eggs laid and the ready
demand for them, the Turtle islands yield a con-
siderable revenue, which by an agreement with the
Sarawak Government, appertains to the principal
Malay chiefs of the State in turn. At the commence-
ment of the egg-laying season watchers are stationed
on each of the islands whose duty it is to mark the
places in the sand where the eggs are laid ; these are
dug up next morning and sent off by boat to Kuching.
The fat of the Green Turtle, which figures so largely in
civic banquets, is not appreciated by Oriental natives ;
indeed, the Turtle soup which is frequently served at
the dinner-parties of Europeans in the Far East
invariably comes out of a tin.1
The Hawksbill, or Tortoiseshell Turtle, Chelone im-
bricata, is far less abundant. According to Mr. Fryer
(loc. cit.) it ascends the beach in the daytime to lay
1 Not in Singapore where one gets fresh Turtle.— H. N. R.
CROCODILES, TURTLES, AND TORTOISES 111
its eggs [usually early morning before dawn — C. H.],
which hatch out in sixty days, and the female is said
to come at least twice, at an interval of from a fort-
night to a month, to lay in the same place. Like the
Green Turtle, the Hawksbill is a vegetarian, feeding on
Alga. The Malays are said to remove the tortoise-
shell scales from this animal by laying it back down-
wards on an iron plate covered with sand, beneath
which a fire is lit. Under the action of the excessive
heat the scales peel off, and the wretched animal is
returned to the sea again, Malays believing it can grow
fresh scales to replace those that have been removed.
The Logger- Head Turtle, Thalassochelys caretta, is
unknown in Sarawak waters, but was found in South
Borneo by Dr. Bleeker.
Of Land and Fresh-water Tortoises there is a whole
host in Sarawak, but I have little to say concerning
them. The most interesting is perhaps the large Land
Tortoise, Testudo emys. One of the commonest,
Geomyda spinosa, is found amongst dead leaves,
to which, the young ones especially, bear a cryptic
resemblance. This concealment is due to the flattened
form of the Tortoise and to the fact that the marginal
scales of the carapace are produced and sharply
pointed, looking like the tips of leaves. Another
common species was the Box Tortoise, Cyclemys am-
boinensis. One of these was confined for several years
in a shallow tub nearly full of water, just outside the
taxidermy office in the Museum grounds. This animal
presented an example of steady perseverance before
which all those mentioned in the works of Samuel
Smiles pale into insignificance. Nearly all day and
every day, and so far as I know every night, that
112 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Tortoise endeavoured to escape from its prison.
Standing up on its hind-legs, it could bring the
centre of its plastron against the edge of the tub, and
by scrabbling violently with its front legs it would
manage to hoist itself out of the water on to this edge,
where for a few seconds of awful suspense it would
balance itself, but invariably its centre of gravity was
on the wrong side of the staves, and it would flop back
into the water. To my certain knowledge this daily
struggle went on for three years, until one day the
tortoise managed somehow or other to shift its centre
of gravity an inch or so further forwards, and it fell
over the tub-side on to the ground. A Dayak attendant
discovered the animal crawling away and was about
to return it to its tub when I intervened and gave it
the liberty it had earned so well.
CallagiiY picta is a large Water Tortoise. Young and
half-grown individuals have the shell pale yellow
striped with black, and the nose is brilliant scarlet.
They are often found in mangrove swamps and are
fond of resting on submerged snags with just the head
exposed above the water. In this position the nose is
a very conspicuous object, but it is difficult to see what
purpose its brilliant coloration serves.1
Borlitia borneensis, of G. R. Gray, is another very
large Water Tortoise which occurs not uncommonly in
the lakes of the Batang Lupar district. For long it
was represented in the British Museum by a solitary
and very juvenile specimen, obtained by Dr. Bleeker
1 This is really a River Tortoise which goes to the mouth of the
river to lay its eggs, at which time the scarlet marking disappears
altogether or is only very faint. It lays 15 to 20 long, oval-shaped
eggs in February and again in March.— C. H.
CROCODILES, TURTLES, AND TORTOISES 113
at Sintang, Borneo, and the identity of the adult
remained in great doubt. It was described in the
Sarawak Gazette by my predecessor, Mr. E. Bartlett,
as Brookeia bailey i, by Baur as Adelochelys crassa, and
again by Mr. G. A. Boulenger as Liemys inornata.
Finally, by the study of young specimens sent by me,
and an adult by Dr. C. Hose, Mr. Boulenger was for-
tunately able to establish the identity of the small
British Museum specimen with the adult, and Gray's
specific name, borneensis, therefore stands. This Tor-
toise lays long, oval eggs with a shell of porcelain-like
texture ; in fact, they are like little Crocodile eggs. It
may be noted here that whilst the eggs of Turtles have
leathery shells like those of Snakes, those of Tortoises
have hard shells like Crocodile's eggs. Mud-Turtles of
the genus Trionyx* were common enough in Sarawak,
but I have nothing fresh to record about their habits.
They are vicious creatures, capable of inflicting bad
wounds with their powerful jaws.
1 A figure of Trionyx subplanus is given by S. S. Flower in P.Z.S.,
1899, PI. XXXVI, opposite p. 600. They live chiefly in holes along
the banks of small rivers, and lay a small round egg with a hard
shell. They kill waterfowl.— C, H.
CHAPTER V
COCKROACHES, MANTISES, AND STICK-
INSECTS
THE insects forming the subject of this chapter con-
stitute three families of the order Orthoptera : the other
families of the order, including the Earwigs, Grass-
hoppers, Locusts, and Crickets, I will neglect for the
present, since these are familiar insects to all who
have paid any attention at all to natural history in
England.
The common Cockroach I or " black beetle " is
familiar to all of us, and too familiar to some, for in
many houses it swarms in multitudes. It has a dis-
gusting smell and a repulsive appearance ; still it has
been asserted that it is an enemy of those loathsome
parasites the bed-bugs. Its scientific name is Blatta
orientalis, and it has been known under that name to
1 Americans have abbreviated this word as "roach," perhaps
by a reversed analogy with "robin," "cockrobin." As "roach"
is good Anglo-Saxon for a species of fish the use of the word
for an insect is objectionable. "Cockroach" is derived from the
Spanish "cucaracha," a word of obscure etymology but possibly
derived from some South American Indian word signifying this
insect. "Cuco" in Spanish means a sort of caterpillar or bug,
and " cucaracha " is possibly connected with this : if so the
elision of the first syllable of "cockroach," the syllable which
originally gave the word its significance, is doubly objectionable.
114
COCKROACHES, ETC. 115
naturalists since the days of Linnaeus. Curiously
enough it has not been met with in a truly wild state
until quite recently ; the first specimens that were
found were caught in houses, and though it has
always been assumed that it was imported into
Europe from the East, I am not aware that it has
ever been found in Asia except as an unwelcome
guest in human habitations. The discovery * of speci-
mens in the Crimean peninsula living under dead
leaves, vegetable detritus and stones, in woods and
copses far from any human habitation, is a fact of
considerable interest, and it is perhaps permissible now
to regard Southern Russia as the centre whence this
ubiquitous insect has spread.
Cockroaches have a great penchant for human food
and articles of human manufacture, and thus with the
march of civilization some species have become dis-
seminated throughout the world. Periplaneta ameri-
cana is another of these cosmopolitan species ; it is
even more repulsive than its relative the " black
beetle," for it is very much larger. It is common on
board ships and is probably the species of which
Captain John Smith, of Virginia fame, wrote in 1624 —
"a certaine India Bug, called by the Spaniards a
Cacarootch, the which creeping into Chests they eat
and defile with their ill-scented dung." Periplaneta
australasice is yet another cosmopolitan cockroach and
the specific names of these three forms, orientalis,
americana, and australasicz, indicate that the old natu-
ralists regarded the East, America, and Australia as the
three centres whence the species spread to Europe ;
1 Ann. Mus. Zool. St. Petersburg, XII. (1907), p. 401 [see Note 10,
P-
116 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
but, as we have already seen, orientalis may have
originated in Europe, and it is certain that australasice
is only a rare immigrant to Australia, and I believe
that tropical Africa or perhaps South-Eastern Asia was
its original home.
In Sarawak P. australasice was a serious Museum pest,
for it devoured labels, the covers of books and any-
thing with starchy or sugary constituents. Con-
sequently I used to regard with a benevolent eye the
presence in the Museum of a certain small Hymen-
opterous insect, Evania ; this little creature has an
absurd triangular and flattened abdomen suspended
from a slender waist, and it deposits its eggs in the
horny egg-case of Cockroaches. These egg-cases, or
oothecae, have been compared in appearance to Glad-
stone bags : the comparison is not very apt, but it
serves to illustrate the fact that they are hollow, and
made up of two halves which, when the contained
young are ready to emerge, open along the top of the
case. By means of her cleaver-like abdomen the
Evania is able to prise open the egg-case of the cock-
roach at the line of closure, and then, thrusting in
her ovipositor, she deposits her eggs or an egg on
the eggs of the Cockroach, which are later devoured
by the larvae of the Evania.
The egg-case of the Cockroach is formed inside the
body of the mother, and when ready and full of eggs
it is in many species partially extruded and carried
about for several days until a safe hiding-place is
found for it. Thus the little cosmopolitan species
Phyllodromia germanica forms a long flat leathery case,
which is carried about extruding from the apex of the
abdomen till just a few hours before the contained
COCKROACHES, ETC. 117
eggs hatch out. Other species form a horny egg-case
which, however, is always retained within the brood-
pouch of the mother and the young are born alive.
In yet ether viviparous species no egg-case is formed
at all, but the eggs, enclosed in a thin transparent
membrane, develop within a large brood-pouch.
Viviparous Cockroaches are by no means uncommon ;
in fact, I am inclined to believe that almost half of the
known species bring forth their young alive. The
eggs and embryos of the viviparous species are of
course protected from the attacks of the Evania, but
on the other hand the death of a pregnant mother
results in the death of all her offspring, and, since
Cockroaches have many enemies, we cannot be certain
whether the viviparous habit or the ootheca-forming
habit is the more efficient in securing the safety of
the developing young. All the species belonging to
the sub-family Epilamprince are viviparous, and in
Sarawak I once captured a female of a species belong-
ing to this sub-family, Pseudophoraspis nebulosa, with
the under-side of her body covered with newly hatched
young ones clinging to it. I have no doubt that the
young were born alive and then swarmed on to their
mother. Their appearance was different from hers, for
they were clothed with fine hairs on the margins of
their bodies, and the thoracic shields were pitted or
punctate. A Ceylon species of Epilamprine, Phlebono-
tus pallens, has been found with the young running
about on the upper side of the abdomen of the mother
and covered over by the tegmina, or wing-covers. In
this species the wings of the female sex are much
reduced in size, so that the insect cannot fly. Never-
theless the wing-covers are large and arched, and as
118 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
beneath them the upper side of the abdomen is de-
pressed with the sides raised up, a sort of box or
chamber is formed inside which the newly born young
can be carried about very comfortably. The maternal
instinct is met with so seldom in the insect world,
outside the great Hymenopterous order, that it is quite
pleasant to be able to record new examples of it.
It must not be supposed that all Cockroaches are as
repulsive in appearance as those mentioned at the
beginning of this chapter. The great majority of
species are found, not in houses, but in forest and
jungle ; some forms burrow in decaying wood or in
the ground, others are found in flower-heads, others
skulk under stones or dead leaves ; others, wonder-
fully mottled and streaked, are found on the trunks
of trees, and harmonize admirably with their back-
ground. A few species are gorgeously coloured, and
some so closely resemble ladybirds and plant-feeding
beetles, not only in their colour and markings, but
also in their shapes, as to deceive all but an expert
entomologist.
On Mt. Matang, in Sarawak, I discovered some
immature Cockroaches lurking beneath the vegetable
debris that bestrewed the banks of a stream trickling
clown the hillside. When disturbed these Cockroaches
took to the water and swam and dived with ease. I
was so interested in what appeared to be an unknown
habit in this family of Orthoptera that I kept some
specimens under observation in a glass tank for some
weeks. I observed that my captives were unable to
endure total immersion for any length of time ; if
they were confined in a corked tube quite full of
water they were drowned in a few minutes after some
COCKROACHES, ETC. 119
violent struggles. This is quite in accordance with
some experiments carried out by Professor Plateau,
of Ghent, on aquatic and terrestrial insects ; the
Belgian savant found that terrestrial insects can sus-
tain total immersion for prolonged periods — 22 J hours
to 97J hours ; they may present all the appearance of
death, but they soon recover when removed from the
water. Aquatic insects, such as Water-Beetles and
Water-Boatmen, on the other hand, when placed in
water and denied all access to air, struggle violently
and soon drown, for when removed from the water
they do not recover.
It was concluded from the above-described observa-
tions that aquatic insects by their violent struggles
rapidly exhaust all the air contained in the tracheae,
or breathing-tubes, ramifying throughout their bodies,
and, being unable to renew the supply, they become
asphyxiated ; whereas terrestrial insects do not struggle
so violently when immersed in water, and consequently
do not use up their supply of air at once. From
such experiments and observations as I have made, I
do not believe that this explains the whole secret of
the endurance shown in water by terrestrial insects.
In the first place a typically terrestrial insect, such as
the common Cockroach of Borneo, Periplaneta aus-
tralasice, when immersed in water will struggle quite
as violently as the aquatic species, and yet will endure
total immersion for some hours before finally suc-
cumbing. If a Periplaneta be thrown into a basin of
water it flounders about on the surface, and all its
efforts will not suffice to take it under the surface ;
even when the wings and wing-covers, which con-
ceivably might help to buoy it up, are removed, the
120 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
creature is still helpless on the surface. The reason
of its inability to sink is found in the simple fact
that it is lighter than the water. A full-sized Peri-
planeta will weigh more than a small Water-Cockroach,
yet the latter can swim in mid-water or even remain
quietly at the bottom. If the bodies of these two
insects, so similar in structure yet so unlike in their
habits, be cut open, a striking difference in the appear-
ance of their tracheae is seen. The terrestrial Cock-
roach has these breathing-tubes thread-like, silvery, and
dilated to their utmost extent with air ; but in the
aquatic form they are strap-like, not silvery in appear-
ance, and with only an air-bubble here and there to
expand them. If any terrestrial insect be examined it
will be seen that its tracheae are like those of Periplaneta,
and it seems probable that these organs function very
largely as storehouses of air, respiration is slower than
in aquatic forms, and the tracheae are always distended
with air so that the insect is rendered buoyant, and
can accomplish with ease movements of running or
flying, but on account of their buoyancy they are
helpless in water.1 With the Water-Cockroach and
many other aquatic insects the case is very different ;
it is essential that they should be able to swim and
dive with ease, and this can only be attained if the
insects lose their buoyancy ; hence the tracheae must
be empty, or nearly so, but as it is necessary that the
tissues of the body be constantly aerated, air must be
1 Insects with strongly developed chitinous exoskeletons are, of
course, relatively very heavy, and when thrown into water sink
like stones ; but it is astonishing to find how many massively
built insects are very buoyant when tested by immersion in
water.
COCKROACHES, ETC. 121
quickly taken in and quickly expired, none being
stored up or allowed to accumulate. As a natural
result, when insects so constructed are deprived of
their normal supply of air they are soon asphyxiated.
Such a purely aquatic insect as the little Water-
Boatman, Notonecta glauca, common in English ponds
and streams, has limbs well adapted for swimming ; it
carries a supply of air about with it under the wing-
covers, and is in consequence very buoyant, so much
so that it is only by powerful strokes of the oar-like
hind-legs that it can force itself below the surface of
the water, and directly it stops swimming it comes
bobbing up to the top like a cork. But even these
insects die very soon if their air-supply is cut off, so
it is evident that they do not carry a great quantity
of air inside their tracheae. The limbs of the Water-
Cockroach are not specially adapted for swimming, but
since the tracheae are always deflated, and since it
carries about no adventitious supply of air, it is not
at all buoyant, but can swim easily in mid-water, and
can lie at the bottom of a pool without clinging to
some sodden leaf or stone as a Water-Beetle, such as
Dytiscus, is forced to do. As a matter of fact the
Water-Cockroach spends very little of its life entirely
submerged ; it rests amongst decaying vegetation at
the side of a pool or stream, with the greater part
of its body under water, but always with the tip of
the abdomen projecting above the surface. If closely
watched, it will be seen that the abdomen gently
moves up and down with a regular action, and that
there appear at the submerged thoracic spiracles at
regular intervals bubbles of air, which grow in size
and then break away to give place to fresh bubbles.
122 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
This, indeed, is the way in which the creature
breathes ; air is taken in at the abdominal spiracles,
and, passing through the tracheae, emerges at the
thoracic spiracles, the exchange of air being as rapid
as in warm-blooded vertebrates.
The structure of the thoracic spiracles of the Water-
Cockroach, of which there are two pairs, is different
from that of the abdominal, of which there are eight.
The former are slits opening between a pair of thick,
lip-like valves that shut and open by means of muscles
attached to them. If a living Cockroach be held in
the fingers and the thoracic spiracles be examined with
a lens, it will be seen that the lips open and close
with rhythmic regularity. The abdominal spiracles, on
the other hand, are circular or oval openings, which
remain open permanently, but they have an internal
valvular arrangement which cuts off communication
with the tracheae with which each is connected. The
spiracles of the terminal pair in the Water-Cockroach are
situated each at the base of a short tube projecting
from the last segment but one, and it is these which
are thrust above the surface of the water, and through
which the animal draws in its air-supply.
In order to make sure that it was the terminal
abdominal spiracles which were inspiratory — and inspi-
ratory only — in function, and the thoracic spiracles
expiratory only in function, I submitted some Cock-
roaches to experiment. They were pinioned back
downwards by cotton threads to strips of cork, placed
in glass tubes containing water, some being placed
with the attached Cockroach upside down, others with
the Cockroach right side up. In the former the sur-
face-level of the water was regulated so as to reach
COCKROACHES, ETC. 123
just to the middle of the abdomen, and consequently
these specimens had the thoracic spiracles submerged,
but the terminal abdominal spiracles exposed ; the
others had the whole abdomen covered with water,
but the thoracic spiracles exposed. It was most in-
structive to observe that the latter series all died in
eight to twelve hours, whilst the reversed specimens
were quite lively and well after twenty-four hours, in
spite of their constrained position. In the reversed
specimens the respiratory movements went on quite
regularly, the abdomen rhythmically moving up and
down, and air-bubbles issuing at intervals from the
thoracic spiracles ; but in the other series of specimens
the respiratory movements of the abdomen soon ceased.
The experiments showed very clearly, first that
normally the Water-Cockroaches inspire air by the
terminal abdominal spiracles and expire it from the
the thoracic spiracles; secondly, that a certain amount
of air can be taken in by the thoracic spiracles so
that pinioned specimens with these orifices exposed to
air live much longer than specimens whose air-supply
is entirely cut off.
I hoped that similar experiments with terrestrial
insects would produce similar results, but I was doomed
to disappointment. When Stick-Insects of the genus
Lonchodes, terrestrial Cockroaches, e.g. Panesthia javanica
and Periplaneta australasice, and large Passalid Beetles
were experimented with, there was no uniformity
in the results obtained. Sometimes the specimens
with the abdomen exposed would die before those
with the abdomen submerged, and examples of the
same species would behave in quite different ways.
All the insects struggled violently at first, and air
124 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
issued rapidly from all the spiracles, both abdominal
and thoracic, but later they appeared to become
comatose and respiration seemed to come to a stand-
still, even though the insects were not dead.
Dr. N. Annandale x was the first to discover Water-
Cockroaches, finding them in the Malay Peninsula,
the wingless females resting on floating logs, whence
they dived into water when disturbed. The winged
males were seen to rise from the surface of the water
but never to enter it. Since then Dr. Annandale has
captured in Lower Burma a winged male which he
found swimming on the surface of a pool, and the
wingless females and immature males have also been
found at Chota Nagpur, whilst another species has
been taken in Japan. All the species belong to one
sub-family, the Epilamprince, and most of them to the
genus Rhicnoda.
Truly aquatic Orthoptera are distinctly rare, but a
good many will jump into water when hard-pressed.2
Once when collecting insects by the margin of a stream
at the foot of Mt. Santubong, Sarawak, I saw a tiny Grass-
hopper of the sub-family Tctrigince leap from a rock
on which it was resting right into the water and with
a few vigorous kicks of its powerful hind-legs it soon
reached the bottom of the stream where it clung to a
stone. I dislodged it and frustrated its valiant struggles
to reach a pied-a-terre, whereupon, owing to its in-
vincible buoyancy, it came bobbing up to the surface
like a cork. An Australian species of this sub-family
1 Entomologist's Record, XII. (1900), p. 75.
2 Dr. Annandale in a letter pointed out this to me as a very usual
occurrence amongst small Indian Orthoptera, and I have observed
it frequently in Borneo.
COCKROACHES, ETC. 125
has been found resting on the stems of water-plants,
6 or 7 inches below the surface of the water, and
when disturbed they dived to the bottom. Mr.
Froggatt states x that a little black Cricket (Nemobius)
in Australia when disturbed often jumps into water
and swims along the surface, and I have seen larval
Tryxaline Grasshoppers do the same in Borneo.
None of the above-mentioned insects are specially
modified for an aquatic life, though perhaps we may look
on the Australian Tetrigine as being on the high road
to becoming a truly aquatic insect. There are, how-
ever, one or two Orthoptera that are endowed with
structures fitting them for life in or on water. Such
are the little Tetrigince belonging to the genus Scelimena
found in India, Ceylon, and the Malayan region.
Dr. G. B. Longstaff caught some specimens of Scelimena
logani in a rapidly running river at Dambulla in
Ceylon,2 and has kindly supplied -me with the following
note : " Most of the specimens were seen on the rocks
or sand quite close to the water. When at rest they
were very cryptic, closely resembling the rock. They
were easily frightened, when they would fly 2 or 3
yards and settle again. Several were seen in the water,
under the surface, swimming by a succession of short
jerks, apparently propelling themselves by the hind-
legs." On examining the hind-legs of this species it
is seen that the end of the shin, or tibia, of the hind-
leg and the first joint of the next segment of the leg,
the tarsus, are furnished with membranous expansions,
thus converting the hind-leg into a very efficient swim-
1 Australian Insects, Sydney, 1907, p. 48.
9 Butterfly-hunting in Many Lands, London, 1912, PI. IV.,
fig. ij, See also the figure of a, swimming leg on p. 375.
126 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
ming-organ. Moreover, the oar-blade is curved in
such a way as to increase its efficiency. Other species
with the hind-legs similarly modified are found in
Borneo and Java. It is most interesting, though
perhaps not unexpected, to find in a group of Grass-
hoppers, many members of which are fond of damp
situations by the margins of ponds and streams, and
many of which take to water when scared, that in
one genus the obvious advantages of increased swim-
ming powers has been secured by the simple modifica-
tion of pre-existing structures.
[The author had added the following note on the
Paraguayan Grasshopper Ccelopterna acurninata, one of
the (Edopodince. This insect " lives upon aquatic
plants and often must swim, hence the peculiar de-
velopment of hind tibiae and their spurs." J]
In Viti, one of the Fiji Islands, a Cricket, Hydro-
pedeticm vitiensis, has been found in great numbers
dancing about on the surface of a swift stream. It
has also been observed to jump from the water to a
height of 6 inches. In this insect also it is the hind-
legs which are specially adapted for the mode of life ;
they are very long, and from each side of the tibiae
at their ends project some slender spines fringed with
delicate hairs. This Cricket is very small, being only
ii millimeters in length, and is so light that when it
gives a vigorous push with its hind-legs the surface-
film of the water is not broken owing to the resistance
offered by the fringed spines of the legs, and con-
sequently the insect is enabled to leap forwards or
upwards from the surface of the stream ; it is, in fact,
1 Lawrence Bruner, " List of Paraguayan Locusts," Proc. U.S.
National Mus., XXX. (1906), p. 637.
COCKROACHES, ETC. 127
like a man shod with snow-shoes running along on
the surface of the snow.
One other aquatic Orthopteron may be mentioned,
the Brazilian Stick-Insect, Prisopus flabelliformis. This
curious-looking creature hides under stones in moun-
tain-streams.1 The under-side of the body is hollowed
out and is fringed with long hairs. It has been
supposed that the air is expelled from this hollowed-
out portion of the body, and a vacuum being formed
the pressure of the water keeps the insect closely
applied to .the stone on which it is resting. I think
it is far more likely that a store of air is held in the
hollow beneath the body, and that the insect is enabled
to cling to the stone by means of the sucker-like pads
known as pulvilli that are found on the tarsal joints,
otherwise it is difficult to see how the insects can
breathe.
Very closely related to the Cockroaches are the
Praying Mantises, quaint hobgoblins of insects of
which only a few species occur in Europe, though
they are abundant enough in the tropics. I kept many
specimens in captivity during my time in Sarawak, and
found that they made interesting pets. They were fed
on a diet of insects which is their natural food, and
some individuals would become comparatively tame,
that is to say they could be held in the hand and
* These " aquatic habits," described by Murray, have been shown
by C. J. Gahan to be a delusion. A closely allied species, P. fisheri,
exhibited by him at the Ent. Soc., London, December 6, 1911
(Proc. Ent. Soc., 1911, p. Ixxxiii), possessed the same adaptive features
as P. flabelliformis, and yet it had been taken on a tree or a sapling.
Furthermore, Gahan showed that these features are such as to
promote concealment on lichen-covered bark.— E. B. P.
128 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
would take food that was offered to them without
making violent efforts to escape.
In a state of nature Mantidce do not obtain their prey
by hawking it on the wing as Dragon-Flies do, and since,
with an exception to be noted later, their method of
progression by walking is slow and uncertain, they
cannot run down their victims. They lie in wait for
their prey, and as a result of this habit, all or nearly all
Mantidce in a state of repose very closely resemble their
inanimate surroundings ; some are coloured green to
match the green of the leaves amongst which they
hide, others are mottled in shades of brown to resemble
dead leaves and bark ; some South African and South
American species look like sticks or wisps of vegetable
fibre, and these resemblances culminate in the remark-
able forms which look like flowers.
It is very interesting to watch a captive Mantis, such
as one of the common green species of the genus
Hierodula, attack a large Butterfly that is introduced
into its cage. The movements of the Butterfly are
closely followed, the Mantis turning its head from side
to side * in a watchful manner. When the Butterfly
comes within striking distance the Mantis raises the fore-
part of its body, or prothorax, the raptorial front legs
are drawn up close against its sides and slightly rotated
outwards so that their inner surfaces, of a clear yellow,
are displayed ; meanwhile the abdomen is strongly
dilated so as to show the contrasting black of the
intersegmental membranes. Then a sudden snatch is
made and the Butterfly is in the grip of the destroyer.
The Mantis nearly always commences operations by biting
1 I know of no other insect which moves its head in this
remarkable manner.— G. B, L(
COCKROACHES, ETC. 129
through the costal nervures of the fore-wings, but if the
position in which the Butterfly is held is not favourable
for this method of attack, the Mantis bites into the chest
of its prey so as to sever the wing muscles. A large
Butterfly when first seized will dash its attacker with
great violence against the sides of the cage in its mad
struggles for freedom, but I have never yet seen a Mantis
relax its hold, and by its tactics of severing either the
main ribs or else the muscles of the wings it soon
reduces its prey to impotence.
Mantidce are very cleanly insects, and if during the
struggles of their prey they become plentifully dusted
with scales and hairs, their first action after a meal is
to rid their head and legs of these clogging atoms ; the
strong spines that arm the raptorial pair of legs are
picked over by the mandibles ; the antennae, too, are
combed clean by the same organs ; the middle pair of
legs are hooked up to the mouth by the raptorial claws
and held in position there whilst the pads of the tarsi
are licked clean, and finally the front claws are rubbed
over the eyes and top of the head, very much in the
way that the common house-fly cleans its head and eyes.
A number of genera of Mantidce have a special structure
situated on the front femora adapted for cleaning the
head and eyes : a little brush of fine hairs occurring in
a well-defined patch, which is developed even in the
newly hatched young.
Most of the Mantidce that are coloured and shaped so
as to harmonize with their surroundings are very brightly
coloured on parts of their body or limbs that are not
exposed to view when the insects are in a state of repose.
For instance, a species that looks, when still, very like a
dead leaf, Deroplatys desiccafa, has the inner side of the
10
130 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
fore-femora bright red-brown, blotched with black and
pearly white in a small oval patch on the front border ;
the under-side of the prothorax is also red-brown, and
the under-sides of the wing-covers are blotched with
madder and white. In another dead-leaf-like species,
Deroplatys shelf ordi, the inside of the fore-coxae are red
in the basal part, pale bluish in the apical part, and the
fore-femora are heavily blotched with black in the
middle ; the under sides of the elytra are bluish grey
with four large fuscous patches, while the wings are
coal-black streaked with innumerable pinkish lines
except along the front border, where the colour is
uniform yellow. When these insects are irritated, or
when they are excited by the approach of their prey,
these brightly coloured parts are exhibited to their best
advantage. D. desiccata then assumes the attitude de-
scribed in the case of Hierodula : the front part of the
body is raised, and the raptorial claws are drawn up
against the sides of the prothorax and their inner sides
turned to face the aggressor ; D. shelf ordi not only rears
up but also stretches out the raptorial claws at right
angles to the body and at the same time raises the
wing-covers and spreads out the wings like a fan ; if
seen with the light behind it the dark patches on the
under-sides of the wing-covers are seen through their
semi-transparent texture.
A still more remarkable appearance is presented by
Hestiasula sarawaca. This little Mantis, when at rest,
is cryptically coloured in shades of brown and grey ;
its fore-femora are produced into large, flat expansions
which make them almost like circular discs, and when
the Mantis is at rest they are held close together in
front of the body and the insect" looks like a piece of
COCKROACHES, ETC. 131
wood or excrescence of bark. But when excited a
wonderful transformation takes place ; the prothorax
is raised and the fore-legs are stretched out widely on
either side, the wing-covers, wings, and abdomen are
raised, the antennae are agitated so rapidly that only
an indistinct blur is seen in their place, the fore-tibiae
snap down on their femora with clockwork regularity
and a continuous rustling sound is kept up by the
spread wings ; in addition to all this, the insect sways
from side to side : now it is bolt upright, then right over
on one side, and then with a swing over on to the other
side. The exposed parts are very conspicuously coloured,
the under-side of the prothorax is coal-black, the under-
sides of the front coxae are deep crimson, the femora
bright yellow with a black sickle-like mark on the
posterior border and two black spots on the anterior
border, the wings are black streaked with hair lines
of chrome-yellow.
How can we account for these brilliant colours and
extraordinary attitudes ? I believe that they come into
the category of warning colours. Mantidce have many
enemies against which their well-armed raptorial claws
can be of little protection, and so, like many other
insects, (hey defend themselves by the unexpected
display of brightly coloured parts. Explain it how we
may, it is nevertheless a fact that a sudden alteration
in an animal's apearance is very disconcerting and
startling even to a human being. I do not think that
I have ever been more thoroughly startled than once,
when having gently touched a large white caterpillar of
the family Lymantriidce, the creature suddenly displayed
in the middle of its body a coal-black patch which stood
out in startling contrast against the chalk-white of the
132 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
rest of the surface. So too the flickering red filaments
that many Papilio caterpillars suddenly shoot out from
just behind the head when touched, are distinctly
disconcerting. A Mantis which at rest appears like a
dead leaf or knot of bark, when displaying its bright
colours and assuming extraordinary attitudes is without
doubt to some creatures a very alarming object. An
African species, Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi, has eye-like
markings on the wing-covers, or tegmina, and Mr. G. A. K.
Marshall thinks that these are of a terrifying character ;
of this species he writes : I " When the insect is irritated
the wings are raised over its back in such a manner
that the tegmina stand side by side, and the markings
on them then present a very striking resemblance to the
great yellow eyes of a bird of prey, or some feline
animal, which might well deter an insectivorous enemy.
It is noticeable that the insect is always careful to
keep the wings directed towards the point of attack,
and this is often done without altering the position of
the body."
The species of the Malayan genus Creobotra also
have eye-like marks on the wing-covers, but I have
never seen any of them alive, so cannot say if they
behave in the same way as the African species ; still,
I have little doubt that they will be shown to do so.
A great many, though not all, of the species that
" display " when irritated, also display when they
perceive their prey approaching, and it may be asked
why the same warning colours should be exhibited
when the insect fears attack and when it is expectant
of an immediate meal. It seems probable that any
excitement may provide the stimulus — pleasure at the
1 Trans. Ent. Soc., 1902, p. 399.
COCKROACHES, ETC. 133
prospect of food as well as fear of attack — and it is
significant that the same appears to be the case with
poisonous serpents. The Cobra spreads its hood to
warn off attack, and behaves in exactly the same way
if a rabbit is introduced into its cage, but both with
snakes and Mantidce the primary meaning of the display
is warning. On the part of the Mantidce it is a case
of " bluff," for these insects have no poison to inject
into their foes, as wasps and bees have, nor is there
any reason at 'all to suppose that they are unpalat-
able as so many insects undoubtedly are ; but such
examples of "bluff" are common enough amongst
insects, as any -one who will read Professor Poulton's
delightful work, The Colours of Animals, can find out
for himself, and they need not cause us any surprise.
It is possible to trace fairly completely the evolution
of these "displays" from their early beginnings to
the wonderful exhibition given by an African flower-
mimicking species Idolum diabolicum. A green Hiero-
dula, at the approach of prey or when irritated, will,
as already stated, raise the prothorax and draw up
the fore-legs against its sides, displaying to view the
ochre-yellow of the coxae and femora. I do not
regard this in the nature of a warning attitude at all.
It is usual in green insects that parts not exposed to
view when the insects are at rest are coloured less
deeply than the exposed parts, and the attitude of
the Hierodula just described is assumed because it is
the most favourable one for making a sudden rapid
snatch at its prey, but here is the germ on which
natural selection has worked. In Deroplatys desiccaia
the same attitude is assumed at times of excitement,
but here the inner side of the front femora is con-
134 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
spicuously marked, and its sudden display is perhaps
disconcerting to enemies ; but the heavy blotches on
the wing-covers are not displayed nor are the wings
opened. Deroplatys shelfordi extends widely the front
legs, and also elevates the wing-covers and wings, so
that their startling colours are shown to best advantage,
and the insect appears twice its normal size. The
same thing, though accentuated by remarkable move-
ments and still brighter colours, is shown by Hestiasula
sarawaca.
A further advance is made by an Indian Mantis,
Gongylus gongylodes, the habits of which have been
described in great detail by Captain C. E. Williams.1
In this species the prothorax is a narrow elongate
stalk with a diamond-shaped expansion towards its
front extremity ; this expansion on the under side is
brilliant azure in colour, the margins tinted with purple
and in the centre a coal-black spot. When the Mantis
is at rest waiting for its prey it hangs back downwards
with the under side of the thorax directed upwards,
the prothorax then appears like a flower at the end
of a long stalk ; the upper side is coloured green or
brown, and the legs have leaf-like expansions upon
them, so that when the insect is viewed in this aspect
it is protectively coloured and shaped. Captain Williams
states that the green Tree Lizard, Calotes, is a formidable
enemy of this Mantis, but it is evident that the leaf-
like disguise of the insect must protect it to a certain
extent from foes approaching it from below, as it
rests on twigs back downwards waiting for its own
prey. The same authority states that many Butterflies,
both Skippers and large Papilios, are captured by this
1 Trans. Ent. Soc., 1904, pp. 125-37.
COCKROACHES, ETC. * 135
Mantis, and there seems every reason to suppose that
they are sufficiently deluded by the floral simulation
of their enemy to approach within striking distance.
When the Mantis is irritated the " raptorial limbs, which
are usually held folded together in front of the pro-
thoracic disc, are now widely separated until they lie
in the plane of the disc, the inner aspect of the
coxae being directed forwards ; the femora and tibia
remain folded upon them as before. It is now seen that
the internal aspect of the coxae is coloured a brilliant
purple, dotted over with circular white or pale blue
spots, and the femora have a warm red-brown colora-
tion on this aspect" [p. 128]. This attitude is the same
as that adopted by Hierodula when ready to seize prey,
but in addition the abdomen is greatly distended, and
in immature examples is curled up ; the intersegmental
membranes at the base of the abdomen are bright
purple in colour, whilst on those at the hind part of
the abdomen are black eye-spots. In this attitude
the insect presents a terrifying appearance, which, in
Captain Williams's opinion, would deter even a large
Lizard from seizing it. This species is of great interest,
as showing an intermediate stage between such a form
as Hestiasula and that which will be next considered.
It displays its warning signals when irritated by ex-
posing to view the inner sides of the front legs which
normally are concealed, but the under side of the pro-
thorax, which in Hestiasula is part and parcel of the
whole scheme of warning coloration in that insect's
display, is in Gongylus wonderfully coloured to resemble
a flower, and is displayed all the time that the insect
is at rest and waiting for its prey. This is an instance
of alteration of habit and colouring to meet the ever-
136 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
present pressure threatening to crush organisms out
of existence.
The culminating point in floral simulation by Mantidce
is reached in Idolum diabolicum from East Africa.1
In this species, which is protectively coloured on
the upper-side, the prothorax is enormously expanded
into a plate-like disc, and the front pair of coxae are
also flattened and dilated ; the prothorax on the under-
side is white with a greenish band along its hind-
border, the coxae are purple throughout the greater
part of their length, but pinkish-white at the apex.
The creature rests like Gongylus back downwards
on shrubs, waiting for its prey, but unlike Gongylus
the raptorial legs are kept widely stretched out. It
catches its prey not by snatching at it, as other Mantidce
do, but by snapping the tibiae down on the femora.
The prothorax and front legs on their under surfaces
present the appearance of some remarkable exotic
blossom, and it is so attractive to flower-haunting
insects that they hover over the Mantis or actually
settle on it. Here there is no trace of warning color-
ation ; all the parts which in other species are coloured
with the object of scaring enemies are so coloured
as to resemble the petals of a flower, and, so far as is
known, the insect does not adopt any threatening
attitude when irritated. We may, perhaps, safely
assume that while its floral simulation attracts its prey,
the same adaptation as well as to its protective colour-
ing on the upper surface enables it to elude the
observation of its enemies. Idolum is, moreover, a
large, robust insect, with very heavily armed raptorial
1 Sharp, Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc., X. (1898-1900), pp. 175-80,
PI. II.
COCKROACHES, ETC. 137
limbs, and it might be an awkward customer for any
insect-eating bird or lizard to tackle.
Hymenopus bicornis, another floral simulator, is not
uncommon in Sarawak and the Malay Peninsula.
Newly hatched specimens are bright red with black
spots, and present a close resemblance to the similarly
coloured young of a very common and unpalatable
plant-bug, Eulyes amcena,1 and it is probable that this
mimicry is of considerable advantage to the young
Mantis. After the next moult Hymenopus becomes,
and to the end of its life remains, flower-like. It is in
the larval stages pink as a rule, but has, I believe, con-
siderable power of adapting itself to its colour surround-
ings ; for I found a young larva on a jasmine-like plant
that had yellow flowers with crimson stamens, and the
Mantid larva was yellow with crimson lines on the
abdomen and coxa?. I do not believe, however, that
it can alter its colour to any extent without undergoing
a change of skin. Dr. N. Annandale has made some
most interesting observations on this species, which he
observed in the Malay Peninsula, and the following is
an abridged account.2 The general colour of the nymph
is pink, and there is a bar of green across the base of
the prothorax ; the dorsal surface of the abdomen is
pink with some slender stripes of yellow-brown, and
some darker transverse bars near the base. As the
nymph when at rest carries its abdomen curved over
its back the dorsal surface is invisible, but the pink
under surface exposed to view. At the tip of the abdo-
1 This interesting mimetic resemblance of the young Hymenopus
was described and figured by Mr. Shelford (P.Z.S., 1902, II., pp. 231,
232, PI. XIX, figs. 16-19).— E. B. P.
3 P.Z.S., 1900, pp. 839-48.
138 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
men is a conspicuous dark patch. The limbs have
petaloid expansions pink in colour, with, on one edge,
a " slightly livid, bruise-like mark, such as one sees on
flowers that have been battered by tropical rain." Dr.
Annandale further remarks that the "whole surface of
the trunk and that of the flattened expansions of the
femur of the posterior limbs had that semi-opalescent,
semi-crystalline appearance that is caused in flower-
petals by a purely structural arrangement of liquid
globules or of empty cells." The specimen referred to
was found on Melastoma polyanthum, and was first
discovered resting on some of the pink flowers, which
it matched so closely that its presence was only detected
when it moved. It cannot be said that this Mantis
imitates with accuracy a flower or part of a flower of
the Melastoma, but, owing to the close mimicry in colour
and texture this is not of first-rate importance. The
green bar at the base of the prothorax divides the
insect into two, and as the Mantis is much larger than
a Melastoma flower, the protective value of this green
bar is obvious, for it gives the effect of two smaller
flower-like structures. When the Mantis was placed
near a branch of the Melastoma it was seen that it
selected as a resting-place a twig bearing flowers, after
trying others that bore only leaves or unripe buds.
When the Mantis was at rest, several small flies that
haunt the Melastoma settled on it, and at a short dis-
tance the black spot at the apex of the abdomen
appeared very like one of these small flies. The Mantis
was indifferent to these little flies, but seized and
devoured a large fly that settled quite close to it.
When the Mantis left its resting-place and walked
about, the abdomen was straightened out, and then the
COCKROACHES, ETC. 139
insect presented a resemblance to a fallen orchid, the
lines on the dorsal surface of the abdomen looking
" like the ' honey-guides ' of many orchids. The darker
transverse bars seen in the shadow cast by the head
and thorax gave an idea of hollowness, such as might
be expected round the nectaries ; while the abdomen
itself resembled the labellum, and the limbs the other
petals of the orchid." Before the Mantis left the in-
florescence on which it was resting, the abdomen, which,
as stated, is carried curled up, was seen to droop slowly,
until gradually it came to lie in the same line as the
thorax, and then the insect made a sudden leap to the
ground. It is suggested that this gradual drooping of
the abdomen, bringing into view the brown streaks and
bars of the dorsal surface, may represent the fading of
a petal of the Melastoma flower, for the fading of flowers
in the tropics is a rapid process. The observations of
Dr. Annandale show that every detail in the scheme
of coloration of this species — the texture, the structure,
the habits — assist in adding to the sum-total of the
floral simulation ; the black spot on the apex of the
abdomen, and the green bar on the prothorax, which
render the insect conspicuous when seen in unnatural
surroundings, are deeply significant when it is seen in
the surroundings which the insect is careful to select
— the pink Melastoma flowers. The adult Mantis is
cream coloured with a brownish suffusion at the base of
the wing-covers, and is then far less like a flower than
in its younger and more helpless stages ; but even then
it is sufficiently flower-like to gain protection and
delude its prey when in its natural haunts. Neither the
nymphs nor the adults adopt any sort of warning atti-
tude when irritated, nor do they extend the fore-limbs
140 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
to resemble petals, as does Idolum diabolicum. Natural
selection has gone, if not a step further, at least along
a different line, and has produced an insect that from
every aspect and in every detail is so flower-like that
warning attitudes and protective colouring of one sur-
face in contradistinction to an alluring colour of another
are lost in the effort to attain perfection along other
lines.
Some Mantidce supplement their warning displays
by making a hissing or rustling sound, and many of
those that show no brilliantly coloured parts of the
body or its appendages produce the same sound. The
late Professor Wood-Mason1 was the first to draw
attention to this stridulating habit in the Mantidce, and
other observers, among whom I may include myself,
have confirmed his observations. The sound is pro-
duced by the friction of the fore-edges of the two
wing-covers against the legs or abdomen. According
to Captain Williams,2 when Gongylus gongylodes assumes
a threatening posture the wing-covers are slightly raised
and spread outwards and downwards, so that their fore-
edges come into contact with the thighs of the hind
pair of legs ; the insect then sways from side to side,
thus causing the edges of the wing-covers to scrape
against the thighs. On examining these edges it is seen
that they are serrated. Wood-Mason supposed that the
sound was produced by the wing-covers scraping against
the abdomen, but it is difficult to see how its soft and
rounded sides could act as a scraper on the rasp of the
wing-covers. He figures the edge of the wing-cover in
1 Trans. Ent. Soc., 1878, pp. 263-7.
3 Ibid,, 1904, p. 129. See also p. 128 for an account of further
details in the intimidating attitude. — E. B. P.
COCKROACHES, ETC. 141
Hierodula gastrica, showing the dentate edge with a
small seta springing from the side of each tooth.
Stridulation, though almost the rule rather than the
exception among the saltatorial Orthoptera, is certainly
exceptional amongst the non-saltatorial families. Most
of the Mantidce cannot produce a hissing noise, but
only a rustling noise, which, since it is caused merely by
the sudden opening and closing of the fan-like wings,
does not come under the head of stridulation at all.
Two African Cockroaches belonging to the genus
Nauphceta possess the power of stridulating when
alarmed or irritated, and in the case of one of them
the noise made is a loud chirp, which can be heard
to a distance of several yards.1 It is produced by
rubbing the edge of the wing-cover at the shoulder
against the under-side of the prothoracic shield. The
edge of the wing-cover is armed with rows of minute
asperities, 400 to the millimetre, specialized develop-
ments of the polygonal fields into which the chitin
of the wing-covers is split up, showing that it was
developed from cells. The under side of the pronotum
at the edge against which the wing-cover file is brought
to bear is transversely ridged. Since this apparatus is
possessed by both sexes, it is probable that the
stridulation is a warning signal, as it is in the Mantidce,
and not a love song, as in the saltatorial Orthoptera.
Stridulation in the Phasmidce will be discussed when
we come to treat of that family.
I mentioned above that nearly all the Mantidce had
a very uncertain gait when walking, and that con-
sequently they could not run down their prey. The
1 Vosseler, Deutsch. Ent. Zeitschr., 1907, p. 527.
142 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
members of the genus Metallyticus* however, are an
exception. These are brilliant metallic green, with red
reflections, or bluish-black insects inhabiting the
Malayan islands and peninsula ; they are flattened like
cockroaches, and with their long legs they scurry along
on the floor of the jungle or over the bark of trees at
a great pace ; the young, which are chequered with
white or orange on the back, I have taken in decay-
ing wood. These Mantids prey almost entirely on Cock-
roaches, and they pursue their victims with great
vigour, as I was amused to witness when I placed
Cockroaches in a cage in which was confined a
specimen of M. semiceneus. This creature was quite
indifferent to the Butterflies put in its cage, and I was
puzzled how to feed it until it occurred to me that
the lack of protective coloration and the swiftness of
the insect might be associated with active predatory
habits. A diet of Cockroaches was much appreciated
by my captive, and the pace at which a despairing
Cockroach and its relentless enemy careered all over
the cage had to be seen to be believed.
As is well known, the Mantidce form rather elaborate
egg-cases, which they attach to blades of grass or stems
of plants. In the sub-family Mantince these egg-cases,
which are somewhat pear-shaped, look something like
small sponges of dense and springy texture. If one
of these cases be cut open it is seen that there is an
inner mass of eggs surrounded by a thick outer cover-
ing of the spongy material. The central cavity con-
taining the eggs is divided by numerous membranous
partitions into a series of flattened chambers, each
1 Metallyticus, Westw. (= Metalleutica, Burin.) in Kirby's Syn-
onymic Catalogue of Orthoptera, I. (1904), p. 208. — E. B. P.
COCKROACHES, ETC. 143
containing twenty or more eggs ; these cham-
bers along the front of the egg-case are quite close
to the exterior, and the young larvae, when ready to
emerge, have only to force their way through the
opposed walls of the membranous partitions to gain
the outside world. The spongy outer covering is
fabricated by the mother, and serves as a protection
against the attacks of ants and other enemies of that
sort. I once found resting on the egg-case of a
Mantis a species of Braconid, a Hymenopterous
parasite with a very long ovipositor, and it is possible
that this insect was meditating an attack on the eggs
of the Mantis. Its ovipositor was certainly strong
enough to penetrate the outer spongy coat of the egg-
case and long enough to reach the egg-mass inside.
But my approach scared the creature away, and I
successfully reared a numerous progeny of Mantids
from that egg-case.
The newly hatched larvae swarm out of their egg-
case in scores all at the same time, and look rather
like long-legged ants, and if not supplied with suitable
food in the form of mosquitoes or other minute flies,
they will commence to devour each other. Brongniart,
who has studied the emergence of the larvae of some
Algerian Mantidce, states that the newly hatched young
do not leave the egg-case at once, but for several days
remain hanging from it by means of two slender
filaments emerging from a pair of jointed appendages,
the cerci, at the end of the body. Then the larvae
cast their skins, which are still left hanging to the
egg-case, and drop to the ground. I have observed
the emergence of the young of many species, but have
never seen this appearance ; the young have always
144 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
walked straight out of the egg-case and wandered
about in search of food at once.
In other sub-families of Mantidce the egg-case is very
different in appearance from that just described.
Hestiasula sarawaca lays a long double row of eggs
on a branch, and then covers them with an irregular
shaped mass of spongy texture, sea-green in colour.
A very interesting egg-case in the Hope Collection at
Oxford is spherical and green in colour, resembling
some unripe berry : this is the outer cover ; in the
centre is the smaller egg-mass, fastened by strands to
the outer cover and surrounded by an air-space ;
unfortunately, I am entirely unable to determine the
species to which it belongs. Again, Hymenopus
bicornis deposits her eggs on a branch in a long
double row, but then covers them with a sort of hard
enamel. Another species, Theopropus elegans, makes a
similar egg-case and spends a good deal of her time
seated astride it — another case of maternal instinct in
the Orthoptera.
Captain Williams J has been fortunate enough to
witness the making of an egg-case by the Indian
species Gongylus gongylodes, and his account is so
interesting that I transcribe it here: "The insect,
having taken up her position, proceeds to pour
out secretions from the accessory genital glands,
with which she builds up the ootheca. These secre-
tions appear to be of two kinds ; the one is a thick
viscid semi-transparent fluid which very rapidly
hardens to the consistency of horn ; the framework
and nearly the whole bulk of the structure is formed
of this material, and the eggs are extruded and placed
1 Trans. Ent. Soc., 1904, pp. 130-32.
COCKROACHES, ETC. 145
in rows, with their long axis vertical to the branch
on which the ootheca is built. The second secretion
is thinner in consistency, and as it pours out is beaten
up into a white foam or lather-like mass, by the very
rapid rotation of two small spatulate organs which are
protruded at the sides of the genital orifice. This
lather-like substance envelops the egg at the moment
of extrusion, so that the manner in which it is placed
in a position at right angles to that it occupies during
its exit from the oviduct cannot be made out. As
the eggs are placed in position the lather is constantly
being swept aside by the end of the abdomen until
it occupies a position on the outside of the ootheca,
which it entirely clothes throughout to a depth of
£ of an inch. Its function appears to be, in the first
place, to protect the egg from parasitic insects until
it is firmly placed in its matrix, and secondly, as an
outer covering to the ootheca, to shield its contents
from the direct rays of the sun and from the desiccating
effects of the hot air. The lather is full of air-bubbles,
and at first is sticky, adhering to the fingers like bird-
lime, gradually changing to a firm spongy consistency.
It is quite tasteless and free from odour. . . . The
ootheca is roughly square in section. The eggs are
arranged in a single layer, four abreast, and are usually
about forty in number. The viscid secretion which
forms the matrix of the case hardens with remarkable
rapidity, so that even a few seconds after the egg is
laid it is not possible to dislodge it with the point of
a knife. It may be that the lather-like secretion has
the function of protecting this fluid from the harden-
ing effects of the atmosphere while the egg is being
placed in position.
11
146 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
" It may further be noticed that the female uses her
cerci which are attached to the last ventral segment,
in the manner of a pair of callipers to shape her egg-
case and to arrange the lather-like substance in regular
parallel rows along its exterior, corresponding in posi-
tion to some degree, with the rows of eggs within.
"The ootheca is finished off at either end with a
sort of rostrum formed by a vertical plane of matrix
substance projecting in the middle line of the structure.
That formed at the commencement of the construc-
tion is short and rounded, while that formed at the
end of the process is drawn out into a sharp point,
as the insect moves away. These rostra are covered
with the lather, in the same way as the rest of the
ootheca. Each female makes about five of these egg-
cases during four or five weeks ; a single union with
the male appears to suffice for the fertilization of the
whole series of eggs laid in the season. ... In some
way the embryo softens the end of the cell in which
it lies, and this falls outwards as a small disc hanging
by a silken thread, and setting the nymph free. At
the moment of hatching the nymphs come pouring
out of their cells, and hang each by a silken thread
suspended in the air ; this silken thread is not attached
to the cerci, which have not, I think, the function of
spinnerets as figured for another species by Brongniart.
The thread appears to be a single one of twisted
strands, and to be attached at one end to the silk
lining of the egg-case, and at the other to a very
delicate silk membrane which enfolds the body of the
nymph. The nymphs, clad in this membrane, have a
distinctly maggot-like appearance. They soon free them-
selves from this covering, which remains hanging from
COCKROACHES, ETC. 147
the ootheca, and enter upon an independent existence
within a quarter of an hour of hatching."
Stick-Insects, or Phasmidce, occur in astounding
numbers in Borneo. Most of the species, as their
name implies, resemble sticks and twigs very closely,
and one, Cuniculina nematodes, is of such extreme
tenuity that one is led to wonder where room can
be found for the internal organs within so slender and
yet so lengthy a body. A great many forms are
winged, and though in a state of repose they appear
indistinguishable from the leaves or bark on which
they rest, many become highly conspicuous when
they fly, as their wings are then seen to be very
brightly coloured ; Marmessoidea quadriguttata, for in-
stance, is green, but the part of the wings unfolded
during flight is bright rosy-pink, and the insects form
beautiful objects as they take short and slow flights
from one shrub to another when disturbed. All the
species are vegetable-feeders and most of them feed on
leaves, but I have found one burrowing in rotten wood.
A South American sub-family, the Anisomorphino!,
have very distasteful properties, exuding when irri-
tated a whitish fluid from the bases of the legs. They
are mostly wingless and, far from being stick-like, are
very conspicuous, being either brightly coloured or of
a shining black. So far as is known, all the other sub-
families are palatable to birds and other insect enemies,
so that the presence of gaudy colours on the parts of
the wings exposed during flight is a fact the reason
of which is difficult to explain. In spite of their mar-
vellous resemblance to vegetable structures, these insects
are preyed on extensively by Trogons, a family of birds
that affects a diet of Orthoptera in preference to one
148 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
of other insects. An enthusiastic anti-Darwinian to
whom I related this fact rejoiced at having found an
argument to combat the belief that the imitation
of sticks and leaves was of protective value to the
insects, but inasmuch as every believer in natural
selection supposes that these resemblances have been
evolved through the elimination of insufficiently perfect
and of unfit individuals by their enemies, and sup-
poses further that evolution is progressing to-day with
unabated vigour, the joy of the unbeliever appears
misplaced.
A good many of the Phasmidce are nocturnal feeders,
and I have noticed a peculiar habit in some that I
have kept in captivity : during the daytime the insects
were quiescent, resting for hours together with their
long fore-legs stretched out in front of them and their
other legs sticking out at various angles to the body,
but at night they were somewhat more active, moving
about over their food-plant and munching the leaves
greedily. That the presence of light had practically
no effect on these two modes of living was shown by
the fact that the insects were quite as active after dusk
had fallen whether the room in which they were placed
was brilliantly illuminated or not, and conversely, some
specimens kept in a bathroom that was only imper-
fectly illuminated by a grating in one wall were as
quiescent in the middle of the day as specimens
exposed to bright sunlight. The same fact has been
observed of plants that at night adopt a sleeping atti-
tude, the leaves being turned at a different angle from
that which they adopt in the daytime ; if such a plant
be placed in a dark room and examined suddenly by
day it will be found that the leaves are in the waking
COCKROACHES, ETC. 149
attitude, i.e. turned so as to catch the full strength of
sun-rays, which for it are practically non-existent,
while at night the plant adopts the sleeping attitude
even if the room be brightly lit. In fact, all attempts
to turn the plant's and the Stick-Insect's nights into
days, and days into nights, are a failure. The in-
herited rhythm of action is much stronger than the
suddenly reversed stimuli of light and dusk ; the Stick-
Insect will rest and the plant will wake in the day in
spite of artificial darkness, and conversely at night in
spite of brilliant illumination.1
Most of the winged species of Phasmidce, especially
some with brightly coloured wings, are diurnal feeders,
or at 'any rate feed as readily during the day when
in captivity as during the night. Dr. Annandale has
stated that during the great heat of the day in Malayan
jungles, when insectivorous birds are not actively hunt-
ing their prey and when all nature seems to be at
rest, gasping in the heat, Stick- Insects are apparently
more abundant because they are more on the move
than early in the morning or towards the close of
day. I do not know if Dr. Annandale is referring only
to winged species : for my own part I have always
found the most stick-like apterous forms very difficult
to find at any time of the day [Note n, p. 315].
1 The results described are probably due to the persistence
of an individual rhythm already set up, and not to an inherited
specific rhythm. In order to prove the existence of the latter
it would be necessary, to begin the experiment very early in life,
before any individual rhythm can have been set up. A note at
the end of this chapter shows that the author had intended to
refer to Sir Francis Darwin's Presidential Address to the British
Association (Report, 1908, p. 3), where the inheritance of acquired
characters is supported on similar grounds. — E. B. P.
150 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Certain species of Phasmids are bulky creatures, and
are protected by an elaborate armature of stout and
sharp spines which renders them very unpleasant to
handle, especially as they struggle valiantly when
captured, scraping their spiny legs against the hands and
fingers of the ardent entomologist. The male of one of
the spiniest species, Heteropteryx grayi [Note 12, p. 315],
has the power of stridulating quite loudly when irritated,
by scraping the wings against the under-side of the wing-
covers. The wing-covers and wings are reduced rudi-
mentary organs in the male sex of this genus, and are
quite useless for purposes of flight ; their function of
producing a hissing sound is a secondary modification.
The veins on both wings and wing-covers are very
strongly developed and stand up as ridges ; the wing-
covers are incapable of independent movement and lie
as mere flaps over the short wings ; but these latter
organs can be moved, and when the insect is irritated
they are quickly raised up and down, lifting up the
passive wing-covers and scraping against their under-
surface with each movement. A good many Phasmidce
with larger wings, though scarcely large enough to
serve usefully in flight, make a rustling sound by re-
peatedly opening and closing the wings, and this they
do when irritated. A Brazilian species, Pterinoxylus
difformipes, has in the female a stridulating apparatus
something like that of the male Heteropteryx. The fore
margin of the rudimentary wings is finely shagreened,
and when the wing is raised this margin scrapes
against the edge of the wing-covers. There is a large
clear patch on the disc of the wings like a speculum,
and it has been suggested that this is thrown into
vibrations by the scraping of the wings against the
COCKROACHES, ETC. 151
wing-covers, thus increasing the sound, which is still
further augmented by the dome-shaped wing-covers
acting as resonators. Dr. L. Peringuey x states that the
female of Palophus haworthi, a South African Phasmid,
when irritated suddenly opens with a loud tearing
sound the fan-like wings, which are too short to
support the body in flight, and at the same time jerks
the abdomen into the air. In one case the noise and
attitude were sufficiently alarming to put to flight a
cat that was cautiously investigating the Stick- Insect.
Stridulation amongst these defenceless insects is even
more of a " bluff " than in the case of the Mantidce ;
but if the bluff succeeds once in a thousand times its
value to the species might be incalculable.
One and only one sub-family of the Phasmidce, the
Ascepasmince, has the claws of the feet toothed like
a comb, and it is difficult to know what advantages
these Phasmids have over the vast majority of other
species. Though I have kept some of them in cap-
tivity, I have failed to detect any particular use to
which the pectinate claws were applied. The claws
of insects differ in structure very considerably and
pectinate claws are found in many orders, but they
occur in a sporadic manner, some genera in the same
family possessing them whilst allied genera have the
ordinary simple type of claw. So far as we know the
structure of the claws bears very little if any relation
to the habits and modes of life of the insects, for
species with very similar habits have different kinds
of claws, and species with most dissimilar habits
often have claws of the same type. The fact of the
matter is that minute details of structures, which are
1 Proc. S. African Phil Soc., XIV. (1903-4), p. vii.
152 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
of the greatest importance to the entomologist in
enabling him to classify his collections, can generally
be of no importance to the insects themselves in their
struggle for life. What is termed a natural system of
classification, that is, a system displaying the relation-
ship of one form to another, cannot be arrived at if
the classifier confines his attention to characters that
must be of enormous biological importance to the
animals themselves, such as the presence or absence
of wings, the shape and colour of the body and its
appendages. It seems to me that the claws of insects
come into the category of structures whose form is
indifferent to the species but of great use to the sys-
tematist. Perhaps we may learn some day the reasons
for the persistence of such structures of taxonomic
importance, even when they are of no value to the
creatures possessing them, but at present we are stand-
ing on an isolated rock of knowledge, gazing down
into the vast abyss of the unknown.
The eggs of Phasmidce are extremely like seeds, and
on this account have for long attracted the notice of
naturalists. It is really one of the marvels of nature
that insects, resembling plant structures so closely,
should have the resemblance extended even to the
eggs which they deposit, and it has even been
stated that the microscopic structure of the egg-
shells is identical with that of seed-coats. Many
species lay large numbers of eggs, and they are
dropped on the ground in the most casual manner
possible while the females are feeding. The eggs,
owing to their hard shells, are well protected
from the attacks of ants and parasitic Hymenoptera,
the foes that are most likely to destroy them. As a
COCKROACHES, ETC. 153
further protection they are closed at the top by a
tightly fitting lid — the operculum, on which is generally
situated a little knob known as the capitulutn. It is
probable that this knob is itself nothing more than
an imperfectly developed egg, formed beside and sub-
sequently attached to the true egg in the ovarian tube
of the mother. There is, indeed, some evidence to
show that at one period of development the operculum,
too, is an imperfectly developed egg, so that the egg
as laid may be really a compound structure consist-
ing of one perfectly developed and two imperfectly
developed eggs, the latter being modified to form a
capitulum and an operculum.1
Not the least interesting feature of Phasmid eggs is
a peculiar sculpturing on the egg-shell, the hilar area
and hilar scar, resembling very closely similar struc-
tures on some seeds ; in such eggs as I have investi-
gated the embryo lies with the head just under the
operculum and the ventral surface under the hilar
area. The form of the egg varies greatly, and it is
possible to discriminate between closely allied species
by the well-marked differences that the eggs present.
Eurycnema herculanea, a large species that I kept in
captivity for some time, has a large smooth oval egg,
greyish in colour, with a spherical yellow capitulum.
Lonchodes uniformis lays a small dark-brown egg with
an orange capitulum shaped like the tuft on a goose-
berry. Sipyloidea sp. has a long pointed egg with
sculptured and rugose surface, and the capitulum is
long and pointed. The eggs of the Ascepasmince are
very peculiar, for they are exactly like the seeds of a
1 Sharp, "Account of the Phasmidae," etc., in Willey's Zoological
Results, etc., Cambr., 1902, p. 75.
154 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
small vetch — lenticular objects, dark brown in colour
with a paler spot situated on one side, and they have
no capitulum. The species of the genus Marmessoidea
do not drop their eggs casually, but attach them in
rows to leaves, and only a few, in comparison with
the scores of other species, are laid. They are creamy
white, but the upper side is covered with a black net-
work, and the hilar area is marked by a denser pig-
ment. In shape they are a long oval, and at one
end on the upper side is the operculum, dotted with
pigment except for a clear white crescent ; there is no
capitulum.
Some species of Phasmidce have the power of par-
thenogenetic reproduction for several generations. In
Sarawak I kept Eurycnema herculanea in captivity for
eight generations. Although no males ever appeared
the females laid eggs which in course of time hatched
out, and the larva? grew to maturity and in turn laid
eggs also. I noticed that the later generations laid a
larger proportion of eggs that never hatched out, and
also a larger proportion of dwarfed infertile eggs.
How long the race would have taken to become ex-
tinct in the natural course of events I cannot say, for
a captive monkey broke loose one day in my absence
and extinguished the whole brood by the process of
eating them one and all ; the specimens were all in
the larval stage, and as I had no more eggs my
observations came to an abrupt conclusion. The
male of Eurycnema herculanea has, so far as I know,
never been discovered, though the female is common
enough in collections. Here in England I have still
a small colony of an Indian Stick-Insect that has
bred parthenogenetically for several generations ; its
COCKROACHES, ETC. 155
ultimate fate I hope to be able to witness uninter-
ruptedly.1
1 Mr. Shelford exhibited, in 1908, a specimen of this stock bred by
Mr. H. Main(Proc. Ent. Soc.t 1908, p. Ixxvi). Mr. Shelford's breeding
experiment is still (1916) being continued in Oxford by Mr. J. B.
Baker, M.A. The insects thrive upon privet. As yet no male
has been observed in Oxford, but a single one was bred by Mr.
K. G. Blair in London from the same stock (Proc. Ent. Soc.t 1911,
p. Ixi). The parent is believed to have come originally from India,
but the species has not been made out with certainty. The in-
sects are generally referred to the Indian species Dixippus or Carau-
sius morosus, although others have considered that they are an
undescribed species of Menexenus, or of Lonchodes. Mr. H. Ling
Roth has in recent years reared to maturity about 1,200 individuals
in four generations, at Halifax, Yorkshire. Among these one single
male appeared in the third generation. Mr. Ling Roth has made
careful measurements of the size of various parts, the length of
stages, etc., proving that variation is strongly marked in these
parthenogenetically bred individuals — a conclusion of great im-
portance in relation to Weismann's well-known theory of the role
of sexual reproduction in causing variation. — E. B. P.
CHAPTER VI
BEETLES
ONE of the common beetles of Sarawak is a little
blue Tiger-Beetle with red legs, Collyris marginata ; it
may be seen flying about in the sun and settling fre-
quently on the leaves of trees and shrubs. It is, like
the other members of the genus, more of an arboreal
than a terrestrial insect, and so differs from the great
majority of Tiger-Beetles, or Cicindelidce, which are
ground-beetles, running about on paths and open
spaces, and depositing their eggs in the ground. Here
the eggs hatch out, and the larvae form burrows in
which they lie in wait for their prey. The life-history
of Collyris emarginata is rather different, for the eggs
are laid in twigs of shrubs or trees, and in these the
larva forms its burrow.
Dr. J. C. Koningsberger, of Buitenzorg, Java, was the
first to call attention to this interesting habit,1 and
when I was at Buitenzorg in 1905 I saw in the
museum there a preparation illustrating the life-history
of the beetle, which at one time was rather a serious
pest to the planters of Java on account of the injury
done by the larvae to the young coffee-shoots. At the
* Mededeelingen uit's lands Plantentuin (1901), XLIV. [See Note
13, P- 315].
156
BEETLES 157
time of my visit to Java Dr. Koningsberger was on
leave in Europe, and I was unable then to get any
further information about the beetle, but later on he
was kind enough to supply me with several specimens
of the larvae in their burrows, and I was able to make
an examination of their external anatomy.1
The burrow occupied by a Collyris larva is situated
in the pith of very small twigs. It is generally half
as long again as the larva, so that there is room for
to-and-fro movements by the occupant. Just at the
front end of the burrow is a small circular orifice
passing through the woody tissue of the twig and
placing the burrow in communication with the outer
world. On examining a larva, it can be seen that it
possesses no organs adapted for boring through the
resistant woody tissue of the twig, and it is obvious
that the egg must be placed in the soft pith by the
mother beetle. An adult female of Collyris emarginata
is provided with a complex armature of strong chitin,
concealed within the terminal visible segments of the
abdomen. The armature is really made up of three
abdominal segments and their appendages, retracted
within the abdomen, and highly modified for ovi-
position. The actual oviposition of this species has
never been witnessed, but a glance at the chitinous
armature of the female is enough to show that it is
well suited for penetrating the relatively hard wood of
the coffee-twigs, so that the egg can be placed safely
inside the pith. All the Cicindelidce, so far as is
known, deposit their eggs in substances and not on
substances, and the females invariably have some sort
of boring apparatus concealed within the abdomen.
1 Trans. Ent. Soc., 1907, pp. 83-90, PI. III.
158 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
The last ventral plate of the abdomen of Collyris emar-
ginata has on its free terminal margin a pair of little
decurved spines, and I believe that the function of
these is to guide the egg safely through the hole
bored in the wood on to the central cylinder of pith.
Without these guides the beetle would be very liable
to make a bad shot at the hole which she had bored,
and lay the egg on the outside of the twig, where it
would be exposed to all sorts of dangers, or it might
fall to the ground. It is interesting to observe that
these spines occur in other Cicindelidce which are
known to be arboreal. They are well developed in
Therates labiata from Amboina, which Wallace states
to be arboreal ; very minute and perhaps functionless
in some Bornean species of Therates which are more
terrestrial than arboreal in their habits, and they are
present in the arboreal Australian genus Distypsidera.
When the larva of Collyris emarginata hatches out it
must proceed to form its burrow by digging out the
soft pith of the twig, and we find that the front legs
are well adapted for this purpose. In the larvae of
other Cicindelidce, which live in burrows in the soil,
the legs are long and slender, and act as stays to
prop the larvae up at the top of its lair ; but in
Collyris larvae the fore-legs are flattened and shortened
to form efficient digging instruments. The thigh or
femur is not much longer than the plate-like first
joint of the leg, the coxa: it is broadest at the distal
end, and is produced at one point into a strong, flat-
tened tooth, bearing in its turn smaller teeth. The
next two joints, the shank or tibia and the tarsus,
are extremely short, and have little teeth on the outer
aspect. By means of oar-like movements of these
BEETLES 159
strong spades the larva can soon dig out the soft
pith, which is expelled from the opening made by the
mother.
In all Cicindelid larvae there occurs on the back of
the seventh segment of the body a hump or process
armed with two or more long spines. When resting
at the top of their burrows the larvae are bent into
an S-shaped curve, and the spines, together with the
legs, serve to prop them up and keep them steady
when they are struggling with some large and strong
victim that has fallen into their clutches. In Collyris
larvae the hump is small and beset with six little
spines, which all point forward. In the specimens I
examined there was no very pronounced S-shaped
curve of the body, and it did not appear to me that
the spines would be of very great service in holding
the larvae in their places when struggling with power-
ful prey. The Cicindela larva rests at the top of its
burrow, closing the mouth of it with its large head
and the first segment of the body. When any small
insect running on the ground passes over this living
trap-door it is seized in a pair of powerful jaws, and
the larva drops like a bullet to the bottom of its
burrow, there to devour its prey at its ease.
The action of Collyris is a little different, and has
been observed by two entomologists, Mr. F. Muir and
Mr. J. C. Kershaw, who studied the larva of a species
of the genus at Hong-Kong. This species, like the
Javan and Bornean C. emarginatus, lived in the stems
of a shrub, and fed on ants and aphides which it
seized by darting out of its burrow, and then retiring
to shelter again. It is obvious with this different
mode of seizing prey that the powerful dorsal spineg
160 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
that are so useful to the Cicindela larvae as props, and
possibly as climbing-irons, would hamper the Collyris
larva, and so, in accordance with the rule that struc-
tures are adapted to requirements, we find these hooks,
though more numerous, much reduced in size,
One interesting feature was seen in the piece of
stem bored by this Hong-Kong larva — the part of the
stem occupied by the larva was swollen, an evident
pathological result of the injury inflicted by the larva ;
I have seen similar swellings on plant stems tunnelled
by ants, and it is not unlikely that the huge bulbous
swellings on the roots of those remarkable plants
Myrmecodia and Hydnophytum, which afford perma-
nent shelters to colonies of ants, took their origin in
the first place from pathological swellings induced by
insects boring in normal tissues.1
Another very common Tiger-Beetle found, mostly in
old jungle, running about amongst the decaying vege-
tation, is Tricondyla gibba. Nothing unfortunately is
known of its life-history, which may be expected to
be different from that of Collyris and Cicindela. I am
inclined to suppose that the larva will eventually be
found burrowing in decaying wood ; but I must con-
fess that I have no facts to back my belief.
A digression may now be made to consider very
briefly the adaptation of the fore-legs of many insects
for digging. These adaptations are strikingly apparent
when the fore-legs of certain burrowing insects are
compared with those of their non-burrowing allies.
The fore-leg of the Mole-Cricket Gryllotalpa is fami-
liar to all entomologists, and it has been often figured
1 There is no doubt that the swellings referred to precede the
insect attacks.— H. N. R.
BEETLES 161
in books on the natural history of insects. Less
familiar is Panesthia javanica, a Cockroach that swarms
in multitudes in decaying wood, and has fore-tibiae that
are considerably shortened and strongly spined, but not
otherwise highly modified. The fore-limb in Passalid
beetles is only moderately adapted for digging, but the
Copridce, which are ground-burrowers (although I have
also taken a species in decaying wood), have lost the
tarsus of the fore-limb, and the tibia is considerably
expanded. The fore-limb of the larva of Collyris
emarginatus has been already described (p. 158). A
very remarkable bug of the family Lygceidce, found in
rotten wood, has a fore-limb approaching that of the
Mole-Cricket. With all these we may compare the
corresponding leg of the Sand- Wasp or Fossor Bembex,
which does not burrow in decaying wood, but digs
holes in sand for her young.
It may be pointed out that insects play a large part
in the production of the rich and fertile soil that
covers the floor of the jungle. The soil for the depth
of a foot or two is made up of vegetable detritus,
the deciduous leaves of trees contributing to it largely.
But occasionally storms sweep through the jungle and
bring down some of the older or weaker trees, espe-
cially those which have been attacked by the inter-
lacing parasites of the Ficus order. The trees in their fall
involve others in their ruin, and great clear spaces, with
fallen trees cumbering the ground, may occasionally be
met with in any tract of jungle. An examination of
these trees shows that they are in all stages of decay,
from comparatively sound timber to little more than
mere cylinders of vegetable humus.
A newly fallen tree attracts for miles around all
12
162 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
those beetles whose larvae bore into more or less
sound wood — Longicorns, Weevils, Scolytidce, and others.
The tree-trunk, being now riddled in all directions by
the tunnels of the borers, is exposed to the penetra-
tion of the ever-present moisture of a country with
an average annual rainfall of over 130 inches, and
the attacks of parasitic fungi follow. If the wood be
of sufficient softness white ants make terrific inroads
into it, and ordinary ants also colonize it ; but if the
wood be of a nature not agreeable to the white ants it
more slowly rots away, and in course of time becomes
of so soft and friable a texture that it provides a home
for scores of different insects, that live partly on the
rotten wood and partly on the smaller organisms, such
as Scolopendrella, Thysanura, and others, which swarm
throughout the mass. Passalid beetles and their larvae,
Cockroaches of the genus Panesthia, a peculiar Lygaeid
bug, a Phasmid, and Heteromerous beetles are a few
examples of the insects that I have taken in quanti-
ties from a decayed trunk. Ere very long the log,
traversed in all directions by these borers, becomes
converted into a cylinder of humus peopled by Mole-
Crickets, Earthworms, the larvae of many Diptera, and
other soft-bodied grubs.
One of the most wonderful beetles known to science
is Mormolyce phyllodes, a member of the great family
Carabidce. This insect, which is of considerable size,
is very flattened in shape, the elytra have large semi-
circular expansions, the prothorax is elongated and
flattened ; the head has a long neck, and the antennae
are almost as long as the body. More than one
species of this remarkable genus have been discovered,
but they appear to be confined to the Malay Penin-
BEETLES 163
sula and the Great Sunda Islands, Borneo, Java, and
Sumatra. The first specimens that reached Europe
excited the wonder of all entomologists, and gave
rise to many discussions on the true affinities of the
species. In the middle of the last century the Paris
Museum actually paid 1,000 francs for a single speci-
men of Mormolyce phyllodes, a disbursement which sub-
sequently they must have regretted, for the beetle is by
no means uncommon, and recently has been taken
by the hundred.
The , adults are generally found resting on the huge
Polyporus fungi, which project from the trunks of de-
caying trees. The larvae are found inside lenticular
chambers, which have been excavated within the woody
tissue of the fungus. These chambers communicate
with the outside world by a small orifice situated on
the under side of the fungus. There may be more
than one chamber in a fungus, but 1 have never found
more than one larva in a chamber. The larva, as it
grows, continues to increase the size of the chamber,
and when two chambers are placed close together it
sometimes happens that the dividing wall is broken
down by one of the larvae, and then it appears as if
two larvae lived together in a single cell. The grubs
feed on such insects as enter by the hole leading
into their chamber, but occasionally on each other.
Oviposition has never been observed, but it is prob-
able that the female beetle bores a hole in the
fungus and deposits her egg therein, otherwise the
egg would fall to the ground ; for in every fungus
that I have examined the one and only entrance
to the larval chamber is on the under surface of the
fungus.
164 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
According to Heer Overdijk,1 who was the first to
discover the life-history of this curious beetle, the
larval stage lasts for eight to nine months, during
which five moults take place, and the pupal stage lasts
eight to ten weeks. The larvae are not very remark-
able in appearance, closely resembling other Carabid
grubs, but the pupa is sufficiently like the adult to
present a very extraordinary appearance. I do not
know how the imago manages to effect its escape
from its prison. I once caught a newly emerged
beetle, with the integument still soft and pale in
colour, resting on a Polyporus fungus, but though the
cell in the fungus was empty it was almost incredible
that so large a creature could have escaped through
the small hole leading to the cavity, even allowing for
the softness of its tissues, which would, of course,
be capable of a certain amount of compression. It is
a curious fact that one or more adults are always
found in close proximity to a fungus with larval
chambers, and I have sometimes wondered if they
assisted the newly hatched beetles to emerge by
gnawing at the entrance to the larval chamber and
increasing its size, but I have never found a fungus
showing traces of such action, and so do not consider
it probable. Overdijk states that the adults when
handled caused such a burning and itching sensation
that his fingers were disabled for a whole day. I
have handled several living specimens myself, and
cannot state that I have ever experienced any ill-
effects whatever, nor have I ever heard complaints
from my Dayak collectors, who had a still wider
experience of living specimens.
1 Tijdschrift voor Enlomologie (Nederland. Ent. Vcr.\ vol. I. (1857),
pp. 41-3.
BEETLES 165
Every one who has collected insects in the tropics
is thoroughly familiar with certain beetles, usually
coloured red, or red and black, which on account of
their soft leathery wing-covers bear a family resem-
blance to the "Soldiers and Sailors" so abundant in
England. These beetles belong to the Lycidce, one of
the families of the group Malacodermata, to which the
" Soldiers and Sailors " also belong. The Lycidce are
not only abundant, but expose themselves very freely
on flower-heads, tree-trunks, etc. From observations
and experiments made by Mr. G. A. K. Marshall in
South Africa, and by myself in Borneo, there is every
reason to suppose that the Lycidce, owing to their
nauseous properties, are very distasteful to insect
enemies ; but to this subject I shall return later. The
larvae are also very conspicuous creatures that
may be found in some numbers crawling about on
the trunks of trees or on the floor of the jungle.
I was successful in breeding the imagines from two
kinds of Lycid larvae, Lycostomus gestroi and Colo-
chromus dispar. The first of these is in shape and
certain details of anatomy not unlike the common
Glow-Worm, which is the larva-like female of another
member of the Malacodermata, Lampyris noctiluca.
But in colouring the Lycostomus larva is very different,
for it is black on the upper surface with a marginal
series of orange spots, while beneath it is white with
black spots. The larvae, like the adults, are very
distasteful, and their colouring is, no doubt, yet
another example of warning coloration. The head, as
in so many Malacoderm larvae, is very small, and
can be withdrawn inside the first thoracic segment ;
the antennae are also retractile, and are little club-
166 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
shaped structures of only two joints ; a well-defined
crescentic area of the cuticle at the tip of the second
joint is very thin, and as the body of the antenna is
occupied by many nerve-fibres and large ganglia,
these organs must be very sensitive. The larvae
crawl about with a looping movement something like
Geometer caterpillars, and they constantly apply the
tips of their minute antennae to the surface on which
they crawl. As their only visual organs are a pair of
small ocelli, so simple in structure that it is impossible
to imagine them capable of more than appreciating
the difference between light and darkness, the antennae
are undoubtedly the most important sense organs that
the creatures possess.
The larvae feed either on Mollusca or else on such
small soft-bodied creatures as Scolopendrclla, Thysanura,
and perhaps Dipterous larvae, it is not certain which,
for I was never able to find out exactly what they
ate, though I was successful in rearing them when
kept in decaying wood.1 It is certain that the larvae
do feed on animal matter, for their mouth-organs are
constructed on the same plan as those of the Glow-
Worm, which, as is well known, devours snails. A
more or less detailed account of the mouth-parts in
Lycostomus larvae will illustrate how admirably these
organs are adapted for sucking the juices of the
creatures on which they prey.
The mandibles are fine sickle-like blades, each
enclosed in a delicate sheath, and perforated through-
out their length by a delicate canal into which open
1 Dr. D. Sharp, F.R.S., who has bred the English Lycid, Eros
aurora, from the larva, tells me that he has never really discovered
what the larva feeds upon.
BEETLES 167
the salivary ducts ; the mandibular sheaths are open
at the back and at their ends, allowing the tips of
the mandibles to project freely. A portion of the
next pair of mouth-organs, the maxillae, known as the
lacinia, is deeply grooved along its inner face, and
into this groove the mandible of the same side
accurately fits ; the lacinia is of somewhat spongy
texture. The way in which these organs are used
must be somewhat after this fashion.
The sickle-like mandibles are plunged into the body
of the prey, and as they are forced into the tissues
they spring partly out of their sheaths, which remain
outside the wound as do also the bluntly pointed
spongy laciniae of the maxillae. A secretion from the
salivary glands is forced through the mandibular canal
into the wound, which serves to make the fluids of
the animal's body more liquid, exactly as the Mosquito,
preparatory to sucking blood, injects a salivary secretion,
which is not only poisonous, causing an abominable
irritation round the puncture, but also may contain
the micro-organisms which are directly the cause of
malarial fever. Outside the wound caused by the
Lycostomus larva, the mandible is enclosed in a tube
made of two half-tubes — the mandibular sheath open
at the back and the lacinia grooved down the front ;
up this closed channel the juices, rendered more
fluid by the salivary secretion, can be drawn into the
mouth of the larva. It can be clearly seen from the
structure of its mouth-parts that the larva is a suctorial
insect, and does not bite or munch its prey.
After eight to ten weeks the larvae pupate. Immedi-
ately before pupation they swell up and become very
sluggish. The pupae are white and the outer edges
168 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
of the first two thoracic segments, and the " shoulders "
of the future wing-covers, are beset with little spinous
processes ; two such processes are also situated at the
posterior angles of each abdominal segment, and the
apex of the abdomen itself is furnished with a pair of
slender processes, each terminating in a grapnel-like
head. This complicated armature serves a particular
purpose, that of securing over the back of the pupa
the dorsal part of the last larval skin. When the final
moult takes place the pupa is attached by its ventral
surface to some tree-trunk. The ventral part of the
last larval skin is lost, but the dorsal part is fixed over
the back of the pupa, for the terminal grapnels and
the tiny spines hold it quite securely fore and aft.
Without a close examination it is not possible to dis-
tinguish a pupa from a larva owing to this overlying
blanket of larval skin. The object of the retention of
the larval skin is not far to seek. A pupa is a helpless
object unable to escape or resist its enemies ; the
nauseous properties of the adult larval Lycostomus, which
are their protection against foes and are well adver-
tised by bright colours, are undoubtedly present in
the pupa, but not coupled with a conspicuous adver-
tisement. There is no doubt that nature could evolve
a pupa with a conspicuous warning colouring, but she
has other methods of arriving at the same result
and here we have an example. The pupa, by retaining
the last larval skin, borrows, so to speak, the warning
advertisement of the larva, and thus acquires immunity
from the attacks of enemies familiarized by experience
with the larval colouring.
The larva of Calochromus dispar is very different in
outward appearance from that of the Lycostomus. The
BEETLES 169
back of the first thoracic segment is expanded into
a large shield, bright orange in colour ; the last
segment of the body is also orange. The back of
the larva is black, and from the sides of the body
there project finger-like processes coloured black and
white, except those at the end of the body, which are
orange ; the body terminates in a pair of antler-like
processes. The habits of this larva are like those of
Lycostomus, and in the same way the last larval skin
covers the pupa, and is held in position by very similar
devices.
Of very great interest are the large trilobite-like
larvae, apparently of some unknown Malacoderm beetle.
Structurally they resemble the larvae of Lycidce, but
are very much larger not only than the Lycid larvae
but than any adult Malacoderm beetle known to
science. Several species occur in Borneo, and one of
them is not at all uncommon ; others are found in Java,
Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Burma, and Travancore.
The extraordinary fact about these larvae is that no one
has 'ever succeeded in rearing them from the larval
stage to an adult, or even to a pupal stage, nor has
any one ever identified the species of beetle which
might be expected to be the adult stage. It is not
that the attempt to rear them has never been made,
for sundry entomologists, including myself, have kept
the creatures in captivity, have seen them moult and
increase in size, but have never witnessed the pupation
of a single specimen. Dr. Hanitsch obtained quantities
of another form on Mt. Kina Balu, in North Borneo,
his collectors bringing specimens to him literally in
handfuls until he stopped them from catching any
more ; the larvae were kept alive for some months in
170 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Singapore, but eventually died. As in the case of the
Lycid larvae, it is not certain what these creatures feed
on, but they seem to thrive if always kept moist and
surrounded with plenty of rotten wood.
It may be observed that neither on Kina Balu nor
in the neighbourhood of Kuching, where " Trilobite-
Larvae " also occur, does there exist, so far as is known,
a Malacoderm beetle that could possibly be regarded
as the adult of either of these larvae, and this in spite of
the fact that in the one place the larva is extraordinarily
abundant and in the other common enough. I once
put forward, in conversation with coleopterists, a
suggestion that these larvae underwent no metamor-
phosis at all, but that they merely grew in size, and
when they attained full growth reproduced their kind,
or in other words became adult without metamorphosis.
The suggestion was scouted as too improbable to
deserve discussion, but a consideration of the meta-
morphosis of some other Malacodermata, and an
examination of the internal anatomy of the larva,
convinces me that the suggestion may eventually be
shown to be not very wide of the actual truth.
A very remarkable South American Malacoderm,
Phengodes hicronymi,1 is in the male sex completely
winged, and quite a normal beetle, but the female is
externally indistinguishable from the larva. Dr. Annan-
dale is inclined to believe that the same is true of
a common Fire-Fly, or Glow- Worm, of Calcutta, Luciola
vespertina. These two beetles, Phengodes and Luciola,
belong to two different families, and consequently there
1 Mr. Gahan informs me that nearly all species of Phengodes have
larva-like females and winged males. The species referred to in the
text is figured in Sharp's Insects, Pt. II. (1899), p. 249.— E. B. P.
BEETLES 171
is nothing inherently impossible in the view that the
same limited metamorphosis may occur in members
of a third family; in fact, we may go further, and say
that the female larvae, and female adults of the Malayan
Lycoid species, are in all probability indistinguishable
in their external anatomy. But can it be possible for
the male larva also to undergo no metamorphosis ? I
think it quite probable, for the following reason. In all
winged insects the future wings and wing-covers of
the adult are formed in the body of the larva ; they
are developed as thickenings and folds of that layer
of the body-wall known as the hypodermis, and in
this stage of development are known as imaginal rudi-
ments. As the larva grows in size they grow too,
and when the larva casts its last skin and becomes a
pupa, the imaginal rudiments of the wings and wing-
covers unfold and are visible as wing-pads. The legs,
antennae, eyes, and other adult organs are all developed
from imaginal rudiments inside the body of the larva,
so that we can truly say that a larva is not a distinct
organism, which towards the end of its life suddenly
changes into a pupa, the pupa eventually suddenly
changing into an adult, but that a larva is a stage
of gradual growth, containing within its body all
the organs of the adult : it is merely an adult in
embryo.
The adult female of the English Glow-Worm, Lampyris
noctiluca, is larviform, that is, though in many respects
different from the larva, yet it resembles it in the
soft grub-like body and in the entire absence of wings
and wing-covers. If we examine the larva of the
female beetle we shall find that there are in it no
imaginal rudiments of wings and wing - covers, but
172 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
they are present in the larva of the male, because
the male beetle has well-developed wings and wing-
covers.
If, then, the adult male of the " Trilobite-Larva " is
provided with wings and wing-covers, then its larva
should possess imaginal rudiments, but a careful
microscopic examination of male larvae, ranging from
a comparatively small size to nearly the largest, has
failed to reveal the slightest trace of these organs. I
can therefore declare with some degree of confidence
that if an adult male of this larva be eventually found
differing in its external anatomy from the larva, then
it must be apterous. In spite of the abundance of
these larva?, in spite of the fact that they have been
known to collectors for many years, a male of this
description has never been found. I will venture to
prophesy, moreover, that it never will be found, but
that some day a "larva" with completely developed
internal generative organs communicating with the
exterior by ducts will be found, and such a " larva "
will be to all intents and purposes an adult. If this
is ever established we shall have a gradual transition
from species exhibiting complete metamorphosis to
species without any metamorphosis at all, as thus : —
Males and females undergoing complete metamorphosis
Lycidce, etc.
Males and females undergoing complete metamorphosis, but
female larviform Lampyris noctiluca.
Male undergoing complete metamorphosis, female not meta-
morphosing, indistinguishable from larva Phengodes.
? Luciola vespertina.
Male and female undergoing no metamorphosis, both indis-
tinguishable from larvae " Trilobite- Larvae."
BEETLES 173
On Mt. Matang I found larvae of a species of Luciola
living in a trickling stream, or in the moss on its
margins. They were phosphorescent, just like our
English Glow-Worm, and like it also appeared to feed
on snails. This may possibly be the same species as
that found by Dr. Annandale in the Malay Peninsula1
in a stagnant pool, which he observed to display their
light only when the water was quite still and when
they were resting on plants near the surface. When
the water was disturbed the lights of the larvae
disappeared.
Dr. Annandale indulges in some philosophical
speculations as to the display of phosphorescent lights
by insects, and it is certainly difficult to explain the
significance of the light in Lampyrid larvae. The old
explanation that the female Lampyris displays her light
to attract the male fails to account for its display by
the larvae and by the males themselves. Dr. Annan-
dale suggests that the light of the aquatic larvae serves
as a lure to attract surface or aerial prey, but I do
not accept this explanation of its significance, as the
larvae probably prey on molluscs, for which they
search.2
The same naturalist has discovered another aquatic
Lampyrid larva in tanks at Calcutta,3 among the
roots of a floating water-plant, Pistia stratiotes. This
is probably the larva of Luciola vespertina, a very
1 P.Z.S., 1900, p. 862.
9 I should suggest that this light serves as a defence or
warning. A small Lampyris flew into my verandah at Singapore
and a young Gecko (Hemidactylus) advanced to attack it. Just
as it was about to seize the Lampyris the latter flashed its light
and the Gecko turned and fled [see Note 14, p. 315], — H. N. R.
3 Joiirn. and Proc. As. See. Bengal (N. Ser.), II. (1907), p. 106.
174 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
common Fire-Fly in Calcutta. In nearly all Mala-
coderm larvae there is at the termination of the body
on the under side a sucker, formed by and continuous
with the lining of the lowest portion of the intestinal
canal. In the terrestrial forms this sucker is used
when the animal crawls, being applied to the surface
over which it is moving and withdrawn when the
front part of the body is stretched out straight, to be
reapplied when the posterior end has been brought up
to the anterior, and so on.
Mr. E. ]. Bles informs me that a Malacoderm larva
which he observed in Paraguay, before proceeding to feed
on a snail, smeared its head all over with its terminal
sucker, and it is possible that glands opening on the lips
of the sucker pour out a secretion, perhaps for the pur-
pose of dissolving the snail's slime, which might hinder
the larva in its attack [Note 15, p. 315] . Dr. Annandale
finds in the Calcutta larva that the sucker is modified
into a star-shaped funnel which can be withdrawn into
the body or completely extruded ; the funnel is con-
nected with a pair of large air-tubes which run along
the sides of the body and send out fine branches
amongst the internal organs. The under side of the
floating leaves of Pistia stratiotes holds films of air and
the funnel is thrust into these air-reservoirs, and thence
air is drawn into the respiratory system. We thus
see that a structure with only slight modifications can
serve as an organ of locomotion, an organ accessory
to feeding, and an organ of respiration.
Another common Calcutta Fire-Fly is Luciola gorhami,
which is winged in both sexes, but Dr. Annandale
believes that the female of Luciola vespertina is prac-
tically indistinguishable externally from the larva, for
BEETLES 175
specimens which, after having been kept and fed for
some months in an aquarium, died and sank to the
bottom, were, when dissected, found to be full of eggs.
The final proof of the similarity between larvae and
female adults by breeding has yet to be established,
but it may be noted that a winged female of L. ves-
pertina similar to the winged female of L. gorhami is
not known.
The Cassididce, or Tortoise Beetles, are of con-
siderable interest on account of their very remarkable
larvae. The adults are plant-feeders, and some of them
are most gorgeously coloured, though the brilliant
hues disappear in dried specimens. The two com-
monest species in Sarawak are Prioptera octopunctata
and Aspidomorpha miliaris. The former is something
like a Ladybird, convex in shape, orange or yellow in
colour, with several black spots on the wing-covers
and pronotum ; the latter, which is flattened, is also
yellow and marked, but in a different manner, with
black spots.
The larvae of Cassididce are also plant-feeders, various
species of Convolvulacece being a very favourite food-
plant of the family. Their bodies are covered by the
old shed skins and excrementitious matter, which are
attached to long, slender processes at the end of the
body. These processes can be turned forwards so
that the matter which they carry forms a sort of
umbrella over the larva. Some larvae also, when irri-
tated, have the habit of flicking the processes with the
attached matter at the enemy.
Dr. D. Sharp and Mr. F. Muir * have given [pp. 2-6] a
detailed account of the egg-laying and larvae of some
1 Trans. Ent. Soc., 1904, pp. 1-21, PI. I-V.
176 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
African species, and as the egg-case and larva of
Aspidomorpha miliaris, which I once found in some
numbers at Malacca, are very like those of the African
species, A. puncticosta, the modus operandi of the egg-
laying females must be very similar. In some species
of Cassididce the eggs are deposited in an ootheca of
variable structure, which very roughly resembles that
of the Mantidce. In the genus Aspidomorpha the egg-
case, which is attached to a leaf or stalk of the food-
plant, contains a number of cells, formed by opposed
membranes, each containing an egg. The way in
which the ootheca of the African species is formed
is as follows : The beetle, having selected a suitable
spot, plants her front feet firmly and does not move
them throughout the operation ; the hind pair of legs
are held up out of the way. "The abdomen is then
extended and the oothecal plates extruded. Placing
the tips of the plates against the surface of the leaf,
she exudes a small quantity of colleterial fluid which
adheres to the leaf. [This fluid is secreted by certain
glands, accessory to reproduction, situated at the hind-
end of the body. — R. S.] Then compressing the
oothecal plates together and moving the abdomen
upwards this fluid is drawn out between the plates
as a thin membrane. Having attained the limit of
the upward movement, the two oothecal plates are
moved laterally upon one another, so that the mem-
brane is cut off. It rapidly dries and becomes hard
on exposure to the air, and is then tough and elastic.
To form a second membrane she brings the tip of the
abdomen again to the surface of the leaf, but a little
on one side of the point of attachment of the first
membrane, again exudes some colleterial fluid, and,
BEETLES 177
elevating the abdomen, another membrane is formed.
Having thus fastened a few membranes firmly to the
leaf, the beetle now begins to add the deposition of
eggs to the process. An egg after passing down the
oviduct becomes covered with colleterial fluid. This
egg is placed about the middle of the membrane
behind it (it is of course one previously deposited :
the formation of the ootheca proceeds from behind
forwards). The egg adhering in this position, the
abdomen is moved downwards (i.e. towards the leaf),
but when it has reached the limit of movement in
this direction it does not touch the leaf, but, moving
in a parallel direction with that of the preceding mem-
brane, is turned upwards so that the membrane is
doubled, and the movement continuing upwards the
end of the membrane is left free at the top, when the
limit of upward movement is reached. . . . The egg
and membrane having been thus deposited, another
egg is placed by the side of the first (and of course
on the anterior face of the membrane), and the process
is repeated. The series of four rows of eggs is attained
by means of slight lateral movement of the abdomen.
. . . The membranes are soft and pliable when ex-
truded from the oothecal cavity, and rapidly become
solid, and thus retain the form they are made to
assume during the construction. The cells are made
to a large extent by the eggs pushing apart the mem-
branes in some places, and pushing them together in
others, but they are partly due to the shape of the
membranes, which are, each one, curvate, and more-
over are doubled so that sometimes two concave
faces are brought together; in other cases the outside
edge of a membrane projects somewhat, and thus
13
178 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
keeps the next membrane a little way off. These
various facts are seen by examining those cells, at the
two ends, that contain no eggs : at these places the
cellular structure still exists, though in more irregular
fashion than in the area of the egg-containing cells.
The outer row of cells on each side is quite different
in form and never contains any egg."
The value of these remarkable egg-cases appears to
be that the eggs are protected from drought and
from any sudden changes of temperature. Though the
egg-case just described is a very beautiful structure,
Mr. Muir and Dr. Sharp consider that no skill is shown
in its production — " The operation seems to be more
comparable with the action of a machine." The
insect cannot see what it is doing, since the egg-case
is constructed between the lower surface of the abdomen
and the leaf, and it is doubtful if the " brain " (or cerebral
ganglia) is concerned in the operation at all. The form-
ation of a Mantis egg-case is similarly a purely mechani-
cal action, for an Italian observer has noted that a partially
decapitated Mantis can still construct its egg-case.
I have frequently found the egg-cases of the common
Oriental species Aspidomorpha miliaris attached to the
under sides of leaves of species of Ipomcea, but I have never
witnessed their manufacture. There is little doubt that
the method is in all essentials the same as that employed
by the African species, for in structure and appearance
they are very similar. There are eight rows of cells, the
four central ones occupied by eggs, and on each side of
this core are two rows of empty cells, and at the hind-
end of the case are some rather loosely attached
membranes which are plainly the rudiments of cells.
The larvae are whitish and black-spotted, and they
BEETLES 179
are gregarious, feeding and resting in serried masses
on their food-plant. When a larva moults, the skin
is not thrown right off the body, but remains attached
behind- and that next moulted is attached to the previous
one, and so on, till a full-grown larva is furnished with
a long chain of old skins, borne erect on a process at
the hind-end of the body. The larva also has the habit
of fastening particles of excrement to the spines of the
last moulted skin, but they are very loosely attached
and soon fall off. It is a habit which, as we shall see,
has descended from a far more elaborate one. When
the larva is ready to turn into a pupa, it fastens itself
to a leaf and then partially throws off the last larval skin
— a part, however, still remaining attached to the pupa-
while the chain of old skins is thrown off entirely. The
pupae are found in little groups and are conspicuous
objects.
The female of Prioptera octopunctata does not form
an egg-case, but deposits her eggs singly on the under
sides of leaves. She first lays down a thin membrane,
or layer of viscous secretion which hardens to a
membrane, and on this is laid an egg, which is again
covered with another membrane, the egg being thus
enclosed in a flat semi-transparent case. But this is
not all, for over this case is placed a sort of roof to
which particles of excrement are attached ; this accom-
plished, at another point on the same leaf, or even
on another leaf, the process is repeated again and again
until all the eggs are laid.
The larva is a conspicuous white-spotted creature, and
it has the habit of covering the spines at the end of
its body with excrement, forming a solid shield with
an irregular sort of fringe along the hind-border. The
180 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
larval skins, as they are moulted, become involved in
this mass, and are more or less completely hidden in it.
The excrement is laid on to the spines in a very peculiar
manner : the anus is evaginated for a considerable
distance and plasters the excrement smoothly over the
surface. This shield is generally carried turned forwards
over the back, but the larva can flick it backwards and
forwards when irritated. Just before pupation the larva
casts the excrementitious shield, and then fastens itself
securely to a leaf of its food-plant. The pupa is a broad
and somewhat flattened object, with curious spinose hooks
projecting from the first, second, and third abdominal
segments. Portions of the last larval moult are retained
at the end of the body, but otherwise the pupa is freely
exposed. Another species, Metriona trivittata, forms an
egg-case described as follows by Mr. W. Schultze * : —
" It is laid on the upper or under side of the leaf and
always contains a single egg. The egg itself is inclosed
within a very thin primary case and the latter is placed
under a remarkably perfect, roof-like cover fastened to
the leaf. This cover is thin and has two nearly parallel,
longitudinal carinae, which are somewhat excurved at one
end, but run together at the other end where they are
bent and erect. The area between the carinae has a
semicircular impression, but the area outside of this is
sloping. . . . Numerous regular, fine striae are visible.
The egg of this species is always free from any excre-
mental covering. The color of the egg-case is a very
pale green."
The young larva attaches particles of excrement to a
pair of long spines at the end of the body, forming a
sort of cross-bar between them, but subsequently it does
1 Philippine Journ. of Science, (Ser. A.), III. (1908), p. 267.
FK;.
'
FIG. 2.
FIG. 3.
FIG. i. — Lana of Asfidciuoiflui millaris, with its cliain of moults and attached
excrement. FIG. 2. — Larva of Mctiioua trii'ittaia, with its chain of moults
and " cross-bar " of excrement on the earliest. FIG. 3. — The pupa of
Laccoptcra sp ?, retaining the shield of excrement and moults. (From the
author's drawings, Figs, i and 2 after W. Schultxe.)
Plate XV.
To face p. 181.
BEETLES
not add to this little mass. The moulted skins are not
entirely thrown off, but each one is added to the preced-
ing until a long string is formed, just as in Aspidomorpha
miliaris, but at pupation the skins are not thrown off,
but still carried, turned over the back of the pupa.
Laccoptera sp. ? [Note 16, p. 315], makes egg-cases
rather like those of Prioptera 8-punctata, and, as in that
species and Metriona trivittata, there is only one egg in
each case.1 The larva forms a solid shield of excremen-
titious matter, which is turned over the body and the cast
skins are worked into the mass. The pupa does not dis-
card this mass, as does Prioptera S-punctata, but retains it
just as it was left by the larva.
Hence in these four genera we get the following
variation in habit : —
Aspidomorpha : Larva retains chain of moults with
particles of loosely attached excrement. Pupa does not
retain the chain of moults.
Metriona : Larva retains chain of moults with a
" cross-bar " of excrement on the last (viz. the earliest
moult). Pupa retains the chain of moults.
Prioptera : Larva forms a shield of excrement with
moults embedded in it. Pupa does not retain the shield.
Laccoptera sp. ? : Larva forms a shield of excrement as
in Prioptera. Pupa retains the shield.
It may now be asked what is the value to the species
of the peculiar habits of egg-laying and covering the
body with excrement. It has been suggested that the
formation of egg-cases protects the delicate eggs from
drying up and also from the attacks of parasitic enemies.
This may well be so, for the eggs are laid in exposed
1 Laccoptera chinensis lays more than one egg in the case.
Kershaw and Muir, Trans. Ent. Soc., 1907, p. 250.
182 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
situations unprotected by horny egg-shells. Without
some form of protection they would be exposed to all
sorts of dangers, hence that they should be enclosed
in a special covering is only natural. That the protec-
tion is not absolute is certain, for Mr. Muir observed a
small Hymenopterous parasite depositing her eggs in
those of an individual Aspidomorpha puncticosta [Trans.
Ent. Soc., 1904, p. 1 8], as fast as they were being laid.
But then we know that none of the multifarious pro-
tective devices of Nature are absolutely successful. If
there were no destruction of individuals of any given
species we should be overrun by countless hordes of
them in a very short space of time.
The shields of excrementitious matter and chains of
moulted skins play a double role. The larvae and the
newly formed pupae have the habit of twitching or
flicking up and down these appendages whenever irri-
tated, and these movements might be quite sufficient
to drive away any but the most persistent of parasitic
enemies. But I think that they serve also to render
the larvae and pupae conspicuous objects. The adult
beetles are certainly very distasteful creatures. Most of
them are abundant, they are gaudily coloured, and some
species are mimicked by other insects. Prioptera &-punc-
tata, at any rate, exudes an acrid fluid when handled.
These are characteristic features of nauseous species.
I have not the slightest reason to doubt that the larvae
are equally distasteful, and the necessity for advertising
their distastefulness is urgent. The larvae of Aspido-
morpha miliaris are conspicuous enough objects, being
white, black-spotted creatures, and this conspicuousness
is accentuated by their habit of bunching together when
at rest, as well as when feeding. The pupae, although
BEETLES 183
they have discarded the chain of moults, are also con-
spicuous enough, because they, too, are found in little
clumps. The great black shields of Prioptera and Lacco-
ptera render their owners very plain to see on the leaves
of their food-plant, and in addition Prioptera has the
habit, both in the larval and pupal stages, of bunching
together, and then the groups of larvae look like masses
of black fungoid growth. As is so often the case, a
protective device can play many parts, and in Prioptera
%-punctata I believe that the shield serves to keep off
parasites, perhaps defends the larva from too-scorching
heat, renders the creature a conspicuous object, warn-
ing off prospective foes, and even protects it from other
foes by its resemblance to a fungus.
The Erenthidce are closely related to the true Weevils,
or Curculionidce, and occur in considerable numbers in
the Oriental tropics. Very little is known about their
habits or life-histories, but the majority of species in
their larval stages bore in wood, and some adults live
in wood all their lives. Some of these forms are very
remarkably modified for boring habits, the body being
grooved or compressed in places, allowing the limbs to
fit closely against its sides and so not to break the
perfectly cylindrical outline. Some of the species are
much infested with mites, which cluster round the legs
and on the long prothorax. I was much interested to
find one day a species with a deep channel running
along the greater length of the prothorax crammed with
little mites. A good many species of Brenthidce have
shallow open grooves along the prothorax, but in this
species the groove is deep, and, though wide, is almost
completely roofed in, only a narrow slit putting it into
communication with the exterior. This modification of
184 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
structure for the accommodation of what appear to be
mere parasites is very remarkable, but it is not without
parallel in the insect kingdom.1 Another case may be
mentioned here. The Anthribidce, like their allies the
Brenthidce, are also much infested with mites, and one
species has a deep crescentic slit in the prothorax
which is filled with the parasites.
1 The following exceedingly interesting examples are described
by Dr. R. C. L. Perkins in The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,
XXXV. (1899), pp. 37-9. The female bees of many species of the
genus Koptorthosoma (Xylocopince) possess, in the basal abdominal
segment, a special chamber which always contains, and sometimes
is entirely filled by, Acari of large size. Somewhat similar ac-
commodation for minute Acari is provided by a female wasp of the
genus Odynerus from Arizona and Mexico. — E. B. P.
CHAPTER VII
ANTS AND PLANTS
WHEN the traveller first visits the tropics, the surprising
number of ants in every conceivable situation is a
feature which cannot fail to attract his attention. The
sugar-bowl on his tea-table will soon be besieged by
hordes of a tiny ant (Monomorium pharaonis), a cosmo-
politan species. The long line of ants which he fre-
quently sees crossing his dining-room floor can be
traced to some fragment of food dropped at a previous
meal. If a naturalist, should he carelessly leave on
some table or shelf a specimen destined for the museum
or collecting-box, in an hour or two he will see this
specimen a revolting, seething mass of ants. When he
takes his walks abroad, the same abundance of ant-life
presents itself. There in the jungle he will see solitary
individuals of a gigantic Camponotus hurrying along ;
or perhaps a long train of Cremastogaster with abdomen,
shaped like the ace of spades, held aloft. If he brushes
incautiously against some shrub growing in an open
space, he may soon feel the vicious bite of the " Ker-
inga " ((Ecophylla smaragdina), which forms its nests by
sewing living leaves together with the silk of its larvae.
Let him beware of that band of shining black ants
crossing the path yonder, for that is Sima, one of the
185
186 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Ponerine tribe, and it is of a ferocious nature with a
cruel sting.
An immense deal of work relating to the habits of
tropical ants has yet to be done. The tropics have
still to hail their Hiibner, their Lubbock, and their
Wheeler. A good deal of attention has, however, been
directed to the very remarkable relations which exist
between ants and the vegetable world. We find several
very different plants exhibiting curious modifications of
structure, such as huge bulbiform swellings galleried
in all directions, tubular stems and roots, and curious
appendages, which structures are constantly inhabited
by ants. We will discuss some of these structures in
the present chapter, and then ask ourselves, " Are they
developed by the plants for the benefit of the ants, or
have the ants taken advantage of the structures as
asylums, although they were originally developed for
quite a different purpose ? "
The table on p. 187 is a list of the Myrmecophilous
plants which have been described from Borneo, but
that it could be greatly extended is quite certain.
On account of the great singularity of their structure^
and of the great interest which attaches to the problem
of the relations between the plant and the ant-guests,
I will consider first the two Rubiaceous genera, Myrme-
codia and HydnopJiytinn.
These two genera have long excited the interest of
botanists and entomologists alike, for no plants exhibit
more remarkable structures — to all appearance admir-
ably and purposely adapted for the harbouring of ants.
The genera have a wide distribution, ranging from
Cochin China and the Malay Peninsula right down to
New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and away east
ANTS AND PLANTS
187
to the Fiji Islands. Such a wide distribution of plants
whose seeds are not adapted for transportation by
wind or ocean currents itself argues in favour of their
dispersal by birds ; now we find that the seeds of these
Nat. Order.
Species of Plant.
Nature of
Modification.
Euphorbiaceae
Macaranga caladifolia, Becc.
Stems enlarged
and hollow
Verbenacese
Clerodendron fistulosum, Bccc.
Palmae
Korihalsia horrida, Bccc.
„ echinometra, Becc.
„ cheb, Becc. _
„ scaphigera, Mart.
„ angustifolia, Bl.
Calamus amplectens, Becc.
Portion of
leaves modi-
fied to form
with stem ant-
shelters
Rubiaceae
Myrmecodia tuberosa, Jack
Hydnophytum coriaccum, Becc,
„ borneense, Becc.
Galleried tubers
Nepenthaceae
Nepenthes bicalcarata, Hook. fil.
Peduncle of pit-
cher hollowed
Melastomaceae
Pachycentria macrorhiza, Becc.
„ microstyla, Becc.
Tuberous and
galleried roots
Filices
Polypodium (Lecanopteris) depari-
oides, Bak.
Polypodium (Lecanopteris) carno-
sum, Blume
Polypodium sinuosum, Wall.
Rhizomes hol-
lowed
Polypodium quercifolium, L.
Sterile fronds as
shelters
Asclepiadaceae
Dischidia rafflesiana, Wall.
„ shelfordi, Pears.
Modified leaves
as pitchers
Rubiacece are surrounded by a viscous pulp which is
attractive to fruit-eating birds such as pigeons, and,
even if the seeds are not actually swallowed, they
may by virtue of the viscous pulp adhere to the feet
188 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
or feathers of birds hunting in the vicinity of the
plants for other food. The plants are all epiphytic,
growing upon trees, but not as true parasites like mistle-
toe, which sends its rootlets into the bark of the tree on
which it grows. The viscous seeds when dropped on the
branch of a tree adhere to it and send out little rootlets
and leaves. A full-grown specimen of Myrmecodia tuberosa
has a large tuber measuring 30 centimetres in length
by 20 in diameter ; its surface is ridged, and on the
ridges are sharp spines, homologous with the numerous
rootlets whereby the plant is attached to the bough on
which it lives. The tuber has the consistency of an
apple, and it is tunnelled in every direction by an
elaborate system of galleries tenanted by ants, either
Cremastogaster difformis or Iridomyrmex cordata, var.
myrmecodice. These galleries communicate with the
exterior by means of numerous pores, the larger of
which are situated at the base of the rootlets. The
walls of the galleries are marked with pimples, which
are not, as originally supposed, glands secreting a
sweet fluid pleasant to ants, but lenticels or rudiment-
ary breathing organs. The species of Hydnophytum
have large spineless tubers, also galleried, and the leaves
are much more fleshy than those of Myrmecodia.
There are two views about these remarkable galleried
tubers. Beccari holds that the galleries are the work
of ants ; that it is impossible for young plants to come
to maturity without the intervention of ants ; that their
tunnelling causes the tuber to grow enormously, whilst
its weight is not proportionally increased ; and the
galleries increase the absorbent surface. Treub, on
the other hand, regards the ants as of quite secondary
importance. He has seen the young plants develop,
ANTS AND PLANTS 189
and has noted that the first galleries, at any rate, are
produced by a mere breaking down of tissue without
the help of ants at all, whilst tubers transported from
the jungle to the botanical garden were often entirely
deserted by ants and yet flourished well, putting out
new leaves, producing flowers and seed. In opposi-
tion to Beccari, Treub considers that not only the
tubers, but the galleries in them, are part of the normal
development of the plant, the galleries serving for
aeration. The ants he regards as mere opportunists
who have taken advantage of the conveniently galleried
tubers to make their home there. The ingenuity of
Beccari's arguments is matched by the uncompromis-
ing clarity of Treub's observations and experiments.
When the seed of Myrmecodia germinates, the hypo-
cotylar axis, i.e. the part of the seedling underneath
the two first leaves or cotyledons, begins to swell and
continues to grow until a little tuber is formed, and
later, when the seedling has become a plantlet, a hole
appears leading from the exterior into the tuber, which
is now hollowed : this is the first gallery. If a cross-
section of a developing tuber be cut, it will be seen
that it is made up of large thin-walled cells, called paren-
chyma, and in the middle is a single vascular bundle.
Later on, other peripheral vascular bundles appear,
and then arises around the central bundle a ring of
different cells termed meristem — a ring within which
all the cells dry up and become flocculent, so that a
cavity, the first gallery, is formed. The meristem,
seen as a ring in cross-section, is reajly a cylinder of
cells, conical towards the tip of the little tuber, but
at its base abutting on the outer cork-layer, which
spontaneously breaks down, and so the first opening is
190 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
formed. The meristem has the power of producing
on its outer side new parenchyma cells, and it does
so with such vigour that the tuber quickly grows in
size, and new galleries are formed in it just as the
first gallery was formed ; and this goes on until the
tuber becomes nothing more than a scaffolding of laminae
separating galleries. When we examine the structure
of the swollen rhizomes of the ant-harbouring fern, Poly-
podium carnosum [Note, p. 205], we find that the galleries
therein are formed in very much the same way, and, more-
over, their arrangement is symmetrical to correspond
with the symmetry of the fern, and quite unlike the
random burrowings of ants in a more or less homo-
geneous structure. There is nothing, therefore, very
startling in the view that the galleries of Myrmecodia
and Hydnophytum are spontaneously formed by the plants
in their normal development. But, at the same time,
the function of the galleries seems obscure. If the
tuber is a reservoir of moisture in time of drought,
the removal of a large portion of it by the galleries
must surely impair its efficiency. Why not an un-
galleried tuber ? Treub regards the cavities as air-
shafts, and supposes that the fleshy tuber is aerated
by means of these moist chambers without undue loss
of water. But this mechanism for exchange of gases
is extraordinarily elaborate, its necessity is not proved,
and finally the tubers are not green, and therefore
cannot assimilate. Until we know more about the
physiology of these remarkable plants we must be con-
tent to theorize. Between the view of Beccari that
these plants cannot develop and cannot flourish with-
out the intervention of ants, and the view of Treub
that ants are not in the least necessary for their de-
ANTS AND PLANTS 191
velopment or growth, it is perhaps possible to steer
a middle course. If once we realize the ubiquity of
ants in the tropics, and their marauding, plundering
nature, we shall recognize that plants which have juicy,
succulent, unprotected fruits, or large fleshy organs
suitable for excavation — such as the tubers of Myrme-
codia — offer to ants attractions which these insects
will certainly not resist, and which may well prove
destructive to the plants. The plants, in order to
escape annihilation, must either develop other struc-
tures to protect them from ants or else must modify
the attractive structures to accommodate the ants, whilst
at the same time their original functions are pre-
served. It is, of course, well known that plants can
develop certain structures in direct response to the
stimuli of insect attacks : the oak-gall is merely
one instance out of hundreds. Such structures are
rightly regarded as pathological ; but it must be noted
that, given the same plant and the same attacking
insect, the structure is invariably the same. That is
to say, the power of producing this structure is in-
herited. Now, it does not seem to me a very long
step from this inherited power to produce a definite
structure in response to a given stimulus, to a power
to produce a definite structure in anticipation of a given
stimulus. That an epiphytic plant furnished with a
large fleshy tuber would have this tuber attacked and
tunnelled by ants is almost certain in lands that swarm
with ants, and that many of the plants so attacked
would perish from this extensive destruction of their
tissues is equally clear. The advantage of having an
elaborate system of galleries all ready and prepared
for the ants is obvious, and I see no reason why
192 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
natural selection should not have brought into exist-
ence this power to produce such structures. If the
presence of the ants is of advantage to the plants in
protecting them from other enemies, so much the
better, and perhaps in some myrmecophilous plants
the need for this protection has called into being
definite ant-harbouring devices. But this does not
seem to be so with Myrmecodia and Hydnophytum, for
not only has it yet to be shown that they need this
protection, but Treub's experiments show, on the con-
trary, that without the ants the plants flourish quite
well. It is a fact worthy of consideration that in
Borneo it is one species of ant which, to the almost
entire exclusion of other species, lives in nearly all the
myrmecophilous plants ; it is found in the species
of Korthalsia, in both genera of myrmecophilous
RubiacecE, in Polypodinm spp., and in the species of
Dischidia. It may also be noted that the same ant is
frequently found in the hollowed-out branches and
twigs of shrubs not specially adapted for harbouring
ants, and we may believe that these tunnels are exca-
vated by the ants themselves. It is thus evident that
Cremastogaster diffonnis is a species that habitually lives
in any convenient hollow or tunnel that it can find,
and, if it cannot find one ready, it will excavate one.
The very ubiquity of this ant tells against the view
that there is a real symbiosis of ant and plant. I»
true cases of symbiosis one species of animal lives on
or in another species of animal or plant : we do not
find one species living on or in half a dozen or more
other species, and, failing to find a convenient com-
panion, living an independent life. That ants can be and
are of immense service to some plants is certain. The
ANTS AND PLANTS 193
Chinese, the most expert of agriculturists, recognize this
fact. In a Chinese orange-grove it is quite usual to
see lengths of bamboo connecting some of the trees,
and these are placed to serve as bridges to conduct
ants from ant-infested trees to trees infested by de-
structive insect pests. If ants were as abundant in the
orange-groves of Florida as they are in the tropics,
we should perhaps hear less of the ravages of that
very destructive pest, the Orange-Scale. Nevertheless,
I believe that the benefits conferred on myrmecophilous
plants have been greatly over-rated, and I regard some
of the wonderful developments of plant structure as
protective devices against the too pressing attention
of ants, rather than as devices to attract ants. If one
plant can inherit the power to produce a definite
pathological structure, I do .not see why another can-
not inherit the power to produce a structure adapted
to harbour with least damage to itself guests that
certainly will not fail to make their appearance.
We may now pass to the consideration of the other
plants of my list.
Macaranga caladifolia is a little shrubby plant about
3 feet high ; the stem is hollow, slightly swollen,
and here and there perforated by little holes. The
leaves are peltate, with veins running out to the
margin in a radiate manner, and those at the base of
the leaf terminate on the margin each in a large
glandule which secretes a sweet fluid. Ants are
found in the hollow stems.1
1 The story of the truly myrmecophilous species of Macaranga
in the Malay Peninsula is described by H. N. Ridley in the Annals
of Botany, XXIV. (1910), pp. 470-83. There are two series, in both
of which the stem, at first solid, i becomes hollow by dilatation
H
194 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Clerodendron fistulosum is a shrubby herb about
5 feet high. It has a straight unbranched stem, woody
at the base, herbaceous at the summit. The lower
part of the stem is hollow. The internodes into
which the stem is divided are here short and rather
swollen. Exactly under the insertion of the leaves is
found a round hole, or two holes, with a prominent
thickened lip. As the leaves are opposite we should
expect to find two holes to each internode, one under
each leaf-insertion, but very often one of the holes is
absent, but is represented by a little circular patch of a
different texture and structure from the surrounding parts.
Occasionally there occurs an internode without any
holes at all. The cavity of one internode does not
communicate with the cavities of the internodes above
or below it, but every internode is separated from its
neighbours by a thick partition. An ant, Colobopsis
clerodendroniy has been found running in and out of
the holes. The singular fact about these holes is the
regularity of their position ; they occur under the leaf-
insertions always, whereas the holes in the stem of
and the disappearance of the pith. In one class, the bud-bracts,
which cover the bud, bear some curious bladder-glands. The
bracts eventually become recurved into a ring-like chamber round
the stem, which contains " food-bodies " developed from the
bladder-glands. They are small white balls used as food by the
ants, which live in the hollowed stem or branch. In the other
class the bracts do not bear bladder-glands or food-bodies, but these
are borne on the under side of the young leaf, which remains for
some time with its lobes deflexed. To this class belongs Macaranga
caladifolia. These modifications are not due to any action of
the ants, as they occur whether ants are present or not, but are
of no advantage to the plant unless ants are present. Observa-
tions showed that when ants were absent the plant suffered
severely from the attacks of caterpillars. — E. B. P.
ANTS AND PLANTS 195
Macaranga caladifolia are arranged in a quite hap-
hazard way — in fact, they occur just wherever the ants
desire to effect an entrance. Beccari found ten dead
ants in an internode of a specimen of Clerodendron
fistulosum which he had dried and pressed for his
herbarium ; in this internode there was only one
hole, and that was covered over by a leaf. Beccari
asks why the imprisoned ants had not gnawed their
way out, either through the leaf covering their solitary
exit or through the wall of the internode at the point
where the other hole ought to have been — a point
marked by a circular patch of softer tissue. If
we make the obvious answer that the ants did not
bore their way out because they were not able to
do so, we must then assume that ants do not make
the holes which are found in the internodes, but that
these as well as the cavities are part of the normal
structure of the plant.1 Then immediately arises the
question — for what purpose are these holes and cavities
formed ?
Many rattans of the genus Korthalsia have a special
organ which seems to be adapted for harbouring ants.
It is known as the ocrea, an appendage of a leaf-
sheath which may be likened roughly to an upturned
flat-bottomed boat. One species attracted Beccari's
attention by a peculiar sibilant rustling, which was
produced by the passing of ants over the ridged and
dry ocrea, which acted like a sounding-board. The
ocrea is very closely pressed to the stem of the
rattan, and in order to get underneath it the ants
have to bore holes through it. These holes may be
1 The openings into the stems of Macaranga and Clerodendron
are made by the ants themselves. — H. N. R.
196 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
either in the middle or near the margin, and their
position is quite irregular.
Calamus atnplectens is another rattan which harbours
ants. The two lower segments of the leaves are folded
back and embrace the stem in such a way that it is
enclosed by them, very much as a stick held between
hands clasped together.
Nepenthes bicalcarata is one of the most remarkable
Pitcher-Plants in the world. It is found climbing up
trees, and its stalk is often 20 feet long. The pitchers
are of two shapes ; those which grow from the lower
leaves are like bladders truncated at the mouth, and
their transverse diameter is about equal to their
length. The stem of the pitcher is straight, and the
pitcher is joined on to it at right angles, its lower
end is swollen, hollowed out and perforated. The
pitchers springing from the upper leaves are smaller,
infundibuliform, and rather constricted at the base.
They are attached to the pitcher-stem in a curve, and
the stem itself is always twisted into one curl of a
spiral. This curl is swollen and hollow, and is per-
forated by a single hole. There is no direct evidence
that these peculiar cavities are inhabited by ants, but
their structure leads me to suppose that this is their
purpose, and as glands are found in the tissue of the
pitcher-stems, it is quite likely that these serve as
nectaries for the ants.
The species of the genus Pachycentria are all
epiphytic, or pseudo-parasitic, and some of them are
provided with tuberous swellings on the roots, which
are much frequented by ants. These tubers are filled
with a spongy tissue, and it is probable that ants
destroy this tissue and live inside the tubers.1
1 Pachycentria. I have seen many of these, including the
ANTS AND PLANTS 197
In ferns there appear to be two devices for har-
bouring ants. In the tropics a great many ferns grow
on trees, and their roots are more or less exposed to
the air, and in order to prevent their drying up some
of the sterile fronds are developed into roof-like
shelters. In Polypodium quercifolium these sterile
fronds are concave on their upper surface, like dried
paper in consistency, and they are pressed closely to
the trunk of the tree on which the fern grows ; in the
cavity so formed are found rootlets, and ants. Beccari
asserts that in cultivated specimens these sterile fronds
are not so papery nor so concave, and he thinks
that these differences are due to the absence of ants.
But the conditions of life under cultivation are so
unlike natural conditions that these slight differences
may well be attributed to other causes than absence
or presence of ants. In Polypodium carnosum and
P. sinuosum it is the rhizomes which afford shelters
for ants, and Professor R. H. Yapp has made a very
careful study of these two species.1 Both have large
fleshy rhizomes which are tunnelled by a system of
galleries, and both are invariably inhabited by colonies
of ants. The former species grows on the higher
branches of trees in thick encrusting masses, often
several feet in length, completely encircling the
branches of its host. P. sinuosum grows nearer the
ground on the trunk or lower branches of a tree, and
its creeping rhizomes do not form such massive
species described by Beccari. The tubers are not hollowed out
or inhabited by ants, but when they have become cracked or
split, ants may at least temporarily make a nest there, as in
Ficus irregularis (Annals of Botany, XXIV. (1910), p. 482).— H. N. R.
1 Annals of Botany, XVI. (1902), p. 185.
198 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
growths as those of P. carnosum. In P. carnosum the
branching of the rhizome is very extensive, and the
branches arise very close together, so that the final
result is a close tangled mass of interlacing branches,
so tightly packed as to form practically one solid
mass which embraces the branch of the tree on which
it fgrows. From the upper surface of the rhizome
spring the leaves or fronds, and the stems of these
are articulated to the rhizome by means of conical
projections or leaf-cushions, but it must be noted
that a great many of these leaf-cushions do not bear
any fronds at all. If a cross-section be taken through
a rhizome a number of hollow spaces in the ground-
tissue will be seen ; these are the ant-galleries, and if
they be traced up towards the apex of the rhizome, it
will be seen that they are replaced in this the younger
part of the rhizome by a fragile tissue made up of
large, thin-walled cells which are filled with water.
These cells disintegrate gradually as the rhizome
grows forward, and the space formerly occupied by
them becomes an ant-gallery. The system of
galleries consists of a large central ventral gallery
running right along the rhizome and giving off alter-
nately on either side lateral galleries to the branches
of the rhizome, and a dorsal series of chambers
leading into the leaf-cushions. Now though these
galleries originate from the breaking-down of thin,
water-containing cells, which of course once occupied
the spaces now given up to galleries, they are
increased in size by the ants which inhabit them
nibbling away at their walls ; moreover, they com-
municate with the exterior air by means of holes
gnawed by the ants, and generally opening on the
ANTS AND PLANTS 199
lower surface of the rhizome. The actual function of
these galleries is not quite clear, but their regularity
and symmetry is in definite relation to the branches
of the rhizome and to the arrangement of the leaf-
cushions. The ant which Professor Yapp found in-
habiting Polypodium carnosum growing on a mountain
in Perak was a new species of Cremastogaster, which
has been named after its discoverer. In Sarawak I have
found the ubiquitous C. difformis in the galleries of
this fern. Professor Yapp believes that the ants are
of no service to the ferns, and their presence may be
accounted 'for in the same way as in Myrmecodia.
The galleries are possibly for the aeration of the
rhizome. Professor Yapp points out that there are no
stomata on the stem, and there are no intercellular
spaces in the rhizome tissue. In the absence of these
adaptations for gaseous exchange in tissue which is
capable of assimilation, there must be a tendency to
partial asphyxiation, which however is obviated by
the galleries, which function as air-passages. It is also
possible that when the hot sun shines on the exposed
fern, water vapour condenses on the walls of the
galleries and is re-absorbed when the temperature falls.
Rain-water also may find its way into the galleries
and be absorbed. For my own part I prefer to
regard these galleries as produced for the same pur-
pose as those which I have alleged for Myrmecodia.
Finally, we come to those very singular Asclepiads,
the species of Dischidia with pitchers, several of which
are found in Borneo, though only two appear to have
been described. All are epiphytic plants with slender
liana-like stems straggling over the branches and twigs
of trees on which they grow. In the majority of
200 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
species none of the leaves are abnormally developed,
but are rather fleshy, kidney-shaped organs, concave
on the under side, fitting very closely to the bark of the
tree on which the plant grows, so that the little hollow
spaces underneath them afford a shelter to the
adventitious roots which spring from a point near
the petiole, and push their way under the leaves. This
adaptation is undoubtedly for the purpose of protect-
ing the rootlets from excessive drought and heat,
whilst the rootlets can absorb any moisture that tran-
spires from the inner surface of the leaves when these
are heated by the sun. Very often ants and other
insects are found under the leaves, but they cannot be
regarded as special ant-shelters. Dischidia rafflesiana
has certain of the leaves, especially those growing on
the older part of the plant, modified to form long
urn-like pitchers with open mouths. The develop-
ment of the. pitcher has been followed out in detail,
and it is now known that it is formed not by the
growing together of the leaf-margins but by the bend-
ing of the apex of the leaf towards the base. This is
really brought about by the arrest of the apical growth
of the leaf ; a rapid growth of the central portion of
the leaf ensues, and so the apex is brought round
towards the leaf-stock or petiole, and a pitcher is the
result. The inner surface of this pitcher is the
morphological under surface of the leaf, and the apex
of the leaf is at a point in the margin of the pitcher
exactly opposite the insertion of the petiole. These
hollow pitchers are filled with adventitious rootlets,
with fragments of soil and leaf-detritus, and are usually
swarming with ants. As both outer and inner surfaces
of the pitchers are coated with wax they are obviously
ANTS AND PLANTS 201
not absorbent organs, but are adapted to the purpose
of protecting the rootlets with which they are filled.
No doubt the ants which colonize the pitchers bring
in a certain amount of soil, dead insects, leaf particles,
and so forth, and from these the rootlets can derive
a little nourishment. After a heavy shower of rain
the pitchers become more or less filled with water, and
some have supposed that they are true insect-traps
like the pitchers of Nepenthes; the insects which fall
into the water in the pitchers, or the insects already
in the pitchers when surprised by the rain-shower,
being drowned, and the products of their decomposing
bodies being absorbed by the rootlets. As a matter of
fact there is practically no evidence for this point of
view. Dr. Treub examined numbers of pitchers of D.
rafflesiana growing in the Buitenzorg Botanic Gardens,
and found that in the wet season most of the pitchers
were more or less full of water, but only a very few
contained one or two drowned insects, Beccari
regards the pitchers as comparable to galls, and as
produced by the action of ants, in fact he supposes
that if it were not for the ants there would be no
pitchers. That the pitchers can only develop after a
stimulus applied to leaves by ants is certainly untrue,
for the development of normal pitchers has taken
place in specimens acclimatized at Kew, to which ants
had no access. Treub roundly asserts that the ants,
far from being of use to the plant, are positively
harmful, for they nibble the rootlets inside the pitchers ;
he regards the pitchers as part of the normal develop-
ment of the plant and adapted purely and simply to
the purpose of protecting the rootlets, and not at all
as ant-shelters. It seems more likely that the associa-
202 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
tion of ants with these plants has played at least a
small part in the development of the pitchers, and
some observations of Mr. H. H. W. Pearson1 on
Dischidia shelfordi deserve consideration. In this
species the pitchers are double, that is to say, a small
pitcher is found inside each large pitcher. The large
pitchers are kidney-shaped, and are borne on very
short petioles ; the entrance to them is a small round
orifice just under the petiolar attachment, and it lies
at the bottom of a funnel-shaped depression. If a
pitcher be cut open it will be seen that the interior is
filled with numbers of rootlets, which springing from
the petiole or stem grow through the orifice of the
pitcher. The inner pitcher is formed by the inflexed
margin of the outer pitcher, the infolding taking
place in the funnel-shaped depression opposite to the
insertion of the petiole, it is therefore of the nature of
a pouch or pocket, and its walls are thickly beset with
small glandular hairs. In the large outer pitchers, in
addition to the rootlets are found a certain amount of
earth and numbers of ants — Cremastogaster difformis.2
In the inner pitcher of a species from the Philippines,
Mr. Pearson found a number of small irregularly
shaped masses sweet to the taste, and he came to the
conclusion that they were decomposition products of
cells in the neck of the inner pitcher, brought about
by punctures of ants, and the growth of fungi from
these wounds. Moreover, microscopic examination of
the inner surface of the outer pitcher revealed the
presence of a " dense waft of superficial mycelium,"
1 Journ. Linn. Soc. BoL, XXXV. (1901-4), p. 375.
2 In another undescribed Bornean Dischidia with double pitchers,
a species of Dolichaderus (probably D. bituberculatus) has been found.
ANTS AND PLANTS 203
which grew from definite centres or rosettes of an
appearance vividly recalling structures found in the
well-known fungus-gardens of the South American ants
of the genus A tta. An examination of the extremely
elaborate nature of these double pitchers, the presence
of a sweet substance in the inner pitcher, and the
peculiar fungoid growth on the inner wall of the outer
pitcher, point strongly to the view that the pitchers
are adapted for harbouring ants in addition to their
original functions of sheltering the rootlets and stor-
age of water. I say "original functions" because it
is plain that these pitchers, like those of D. rafflesiana,
are developed from the shell-like leaves of the pitcherless
species of the genus, but their development has been
carried even farther than that of the above-named
species. It seems highly probable that in both species
the plants benefit to a certain extent by their associa-
tion with ants on account of the soil brought into
the pitchers by these insects, for particles of soil are
found adhering in a perfecily normal manner to the
root-hairs. What is the function of the inner pitchers
in D. shelfordi ? Mr. Pearson has put forward the
ingenious suggestion that they serve as harbours of
refuge when the outer pitchers become nearly filled
with water after a shower of rain, the mouth of the
inner pitcher being so arranged that water cannot
enter into it until the outer pitcher is three-quarters
full. This theory could easily be put to the test, and
I did so by immersing a plant with several pitchers
growing from its stem in a bowl of water. As I
expected, the ants instantly came swarming out, and
by reason of their natural buoyancy came floating to
the surface of the water. The risk of ants drowning
204 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
in the water contained in the pitchers of Z>. rafflesiana
and D. shelfordi, is indeed infinitesimal. As pointed
out in a previous chapter, terrestrial insects take an
unconscionably long time about dying from drowning,
and, owing to the numerous rootlets in the pitchers,
they have an easy means of exit when their quarters
become flooded. I feel convinced that it will event-
ually be shown that the inner pitchers are designed
for the purpose of producing a food-substance attrac-
tive to ants ; the sweet decomposition products already
mentioned may be the pathological results of ant-
punctures, but they may also be normal katabolic
changes, whilst the presence of numerous gland-cells
in the inner pitcher walls points to the conclusion
that these too may secrete a substance palatable to
ants.
In conclusion, it is reasonable to regard the pitchers
of D. shelfordi as developed with a double purpose —
to store water and protect rootlets, and to attract and
shelter ants. They thus differ from such simple
structures as the hollow stem of Macaranga caladi-
folia, punctured casually by ants, and from all
accidental ant-shelters ; they differ, too, from the
remarkable tubes of Myrmecodia and the swollen
rhizomes of Polypodium carnosum, which are developed
to harbour ants at least inconvenience to the plants ;
and they differ, too, from those structures which are
developed purely for attraction of ants, as the thorns
on the Neotropical Acacia cornigera. In fact, they
take their place in a long series leading from simple
beginnings to complex endings. To assert, as some
have done, that all " myrmecophilous " plants derive
great benefit from their association with ants, and
ANTS AND PLANTS 205
that the most varied structures have been expressly
modified for the purpose of affording shelter to
beneficent guests, appears to me as wide of the truth
as to assert that the association of ants with all
" myrmecophilous " plants is purely accidental, sheer
opportunism on the part of the ants, and that none
of the elaborate structures of the plants are more than
part of their normal development. My study of
natural history, if it has taught me nothing else, has
taught me that biological phenomena will not fit into
Procrustean beds of theory, every case must be taken
on its merits, and when the honest student observes
that exceptions to a rule are more numerous than the
examples of the rule he need not be disconcerted, for
he will have learnt that Nature has endless ways of
adapting means to ends and of meeting every kind of
emergency.
Note, p. 190. — Polypodium carnosum. I have met with this fern
growing high up on the branches of very tall trees — tunnelled, but
without an ant visible. — C. H.
CHAPTER VIII
MIMICRY
THE subject of this chapter is a theme around which
so much controversy has raged that echoes of the clash
and clang of argument have penetrated beyond scien-
tific circles. This being so, it is unnecessary for me to
do more than give the briefest possible account of
what mimicry amongst animals really means.
In 1866 H. W. Bates enunciated his celebrated theory.
From .a study of the butterflies of the Amazon Valley,
he noticed that some comparatively rare species resem-
bled in a very exact manner certain dominant con-
spicuous species belonging to families totally different
from those to which the " imitating " species belonged ;
these resemblances could not be due to relationship :
to what, then, were they due ? Bates supposed that
the conspicuous " imitated " species possessed nauseous
properties which rendered them distasteful to birds and
other enemies, and that the " imitating " species, by
their deceptive resemblance to the nauseous species,
escaped the attacks of enemies, although they might
be themselves quite palatable. This was the theory in
its original simplicity ; elaborations were soon intro-
duced. Fritz Miiller, a German naturalist living in
206
MIMICRY 207
Brazil, in 1870, drew attention to the fact that in a
given area there was a sort of family resemblance
between all the distasteful conspicuous butterflies,
although they belonged to different genera and sub-
families, The conspicuous colouring of these species,
he said, was a warning signal to prospective enemies of
their distasteful properties. Further, he said that if a
certain arrangement of colours were common to a
congeries of distasteful butterflies, it was obvious that
all these species would share in a common advantage.
It would be easier for the butterfly foes of a given
area to associate nauseous properties with one or a few
simple patterns than with scores of patterns. Professor
Poulton has neatly expressed the difference between
these two kinds of mimicry by likening the palatable
mimic of Bates's theory to a fraudulent trader who
imitates the advertisement of an honest trader, whilst
the distasteful mimic of Miiller's theory may be com-
pared to an honest trader who enters into combina-
tion with other honest traders to exhibit an identical
advertisement of the same class of goods. An assem-
blage of insects exhibiting a close similarity of colour-
ing is now known as a Miillerian association, or better
as a convergent group. Latter-day entomologists, more
especially Professor E. B. Poulton and Dr. F. A. Dixey,
have elaborated the mimetic theory so that its originators
would perhaps not recognize it as the offspring of their
brains. There is a danger of the theory becoming
overweighted with hypothesis, and there is certainly a
demand for further observation of facts by highly
skilled and unprejudiced field-naturalists.
It is an unfortunate thing that the vast majority of
collectors and field-naturalists are poor philosophers,
208 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
whilst a great many philosophic zoologists are sorry
failures when it conies to observing the living animal
in its natural surroundings. The collector is far too
prone to kill at sight every animal he captures; he is
usually a bird of passage, and has not the time to
devote to the patient and difficult observation of an
animal's behaviour and habits of life ; even if he does
observe a few facts here and there, his observations
are either too incomplete to be of much value, or he
does not see their bearing on current theories, and
therefore keeps them hidden from the light of day in
his private journal.
Scores of collectors will tell you that they have never
seen a bird eat a butterfly ; but if you ask these men
what insects they have seen eaten by birds, they are
completely nonplussed, and are fain to confess that
they have rarely, if ever, seen an insectivorous bird
feed at all. As a matter of fact, Mr. G. A. K. Mar-
shall— most philosophical and competent of field-natur-
alists— has collected from a variety of sources abundant
evidence to show that all manner of birds do prey on
butterflies. It is difficult to see how mimicry, amongst
butterflies and moths at any rate, could have been
brought about except through the agency of winged
enemies : in other words, mimicry is brought about by
natural selection, and the mimicry hypothesis may be
regarded as a corollary of the Darwinian hypothesis ;
they must sink or swim together.
The objections to the mimetic theory, when ana-
lysed, are not very serious, and it is significant that no
rival theory has yet proved capable of accounting satis-
factorily for these remarkable resemblances that exist
between animals widely separated in classificatory
MIMICRY 209
schemes. There is the naturalist who acknowledges
the resemblances but makes no attempt to account
for them ; that type of naturalist is fortunately becoming
extinct. There is also the naturalist who can detect
flaws in the theory when it is applied to particular
cases a few of which we will examine later on : mean-
while we will only say that this sort of argument is
perfectly valid, only it must be remembered that when
a great majority of observed facts support a theory,
while a few do not, it is more reasonable to suppose
that the few are capable of another interpretation than
that they subvert the theory.
Thus it is no argument against mimicry that birds
have been seen to capture and devour distasteful
species of insects ; not only are some birds — e.g. the
cuckoos — catholic enough in their tastes to devour
every kind of insect, nauseous or otherwise, but
we may be certain that if young and inexperienced
birds and birds with strong palates or with very
hungry appetites did not from time to time devour
butterflies of all sorts, there would be no mimicry at
all : it is the severity of the struggle for existence which
has brought about the present state of mimetic per-
fection. Some suppose that mimetic resemblances are
due to parallelism in development induced by simi-
larity of environment, but such an argument will not
bear examination ; far more often than not the two
creatures, model and mimic, differ widely in their life-
histories. For example, in Borneo and elsewhere cer-
tain Pierine butterflies are closely mimicked by moths
of the sub-family Chalcosiince, yet the caterpillars are
widely different and feed on different plants. Again,
there occurs in Borneo a wonderful locust which
15
210 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
mimics most closely a large Tiger-Beetle, Tricondyla
cyanea, var. wallacei : the mimicry is so exact even in
dead and dried specimens that the famous entomologist
Professor J. O. West wood found the first specimen of
this Locustid in a collection of Tiger-Beetles, while the
French Entomologist Duponchel actually labelled
another specimen with the name of Tricondyla rufipes.
And yet what two insects could lead more different
lives ? The beetle hatches out from the egg as a small
grub, which probably lives in a hole in the ground ;
when full growth is attained the grub becomes a pupa,
and after a short resting stage emerges as the adult
beetle. The locust, on the other hand, hatches from
the egg to all intents and purposes a locust, recog-
nizable as such ; it hops about actively in search
of its food, and from time to time it casts its skin,
each moult marking a distinct increase of size until
finally the adult stage is reached. The young and
half-grown locusts do not mimic the adult Tricondyla,
they are too small to produce the effect of their model :
it is impossible for them to mimic the early stages of
the beetle, but the difficulty is obviated by their
mimicry of smaller species of beetles, the very young
locust resembling a small Collyris (C. sarawakensis), the
half-grown locust a small species of Tricondyla (T. gibba).
Now can anything more different than the life-histories
of these two insects be imagined ? Yet how close is
the mimicry. Evidently similarity of conditions has
not produced the likeness ; and scores of other cases,
though perhaps none quite so remarkable as this, could
be quoted.
I have heard it stated by more than one field-
naturalist who has collected insects in the tropics that
MIMICRY 211
a mimicking butterfly can be, after a short experience,
readily distinguished even when on the wing from its
model, and that therefore it is only reasonable to
suppose that the butterfly's enemies can readily pene-
trate the thin disguise, and consequently are not de-
ceived by the deceptive resemblance ; in other words,
the resemblance, not being sufficiently perfect, is
valueless to the insect.
An observation of my own may throw a little fresh
light on this question. On Mt. Penrisen in Sarawak,
two of the commonest butterflies were Caduga larissa
and Tirumala crowleyi, species belonging to the sub-
family Danainas. These butterflies are black with
streaks of green on both surfaces of all the wings.
Like all the other members of the sub-family, these
two species were conspicuous by their abundance and
by their slow flaunting flight, and habit of settling
in exposed situations, so that they were quite as con-
spicuous when at rest as when on the wing. The
Danaince are regarded as a sub-family of distasteful
insects advertising their distasteful properties by the
means noted above. Before very long I had secured
enough specimens of both these two butterflies to
satisfy me, and subsequently when out butterfly hunt-
ing I used to ignore them. One day I saw approach-
ing me a butterfly which I took to be Caduga larissa,
and it was not until the insect had passed me quite
closely that I realized from its quicker flight and from
a slightly different style of wing-marking that here was
no Danaine, but a mimic — Elymnias lais. The critical
moment, however, was past, and the butterfly was out
of reach. I saw it settle in a little thicket of thorny
rattan, and cautiously approached, but no sign of it
212 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
could I see until a rash movement startled the butterfly,
and it darted up from under my very nose and was
in full flight again. Elymnias lais has the under side
of the wing mottled with brown and white, and when
the insect is at rest with the wings closed it is almost
impossible to detect it among its inanimate surround-
ings. From that day forward I kept a, keen look-out
for Elymnias lais, and in course of time I did manage
to secure a fair number of specimens, but more than
once I was deceived as to the nature of the insect until
it was so close to me that I had not time to get my
net ready before it was gone ; in fact the critical moment
of capture was not seized simply because I failed to
recognize the deception quickly enough. Now I see
no reason whatever to suppose that the faculties of
a trained entomologist on the sharp look-out for a
definite species of butterfly are less keen than those
of a bird in search of a meal, the constituents of
which may be scores of different species of Lepidoptera.
Such a bird if it had learnt by repeated experiment
that Caduga larissa was bad to eat, would ignore those
butterflies when out hunting and, unless particularly
sharp-set and keenly on the look-out, would be prone
to ignore the mimic too, at any rate at first. But the
escape of a few individuals suffices to preserve
the race ; no one is so foolish as to suppose that all
the individuals of a mimetic species escape destruction,
for if this were so there would be no checks on their
unbounded increase.
My observations on this butterfly lead to another
consideration. Is it possible to tell a Batesian mimic
from a Mullerian mimic ? One or two naturalists
spend a good deal of time selecting from the cabinet
MIMICRY 213
specimens of butterflies which resemble each other
more or less closely, and call the asssemblage "a
Miillerian association." The process is analogous to
that of matching colours in a Berlin-wool shop, and
is perhaps less useful. Without direct knowledge of
the living insects it must always be hazardous to
assert dogmatically that this or that species is a
Miillerian mimic. But it appears to me that a useful
criterion is afforded by the colouring of the under side
of the butterfly. For example, Elymnias lais has a
double defence : when the upper wings are exposed
to view, as in flight, the insect resembles a distasteful
Danaine, when the insect is at rest the under surface
only of the wings is seen, and it harmonizes perfectly
with the inanimate surroundings. Now the safety of
a distasteful butterfly lies in its bold advertisement of
nauseous properties, whether the butterfly be at rest
or in flight, and it is a significant fact that all those
butterflies which have been proved by direct experiment
to be nauseous to birds and reptiles are conspicuously
coloured on both wing-surfaces, and freely expose
themselves at all times ; such as, e.g., the Heliconince and
Ithomiince of the New World, and the Danaince and
Acrceince of the Old World. If we, for the sake of
argument, assume that Elymnias lais is a distasteful
Miillerian mimic, we may imagine that the following
combination of circumstances would often occur ; a
bird, searching for prey, would discover and seize some
protectively coloured butterfly, and finding it good to
eat would, on encountering an Elymnias lais at rest
naturally associate palatability with the under-side patter
of this species ; seizing it the bird would then discover
that it had made a mistake, but by this time it would
214 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
be too late, for the butterfly would be dead ; in fact,
it would forfeit its life for aping the wing-pattern of a
palatable species, and its protectively coloured under-
side would be simply a source of danger to it. Batesian
mimicry is a far less efficient means of safety to a
butterfly than distasteful properties associated, as they
always are, with conspicuous colouring and such
toughness of integuments that they withstand all but
the most determined onslaughts. Batesian mimics are
comparatively rare and isolated species, whereas dis-
tasteful species are extraordinarily abundant not only
in species but in individuals.
By those who hold that a cryptic under side is no
criterion of palatable properties it will be urged that
Elymnias lais has two kinds of defence — its distasteful
properties causing it to be a Miillerian mimic, and its
cryptic under-surface colouring. But it must be remem-
bered that distasteful properties are no protection at
all unless sufficiently advertised. Careful observation
of the living insects is worth any amount of arm-chair
theorizing, however ingenious, and those who are
thoroughly familiar with the habits of such groups of
nauseous butterflies as the Danaince and Acrceince some-
times find it a little difficult to accept the views of
men who perhaps have never seen a tropical butterfly
alive.
Feeding experiments with captive mammals, birds,
reptiles, and amphibians have only a limited value.
In many cases the captive is either sulky from recent
capture and will refuse to eat, or is so bored with a
long captivity and monotonous diet that it will devour
anything offered to it. I have seen captive Macaques,
fed for months on bananas and rice, devour with
MIMICRY 215
the utmost gusto Danaine butterflies, Lycid beetles,
and even Pentatomid bugs endowed with a most
nauseating odour. Are we to conclude from this that
none of these insects are unpalatable in a general
sense ? I prefer to believe that the facts prove very
little, except that Macaques have strong stomachs and
poor palates. I am equally disinclined to attach a
very great deal of importance to the fact that a
Japanese Salamander has manifested signs of disgust
when fed with caterpillars of the European Gooseberry
Moth, Abraxas grossulariata. The foes with which
these caterpillars have to contend certainly do not
include the Japanese Salamander. We have really no
grounds for saying that because the Salamander finds
the caterpillars unpalatable, therefore they are nauseous
to European lizards and amphibians. This is as
indefensible as Professor Plateau's view, that because
he himself found Abraxas grossulariata larvae quite
pleasant to the taste, therefore all animals must enjoy
them. When, however, a large number of experiments
show that these particular larvae are distasteful to a
great many animals — birds, beasts, and reptiles — then
certainly we have grounds for supposing that the
larva is not good to eat. If the animals experimented
on can reasonably be regarded as natural enemies of
the larvae the value of the experiments is accentuated.
I have already drawn attention to the fact that Trogons
feed very largely on Phasmidce, and apparently exclu-
sively on Orthoptera, and there is good reason to
suppose that the diet of most animals is more or less
restricted. Consequently to offer as food to animals
insects which never form any part of their diet cannot
lead to very definite conclusions.
216 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
This seems to be the proper place in which to
describe an experiment which I conducted with a
large spider, Nephila maculata, because I am conceited
enough to believe that this experiment did yield
information of importance, since it was carried out
as nearly as possible under perfectly natural condi-
tions. On Mt. Matang, one July morning in 1902, as
I was setting forth for a little insect-hunting walk,
I almost blundered into a large outspread web of
Nephila maculata, with the huge body of the maker
hanging in the centre waiting for prey. I just avoided
wreaking a catastrophic disaster on the elegant struc-
ture, and, as I recoiled, a little Dammar Bee, Melipona
apicaliSy flew into the web. The behaviour of the
spider was interesting to watch. She1 rushed towards
the bee, cut with her falces all the strands in which
it was entangled, retaining hold, however, of one
strand at the end of one hind-leg. The bee thus
hung suspended. The spider then violently agitated
its hind-leg, until it succeeded in jerking the bee some
distance away from the web. The bee spent a little
time in cleaning itself, then spread its wings and flew
away. This incident suggested to me that I might
introduce different insects into the spider's web and
observe the results. My first experiment was with a
second specimen of Melipona apicalis, which the spider
treated as it had treated the first. Then I introduced
Melipona lacteifasciata, a fulvous species with white
wing-tips ; this the spider seized in her jaws, but after
mouthing it a little dropped it, and it fell to the
ground, so this bee, too, was evidently not to the
1 The male of this species is a minute creature not one-tenth
the size of the female.
MIMICRY 217
spider's liking. Melipona apicalis is a black insect with
white wing-tips, and it is not only common but there
are one or two other species of the same genus coloured
exactly like it. These black and white Meliponas are
mimicked very closely by many other insects, e.g. by
two Braconids, by a Chalcid — Megalocolus notator, by
two Diptera — Toxophora sp. and Holocephala sp., by a
Longicorn beetle — Epania singaporensis, by a Plume-
Moth, by a Reduviid bug, by a Capsid bug, and a
Homopterous bug. Trigona lacteifasciata is not so
common, and I have only found two mimics of it, a
Capsid bug and a fly. It was interesting, then, to see
that the spider instantly recognized the distasteful nature
of the common, widely mimicked species, but had to
seize the rarer species in its mouth before deciding
that it was bad to eat. The Trigonas are stingless,
but they swarm round the head of any one disturbing
their nests, and bite with great vigour; they have,
moreover, a rather disagreeable odour. To return to
our experiments. A Muscid fly flew into the web of
its own accord, and was instantly captured and its
juices sucked. A small brown plant-bug, Riptortus sp.
(Fam. Coreidce), which I put into the web, was also
eaten. The little black and yellow Reduviid, Cosmo-
lestes picticeps, a very conspicuous and abundant species,
was at once treated like Trigona apicalis. The similarly
coloured but much larger species, Velinus nigrigenu,
was approached with great caution by the spider. She
just touched the bug with her palpi, and then started
away, probably nervous of the powerful rostrum of
this species ; the strands in which the insect was
entangled were cut at a greater distance from it than
usual, so that a large hole was left in the web after
218 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
it had been thrown out. Both of these bugs were
quite unhurt by their temporary captivity, and made off
after freeing themselves from some of the glutinous silk
of the web. The next insect tried was a Phytophagous
beetle, Antipha sp. ; this was seized at once but not
devoured, merely mouthed and palpated, and the spider
finally decided to keep the insect for future investiga-
tion, and thereupon proceeded to envelop it in a wrap-
ping of silk until it formed an amorphous bundle, which
was suspended from the centre of the web by a single
strand. The method by which the beetle was enveloped
was curious : it was held by the front pair of legs of
the spider, and turned round and round by the help of
the mouth-parts, whilst the hind pair of legs were ap-
plied alternately to the spinnerets, and led away each
time a single strand, which was wrapped round the
revolving insect. The action was very rapid, and the
spider looked like some machine for winding thread
round a spool, the thread being pulled in alternate
strands from the spinnerets. The butterfly Terias hecabe
was at once eaten, and so was Ypthima pandocus, but
a very conspicuous and common day-flying moth of
the genus Deilemera (Hypsidce) was instantly thrown
out of the web without a moment's hesitation. This
is interesting, because Deilemera is the only genus of
Lepidoptera which Mantidce consistently refuse. It is
curious that no mimics of the genus are known.
Another Terias hecabe and Ypthima pandocus were
thrown into the web simultaneously, and both were
pounced on ; they struggled violently, and so were both
enveloped in a silken shroud, which — hanging by a
single strand from a posterior tarsus of the spider —
was then hoisted up to the centre of the web, and
MIMICRY 219
made fast alongside the other bundle. The spider
towing her bundle behind her was a comical sight.
At this point I left off to make a midday meal,
intending to resume operations later on, but a heavy
thunderstorm almost entirely destroyed the web, and
I was compelled to leave Matang early next morning.
All the insects introduced into the web were captured
in its immediate vicinity, and it may reasonably be
supposed that any of them might have flown into the
web of their own accord. From the experiments one
gathers that Nephila maculata hot only has very pro-
nounced likes and dislikes, but also possesses great
powers of discriminating between insects without
employing her organs of taste. Anything more prompt
than her rejection of the yellow and black bugs could
not be imagined, and it was a striking demonstration
of the efficiency of warning coloration which may be
commended to the notice of scoffers.
With such enthusiasm do recent supporters of the
mimetic theory pursue their studies that they are prone
to regard every butterfly as protected either by (i)
nauseous properties duly advertised, (2) mimetic fea-
tures (Miillerian or Batesian), or (3) cryptic colouring,
these latter being considered palatable. They seem
inclined to maintain that if a butterfly is not crypti-
cally coloured then it is either a mimic or a warningly
coloured nauseous species. And yet there are many
facts which do not accord with this Procrustean
method. One of the commonest butterflies in Sara-
wak was the little obscurely coloured Ypthima pan-
docus ; on mountains it is more or less displaced by
the equally abundant Y. fasciata. According to current
theories of mimicry these two species are protected
220 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
by their obscure cryptic coloration, but cryptic colour-
ing is of no protective value if the insects possessing
it do not hide themselves as much as possible in
suitable situations ; and this is exactly what the two
species of Ypthima do not do. They expose them-
selves freely, fluttering with weak and uncertain flight
close to the ground, settling only for a few moments,
and then not in particularly obscure spots. We can-
not suppose that these butterflies are distasteful, for they
exhibit none of the characteristics of known distasteful
forms. Many more instances could be brought forward,
e.g. Melanitis ismene. Precis iphita, P. atlites, are all
cryptically coloured species, and yet expose them-
selves quite freely, and are excessively abundant. In
my opinion these species are abundant by virtue of
great fecundity, enabling them to maintain their
numbers in the face of a heavy destruction. This
is a mere suggestion, for in truth we are profoundly
ignorant of the reasons whereby one species may be
abundant and another, perhaps closely allied, extremely
rare. That the balance of forces regulating the abund-
ance or rarity of any species is liable to be upset at
any time is shown by the overwhelming numbers in
which a species may appear from time to time.
One such instance came very forcibly under my
notice. One day at 2 p.m. [the date is not recorded]
there suddenly appeared at Kuching an enormous
swarm of the Nymphaline butterfly Cirrochroa bajadeta ?
For the space of fifteen minutes there poured over the
entire town countless numbers of the butterflies. All
were travelling in an east to west direction, and they
flew at a good pace. I am anxious not to exaggerate,
so will not say, like the Irishman, that the butterflies
MIMICRY 221
were "fairly jostling" each other; but the air seemed
to be full of them as far as the eye could see, and
by standing on an open lawn I was able with one
sweep of a net to catch half a dozen. I can never
hope to see such a remarkable sight again. Identi-
cally the same phenomenon occurred at Sadong, a
place thirty to forty miles north-east of Kuching, and
I am sure that the swarm was continuous over this
great tract of country, and probably beyond it. A
friend residing on Mt. Matang, seven miles due west
of Kuching, reported that the butterflies arrived there
at about 4 p.m. Next day, at the same hour, the phe-
nomenon was repeated, though on a much smaller
scale [Note 17, p. 316]. It is exceedingly difficult to
account for the sudden appearance of these vast
hordes. Cirrochroa bajadeta is normally a fairly abund-
ant species, though not extremely common, and I could
gather no evidence whatsoever that the species pre-
paratory to the great flight had been more abundant
than usual. We can only suppose that most, if not all,
the factors which normally held in check the increase
of the species had been at some time temporarily sus-
pended, and we can realize faintly what would happen
if there were no such thing as a struggle for life. Even
granting this, it is difficult to account for the syn-
chronous appearance of these hordes, whilst the object
of their migratory flight is equally buried in obscurity.
But it is evident that a vast multiplication of numbers
must affect the future history of a species very con-
siderably, and a species once rare in a given locality
may, by the accession of large numbers, become quite
common, at any rate for a period of time.
Just as it is absurd to suppose that all obscurely
222 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
coloured butterflies are preserved by cryptic habits, so
is it absurd to suppose that all brightly coloured butter-
flies are protected by nauseous properties. They can
be equally well protected by habits of wariness, rapid
dodging flight, and great fertility. The Pierince are
for the most part very conspicuous butterflies, but
there are no grounds for supposing that any but a
few genera are distasteful ; in fact, Mr. Marshall has
shown that few sub-families are more preyed on by
birds. White or yellow with black tips to the wings
is the common type of colouring in this sub-family, and
to allege — as has been alleged — that certain species so
coloured mimic other similarly coloured species of the
same sub-family, is about as sensible as to allege that
every blue Lycaenid is a mimic of or a model to every
other blue Lycaenid ; in fact, if we will only recognize
that the mimetic theory is not capable of universal
application, if we will regard warning, cryptic, and
mimetic colouring as only three factors amongst many
others which help to ensure safety to insects, we shall
gain a saner view of insect life, and perhaps thereby
pacify our opponents.
I do not see why such scorn should be heaped on
cases of imperfect or incipient mimicry. Apart from
the fact that when we place side by side in an insect
cabinet a mimic and its model, we submit the mimic
to a test far more severe than any to which it is
called upon to undergo in the field, we must re-
member that natural selection is operating to-day as
in the past, and surely it is reasonable to suppose that
if in the past this force has produced well-nigh perfect
mimics out of imperfect, then it can do so now.
Moreover, it may be argued that many an imperfect
MIMICRY 223
mimic has found protection by other means than
mimicry ; it has as it were discarded mimicry in
favour of greater fertility, rapid flight, or even distinct
nauseous properties of its own ; its mimicry has be-
come arrested, the stern necessity for it no longer
existing. If the mimetic resemblance be harmless to
the species it will not be eliminated, and the species
may actually develop warning signals of its own.
Such an example seems to be afforded by the Chal-
cosiid moth, Pompelon subcyanea. This distasteful
moth mimics the male of the Euplceine Trepsichrois
mulciber, a black butterfly with a most brilliant metallic
blue sheen on the fore-wings, but the mimicry is very
imperfect because the moth is so much smaller than
the butterfly and has a different flight, so that no one
could mistake the two. The tip of the moth's
abdomen is bright scarlet, and this is a very con-
spicuous feature. Now it seems to me that this scarlet
tip is of value to the moth as a signal of still more
distasteful properties than the butterfly possesses ; the
moth, not content with advertising its unpalatability by
resembling an unpalatable butterfly, accentuates the
fact by developing an additional warning signal. This
is an extreme example, but the same reasoning applied
to other cases may explain much of the difficulty
which some find in regarding mimicry as efficient
when not quite perfect. That there is much which
cannot be explained by a facile application of the
theories of protective, warning, and mimetic colour and
form is very certain. Two instances may be noted
here. Nezara viridula is a little green Pentatomid
bug endowed with a positively nauseous odour ; it is
cryptically coloured, for green in Nature is a cryptic
224 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
colour ; it is excessively abundant, and has a wide
distribution. It has the habit of flying into lighted
houses at night, and when it enters in numbers the
nuisance is considerable. I have seen a dinner-party
in confusion and the guests driven from the table by
an irruption of this noisome pest. Yet the bug does
not advertise its nauseous properties — surely a very
singular fact. Again, most of the Coreid bugs are
cryptically coloured, and many of the species have
flattened leaf-like expansions on legs and thorax, char-
acters which we are accustomed to associate with
palatability and strictly cryptic habits. Yet these bugs
also have an extremely nauseating odour, and one asks
again why do they not advertise this ? The odour is
often so strong that one can detect the presence of
the bug before it is actually seen. Other Coreidce are
equally nauseous, and advertise themselves by bright
colours, e.g. Serinetha abdominalis, which is vermilion,
with the membranous parts of the elytra, the legs, and
antennae black ; it is furthermore mimicked in the
closest way by a moth, Phauda limbata, so that in a
state of repose it requires a sharp eye to say which is
which. Why then should some Coreidce be so con-
spicuous, others so inconspicuous, when all seem to be
equally nauseous ? These are puzzling questions,
which in the absence of experimental evidence I am
not prepared to solve. It may be that the unpalata-
bility is relative ; in fact, the cryptic species may
actually be palatable to some animals, although to our
nostrils all stink equally vilely.
If the opponents of the mimetic theory regard
natural selection as quite inefficient to produce the
undoubted resemblances that do exist between insects
MIMICRY 225
of diverse orders, the mimetists retaliate by regarding
every resemblance as a mimetic one. The generalized
resemblance between one species of black and white
or yellow Pierine and another is solemnly quoted as
an instance of mimicry. But a vast number of
Pierince are white or yellow with black tips or black
borders to the fore-wings ; such a type of colouring is
almost as important a characteristic of the sub-family as
(e.g.) the structure of the fore-legs or the method of
pupation, and to assume that mimicry is the cause of
the resemblance is unreasonable. We know that the
Pierince of some islands in the Malay Archipelago are
characterized by a certain amount of melanism, the
wings being very heavily bordered with black ; we
know too that numbers of Celebes butterflies have the
fore-wings long, narrow, and pointed, and we attribute
these characters to similar environmental conditions
acting in a similar manner on butterfly protoplasm.
Natural selection will not affect the characters if they
are harmless, while if they are correlated with char-
acters of immense importance to the species in the
struggle for life, natural selection may be said to
have produced them. Whole-hearted supporters of
natural selection regard variation as indefinite and
infinite, and only controlled by natural selection ; but
I am heretic enough to believe that variation is de-
fined and limited and controlled only partially by
natural selection. I regard the lines along which
variation in any organism can proceed as limited in
number ; to use a metaphor, I look on variation as
an engine which can proceed only along certain rails ;
there may be numbers of such rails going in different
directions, but the engine cannot get off the rails. I
16
226 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
first inclined to this idea after a study and arrange-
ment of the large collection of Phasmidce, or Stick-
Insects, in the Oxford University Museum. In South
America is found a sub-family of winged Phasmids
known as the Phasmince, and in Eastern Asia and the
Malay Archipelago occurs the sub-family of winged
species, the Necrosciince. The two sub-families are
widely separated geographically and genetically, yet
there exist numbers of species of Phasmince which re-
semble most closely in colouring and form other
species belonging to the Necrosciince. It is obvious
that these resemblances are neither due to mimicry
nor to genetic relationship, and they would be ex-
plained by nine out of ten entomologists as examples
of convergent development. But to confess that
certain species of a family exhibit convergence is
merely to state in other words that their evolution has
proceeded along very similar lines. It is exceedingly
common among the winged Phasmidce for the insect
when at rest to appear to be entirely green, and only
in flight to reveal the greater part of the hind-wings
as pink, the green colour being confined to a narrow
strip along the front. This arrangement of colours
crops up again and again in different genera belong-
ing to quite different sub-families, living in different
parts of the world. I regard this character as an ex-
pression of one of the lines of variation along which
the Phasmidce have moved ; we cannot suppose that
any other combination of colours, say yellow and blue,
would have brought down destruction, would have
been harmful to the species, and yet it is green and
pink, not yellow and blue, which form the common
widely distributed combination of colours ; and in my
MIMICRY 227
opinion it is so because there is something inherent in
Phasmid protoplasm which has caused variation to pro-
ceed along the green and pink "rails," and prevents it
from going along blue and yellow "rails." So too with
the black and white or yellow Pierince — that type of
coloration is inherent in Pierine protoplasm.
A student of mimicry cannot fail to be struck with
the fact that mimetic resemblances are due to a simu-
lation of the model's characters and not to a direct
imitation of them. A fly mimicking a wasp does not
develop a second pair of wings to imitate the wasp's
wings, but the wings of the fly may be so formed
and so veined or grooved that they appear like the
four wings of the wasp. Let us note one or two
more instances of this from Borneo. A beetle of the
distasteful family Endomychidce and belonging to the
genus Spathomeles has a strong stout spine on each
wing-case, and this character of spiny wing-cases
or elytra is common to all the Amphisterni. This
particular Spathomeles is closely mimicked by a
Longicorn beetle Zelota spathomelina ; the mimic
is coloured like its model, and from each elytron
springs what appears to be a spine, but on close
examination is seen to be nothing but a finely pointed
tuft of hairs. In other words, the spine of the model
is simulated by the hair-tuft of the mimic. If natural
selection is all-powerful, if it can guide variations into
any and every direction, why has it not called into
being a spine on the elytron of the Longicorn ?
Spinosity of the elytra is unknown amongst Longicorns,
pubescence is common, and natural selection must
use the material to hand and make the best of that.
To take another instance : there occur in Borneo
228 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
numbers of parasitic Hymenoptera of the family
Braconidce. Some of these, mostly of the genus
Afyosoma, are black with reddish head and thorax,
and they are mimicked by Longicorns of the genus
Oberea. The Braconidce fly about very freely, they
are wasp-waisted like so many Hymenoptera, and
when they settle on a leaf they have the habit of
walking about waving the antennae up and down in
a very characteristic manner ; the black wings are
folded down over the back so that seen from above
the wasp-waist is not visible. Now three species of
Oberea resemble the Braconids in a very remarkable
way ; the colouring is the same, and a wasp-waisted
effect is produced by a patch of silvery white pubes-
cence on each side of the first and second abdominal
segments ; the part of the body covered with this
pubescence tends to disappear from sight altogether,
and the beetle looks as if the rest of the abdomen
was slung on to the thorax by a mere pedicel as is
really the case in the Braconidce. It may be added
that all the Obereas are active fliers, all have the
habit of agitating the antennae when walking about,
and some of the species are so slender, and have the
wing-cases so narrowed, that they look even more like
Hymenoptera than the species with false wasp-waists.
This kind of colouring whereby certain parts of the
body, or even the whole body, may be made to dis-
appear from sight is very common in the animal
kingdom, but it actually occurs that an organ can be
so constructed that part of it is practically invisible
even when exposed. The little Longicorns of the genus
Xyaste mimic beetles of the family Lycidce • now the
Lycidce have short thick, flattened antennae, but the
MIMICRY 229
Longicorns of the sub-family to which Xyaste belongs
have the antennae long and slender. The effect of a
short flattened antenna is produced in a very inter-
esting way : the first few basal joints are clothed
thickly with long black hairs closely set together,
whilst all the rest of the antenna is drawn out into a
fine slender thread which is hardly visible ; in fact at
a short distance it is quite invisible, and the antennae
appear to be exactly like those of the model.
Examples of caterpillars resembling snakes have
been described more than once, but most of these
have resembled some weird monster rather than any
given species of snake. But in Sarawak I met with a
caterpillar which really did deceive me for the
moment : it is the caterpillar of a Hawk-Moth, Chcero-
campa my don \ the greater part of the body was hidden
behind a Caladium leaf on which the caterpillar was
feeding. The general colour was dark olive-brown,
becoming paler anteriorly ; at the junction of the third
and fourth segments on each side was an ocellus very
nearly the exact size of the eye of such a snake as
Dendrophis pictus ; the lower border of this ocellus was
margined with bright gold (the colour of the iris in
many snakes), giving an upward glance to the "eye."
The black of the ocellus was so intense and glossy
that an idea of depth was given, and it was difficult
to believe that one was not looking through a real
cornea into a real pupil. Running through the ocellus
on each side was a broad black stripe, just as in
D. pictus, while a wrinkled fold on each side of the
lower half of segments 2-4 gave an admirable im-
pression of the division between the upper and lower
jaws of a snake. Not the least remarkable of these
230 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
simulatory devices was the flatness of the area
bounded by the two " eye-stripes " on the dorsal
surface of segments 3, 4. This area, together with
segments i, 2 was pink, reticulated with fine brown
lines, giving an impression of the scutes on a snake's
head; these were particularly well marked on ^he ist
and 2nd segments, looking extremely like the division
between the internasal and prefrontal shields. When
the larva was moving about with the anterior seg-
ments well expanded, the snake-like appearance was
not so marked, but directly it was touched the
anterior segments of the body were drawn together
and turned towards the aggressor, and then the
resemblance was striking.
Another remarkable mimetic caterpillar is a little
reddish-brown larva of a Noctuid moth which Mr.
H. N. Ridley found at Singapore on leaves much
frequented by the savage Keringa Ant, (Ecophylla
smaragdina. Subsequently I was fortunate enough to
see one of these caterpillars alive. Nearly all the seg-
ments of the body are furnished with fragile tentacle-
like processes. The anal prolegs are large, and can
be completely divaricated ; just above each is a promi-
nent black spot. When the larva is irritated, the
posterior part of the body is immediately reared up,
the anal prolegs are thrown widely apart, and the
more posterior tentacles are violently agitated. When
the larva is seen end-on it looks very like an ant, the
anal legs mimicking the open jaws of the ant, the
eye-spots like ant's eyes, the tentacles like the legs,
while the antennae are represented by the last pair of
tentacles which are elbowed like these organs in an
ant. It is very difficult to convey by a description, or
V
Spider, Amycuva lincatipcs ; Keringa Ant, (Ecophylla smanigdina ; and Cater-
pillar. The posterior ends of spider and caterpillar bear eye-like spots,
and superficially resemble the head of the ant. The likeness is strengthened
by the movements of the insects, which live near the ant. The latter is
shown using one of its larvie as a kind of sewing-machine to spin together
the leaves of its nest. (From the author's drawings of the mimics, prob-
ably from Singapore, of the ant, after Dr. D. Sharp, Insects Pt. II., 1899,
p. 147-)
Plate XVI.
To face p. 230.
MIMICRY 231
even by a drawing, the very startling resemblance of
this caterpillar to an ant, yet the resemblance will not
really bear a close examination, for the caterpillar is
much longer than the ant, and moreover the anterior
part of the body plays no part in the likeness. It is
more of the nature of an impressionist sketch, and
like many impressionist sketches is startling in its
likeness to the model, though not bearing close
scrutiny. A little spider, Amycicea lineatipes * also
mimics the Keringa Ant : the body-form and colour
correspond pretty closely, but curiously enough the
head part of the ant is mimicked by the abdomen of
the spider, which near its apex bears two black spots
like the eyes of the ant. The spider preys on the ant,
and I have taken one with an ant in its jaws. I do
not, however, regard this as a case of aggressive
mimicry ; it is more likely that the spider escapes the
attacks of its enemies by resembling the ants, and
has acquired the habit of preying on them by
always living in association with them.
Lepidoptera have always been studied so much
more closely than any other order of insects, and
they exhibit so very plainly the phenomena of
mimicry on their large and brightly coloured wings,
1 This spider always lives in the ant's nest or very close to it. It
makes no web, but spins a little silk on the leaf on which it rests.
As its abdomen with the last pair of legs resembles the head of the
Keringa it moves in a backward manner, practically running tail
first. When it seizes an ant it lowers itself from a leaf by a thread
to devour it, practically out of sight and certainly out of the reach of
the others. Living with the ants it is practically defended from all
enemies, for no enemy would plunge into a Keringa's nest after it.
I found the only way of detecting it among the ants was to present
my finger ; the ants would rush to attack it, the spider retreated.—
H. N. R.
232 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
that more has been written about mimicry among
these attractive insects than among other orders. And
yet I feel sure that a close study of any other group
will convince the observer that mimicry is very wide-
spread throughout the insect class, and is everywhere
of as great interest as in Lepidoptera. Mimicry
amongst Oriental butterflies has indeed become almost
a hackneyed subject, and I will therefore leave them
alone. I will here give a short sketch of mimicry in
one class of beetles, the Longicorns, which I studied
closely whilst in Borneo.
The mimetic Longicorns of Borneo may be divided
into three groups : (i) those that mimic Hymen-
optera ; (ii) those that mimic other beetles ; (iii) those
that mimic other and presumably distasteful species
of Longicorns. It may be mentioned here that the
Longicornia are divided into three families, the
Lamiidce, the Cerambycidce, and the Prionidce ; the
latter contains no mimetic species in Borneo, and so
for our purpose may be ignored ; the other two
families are divided into several sub-families, most of
which include mimetic species.
In the first group we find many of the Phytceciince
a sub-family of Lamiidce. These include the Obereas,
to which attention has already been drawn, and two
allied genera, all of which mimic Braconidce. One
member of the huge genus Glenea resembles a little
blue sawfly. Turning to the Cerambycidce we find in
the sub-family Callichromina three large species of
Nothopens mimicking the formidable Fossorial Wasps of
the genera Salius and Mygnimia. The latter is known
to provision its nests with the huge poisonous
Tarantula Spiders, which it seeks out in their lairs,
MIMICRY 233
paralysing them with its powerful sting, so it is
obvious that few, if any, insect enemies would care to
tackle an insect of such powers. The Longicorn
mimics of these Fossors have the elytra considerably
reduced, so that the large wings are easily seen even
when the beetles are not flying ; in their rather
buzzing and noisy flight, and habit of curving the
abdomen down when seized, they copy the wasps
very closely, and I have seen my Dayak collectors
take the greatest precautions when transferring one of
these species of Nothopem from the net to the killing-
bottle ; nothing that I could say would persuade them
that the beetles did not sting.1 In the Necydalince
are three species mimicking Hymenoptera, viz. Psebena
brevipennis, resembling a Braconid of the genus
Myosoma, Epania singaporensis, which as already
noticed resembles a Dammar Bee ; and E. sarawakensis,
which is like an ant. Ants are also mimicked by two
tiny species of the sub-family Tillomorphince.
We now come to those Longicorns which mimic
other families of beetles. A very large number of
beetles which spend much of their life on the trunks
of trees are mottled in shades of grey and brown, so
that they harmonize closely with their background :
such are many of the Anthribidce and Curculionida,
and a great number of Longicorns are similarly
coloured. Though it cannot be said that the Longi-
corns are exactly like the other beetles, they resemble
each other simply because all are coloured to look
like lichen-covered bark. This is not true mimicry,
but is known as syncryptic colouring.
1 Dr. Longstaff records a similar experience with a Longicorn
beetle near Sydney, N.S.W., Butterfly-hunting, p. 485, PI. VI. figs. 8, 9.
234 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Other Bornean Longicorns mimic allies of the
weevils — the Brenthidce, curious long-snouted, slender
beetles, generally cryptically coloured. Here again the
mimicry is brought about by simulation, not by imita-
tion. The Longicorns have the greater part of the
antennae clothed thickly with dense-set hairs, and they
are carried closely apposed and sticking straight out
in front of the head, the terminal joints diverging.
They thus offer a sufficiently close resemblance to the
rostrum of the Brenthidce to be very deceiving. Such
an example is quite enough to confute the argument
that mimetic resemblances are due to similarity of
conditions. Why should similar conditions produce a
rostrum in one beetle and furry antennae simulating
a rostrum in another ? One other fact may be noted :
some of the Brenthidcet which belong to the genus
Diurus, are streaked or speckled with pale ochreous,
and if one of them be carefully examined with a lens
it will be seen that the pale colour is due to little
ochreous scales, rather like miniature cartridge wads,
set in deep punctures which are seriately arranged.
The mimicking Longicorns, ^Egoprepis insignis and
Ectatosia morei, are also speckled with pale ochreous,
but in these beetles the speckling is produced by
small tufts of recumbent hairs on the elytra and
thorax. So is illustrated once again the fact that a
similar appearance may be produced by quite different
means.
Six Longicorns belonging to three sub-families of the
Lamiida, viz. Mesosince, Hippopsince, and Agniince, mimic
the Brenthidce. Two of these, Alibora sp., and Elelea
concinna, mimic respectively Baryrrhynchus dehiscens and
Arrhenodes sp., which are rich chestnut Brenthids with
MIMICRY 235
yellow streaks. When Dr. Wallace was collecting in
Borneo in 1854-6 he noted the resemblance between
Elelea concinna and a Brenthid, and remarked of the
mimic that it carried its antennae "straight and close
together, appearing like a Brenthus" [Note 18, p. 316],
When the insects are pinned out in the cabinet it is a
little difficult to convince sceptics of the close resemblance
between these mimics and models, for the antennas of
the Longicorns in drying assume slightly unnatural
positions, so it is comforting to have one's observa-
tions on the living insects confirmed by so acute a
naturalist as Dr. A. R. Wallace.
Another of the Mesosines, Zelota spathomelina, has
already been noted as an Endomychid mimic. The
very aberrant Trachystola granulata, of the sub-family
Dorcadionince, is a good mimic of the powerful and
rather repulsive-looking black weevil, Sipalus granul-
atus. A very similar instance of mimicry has been
recorded from South Africa by my friend Mr. Guy
Marshall, but I confess that I am rather at a loss to
explain why the weevil should be mimicked by the
Longicorn ; the great hardness of the chitinous skeleton
may be the explanation, and certainly the weevil looks
to the human eye a highly indigestible morsel. Many
species of the large Lamiid sub-families Saperdince and
Astatheince resemble most closely Phytophagous beetles
of the family Galerucidce. These latter are all bril-
liantly or conspicuously coloured, are excessively
abundant in species as well as in individuals, and
there is some evidence to show that they are un-
palatable insects. It is not unlikely that their mimics
are also unpalatable and that the mimicry is Mullerian
rather than Batesian, but more information is required
236 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
before we can dogmatize. I confess to eating, in a
moment of scientific enthusiasm, a few Astatheince, and
I found that they had an acid taste reminding me
forcibly of unripe gooseberries ; but this experiment
does not help us forward very much. I was most
interested in comparing collections of Galerucids and
Longicorns of the two sub-families noted above ; if I
picked out at random a Galerucid of striking colora-
tion I could almost invariably match it with a
similarly coloured Longicorn. How striking these
colour-patterns may be is shown by the following
little table, and it must be noted that both Galerucids
and Longicorns exhibited these colours : —
1. Bright blue with white antennae.
2. Yellow with blue band across basal half of elytra.
3. Dark shining blue, with apical half of elytra
yellow or red.
4. Elytra dark shining blue, head and prothorax
yellow or red.
5. Fulvous yellow or brown.
The parallelism may extend to quite minor details ;
e.g. the Galerucids Antipha nigra and A. abdominalis
are coloured according to type 3, but the former
has the abdomen beneath black, the latter yellow.
Exactly the same difference distinguishes the two
mimics Astathes posticalis and A. flaviventris.
One of the Saperdinids, Entelopes glauca, is red with
black spots, and so looks like a common black-spotted
Ladybird. Attention has already been drawn to the
species of Xyaste which mimic Lycidce. In the sub-
family Phytceciince we find a little chalky-white beetle
MIMICRY 237
banded with shining blue, Daphisia pulchella, which
bears a close resemblance to two species of Callimerus
belonging to the family of beetles known as Cleridce.
This example is of interest because the Cleridce them-
selves are essentially a mimetic family ; some of them,
for instance, mimic Mutillidce, little Hymenoptera the
females of which are wingless ; others resemble Coccin-
ellidce, others Lycidce. It has been suggested that
these mimetic Cleridce are protected insects, and there-
fore that their mimicry is Miillerian rather than
Batesian. It is often assumed that if one or two
members of a family or sub-family are distasteful there-
fore all are distasteful ; in fact, palatability or the re-
verse are regarded as deep-seated characteristics of the
group. I see no reason to believe that this is true in
every case ; it is no doubt true that amongst butter-
flies all Danaines, all the Ithomiines, all Acraeines are
unpalatable, but I would hesitate to apply the same
canon to the Cleridce. Many Clerids are cryptically
coloured, and therefore presumably non-protected
species ; but though the species of Callimerus
mimicked by Daphisia are probably nauseous, I see
no reason to assume that the mimetic species of the
family are nauseous too ; they may well be palatable
Batesian mimics. Turning now to the Cerambycidce,
we find mimetic species amongst four sub-families,
Ephies dilaticornis (Lepturince), four species of Erythrus
and a Pyrestes (Pyrestince) mimic Lycidcet while a
species of Erythrus mimics a green and red " soldier "
beetle. The Lycid mimics were found in great abun-
dance on Mt. Matang, and though they are coloured
with the red-and-black livery of the Lycidce, they
present quite a distinctive appearance of their own,
238 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
and I feel almost convinced that they belong to that
great congeries of heterogeneous species which have
nothing in common save their unpalatability and their
Lycoid colouring. I will return to this later. Colly-
rodes lacordairei and Sclethrus amcenus of the sub-
families Sestyrince and Clytince respectively mimic Tiger-
Beetles.
We now come to our last section, the Longicorns
mimicking other Longicorns. Just as amongst butter-
flies so amongst this group of beetles do we find
that certain genera are protected and serve as models
to many other genera. Amongst Longicorns the pro-
tected families are two only, both of the Cerambycidce,
viz. the Callichromince and the Clytince. The species
of the former which serve as models all belong to
one genus, Chloridolum ; they are all bright metallic
green beetles, occurring in great abundance on felled
timber ; they emit a strong, but to human nostrils by
no means an unpleasant, odour proceeding from glands
in the thorax, which open to the exterior by two
pores. As the table on page 246 shows, they are
mimicked by members of two Lamiid sub-families, the
Saperdince and Phytceciince, and of three Cerambycid
sub-families, the (Emiince, Disteniince, and Lepturince.
The Clytince include the British Clytus arietis, a species
which, as is well known, is marked like a wasp and
when seized behaves as if it were about to sting. We
cannot say for certain if this is a case of Miillerian
or Batesian mimicry, but I am almost certain that the
Oriental Clytince are for the most part protected.
Chlorophorus (Clytanthus) annularis, a yellow beetle
banded with black, swarmed in countless numbers on
Mt. Penrisen, while round Kuching some species of
MIMICRY 239
Demonax, grey, black-banded beetles, were amongst
the commonest of all Longicorns. Their abundance,
combined with the fact that they are widely mimicked,
forces us to the conclusion that these two genera, at any
rate, are protected, but we shall not be able to state
with certainty whether all the genera of the sub-family
are protected until we have larger collections to study
and more observations on record. These protected
Clytince exhibit three types of coloration : (i) yellow
with black bands or stripes ; (2) grey with black
bands ; (3) as (2), but with red thorax. The Clytince
of type (i) are mimicked by a Lamiine, Cylindrepomus
comis, by a Phytaeciine, Daphisia sp., and by a Lep-
turine, Leptura sp. A species of Leptura also mimics
a Demonax coloured according to type (3). All the
other mimics, including six species belonging to four
sub-families, resemble species of Demonax and Xylo-
trechus, coloured according to type (2). The tables
appended give in graphic form the facts detailed
above ; it must be remembered that they have no
pretensions to being exhaustive, and further collecting
over a wider area would undoubtedly bring to light
numbers of new examples of mimicry. It is earnestly
to be desired that some naturalists would pay close
attention to this question of mimicry amongst Longi-
corns in other tropical regions of the world; it is
quite certain that very interesting results would accrue
from such a study, and the very wide distribution of
the phenomenon of mimicry throughout the insect
kingdom would be more firmly established.
I will close this chapter with a few remarks on the
Lycoid type of coloration. Miillerian mimicry is dis-
played in its most favourable aspect by large groups of
240 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
insects belonging to the most diverse families and
orders ; the members of such a group bear, as it were,
the trade-mark of unpalatability — usually a particular
type of coloration. The resemblances between the
different members of such a group need not be par-
ticularly close ; it suffices if they show to their enemies
the brand which those enemies have learnt to asso-
ciate with nauseous properties. Such a group is known
as a Miillerian group, but if we include in it Batesian
mimics, it is known as a convergent group ; con-
vergent because the members of it are regarded as
converging on a central dominant species, or set of allied
species, whose unpalatability has been more or less
clearly demonstrated. The Lycidce form the centre of
a large convergent group ; they are very abundant,
their integuments are extremely tough though flexible,
and they have been proved by experiment to be
unpalatable. All the species exhibit a great similarity
of colouring — the anterior part of the body, as seen
from above, is red or orange, the posterior part is
black ; the red colouring may be very extensive, cover-
ing nearly all the body, or it may be restricted to a
very small anterior part. But in casting one's eye over
a collection of Lycidce from any part of the world the
arrangement of colours is always as here described.
It is obvious that such a uniform and widely distributed
colour-pattern must be very familiar to all insectivor-
ous animals, and when other insects, which are not
Lycidce, display a similar type of colouring, it requires
no great stretch of the imagination to suppose that
they enjoy an immunity secured to them by their
" trade-mark." Wherever Lycidce occur there are found
other insects coloured similarly ; they are found alike
MIMICRY 241
in Africa, Australia, and South America, and they are
so numerous that a collection of insects exhibiting
Lycoid colouring, if brought together from all parts of
the world, would occupy many cabinets. When in
such a group the mimicry between any single member
and one of the central dominant species is very close,
I am inclined to suppose that the mimicry is Batesian
rather than Miillerian ; a very distasteful insect can
gain much by acquiring a generalized resemblance to
the central dominant species, but it probably has many
other independent advantages, and may even exhibit
a subsidiary warning coloration of its own. But the
palatable Batesian mimic has no advantages outside
its mimicry, and therefore the resemblance between
it and its model, to be effective, must be close and
detailed.
The Lycidce of Borneo are mimicked by the follow-
ing insects (species in italics Batesian) : —
COLEOPTERA :
Longicornia
Lamiida
Saperdince
3 species of Xyaste
Cerambycida
Euryphagina
Eurycephalus lundi
LepturincB
Ephies dilaticornis
PyrestincR
2 species of Pyrestes
4 „ of Erythrus
EucnemidcB i species Gen. f
Rhipidocerida i „ of Ennomates
Elateridce 2 „ of Agonischius
Clerida i „ of Tenerus
Hispidce 2 „ of Gonophora
17
242 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
HEMIPTERA :
Coreida 2 species Ectatops rubiaceus
Reduviida i „ Serinetha abdominalis
LEPIDOPTERA :
Zyganidce i species Phauda limbata x
Several insects, red, orange, or yellow in colour,
with black spots, exhibit another type of coloration
known as the Coccinelliform pattern, since the Lady-
birds, or Coccinellidce, constitute the central dominant
models copied by other insects. The Vespiform pat-
tern, dark with bright yellow bands, is another com-
mon type of insect coloration, and attention has already
been drawn to the black, white-tipped colouring of the
group converging on Melipona. But enough has been
said to show that those who seek to demolish the
theory of mimicry as due to natural selection have a
very difficult task before them.
1 This species is underlined in Mr. Shelford's manuscript, but,
I think, accidentally ; for the Zygcenidce have all the characteristics
of a distasteful group. Furthermore, Mr. Shelford has indicated
his belief that the species is a Miillerian mimic in P.Z.S., 1902, II.,
p. 369. This memoir, pp. 230-84, and the accompanying coloured
Plates, XIX-XXIII, should be consulted in connection with the
present chapter. — E. B. P.
MIMICRY
243
•5
•8
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I
1
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Models.
Red and black ^raa
genus Myosoma
i Reddish-ochreous JB)
the genus Iphiaula
Hylotoma pruinosa
Salius aurosericeus
Mygnimia aviculus
„ anthracinu
Myosoma sp.
Melipona vidua
Ants
»
»
, Scytasis nitida
. Oberea brevicollis
, „ n. sp.
„ strigosa^ var.
„ rubetra
I 5
!Jll24l
:;:;:il
, Nothopeus intermedius ...
„ fasciatipennis
,, sp. near hemipterus
Psebena brevipennis ...
Epania singaporensis
„ sarawakensis ...
Halme cleriformis
Clytellus westwoodt
>-* n to •**• ""»
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244
A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
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OTHER COLEOPTERA.
Arrhenodes sp. Fam.
t Spathomeles near turn
Sipalus granulatus. I
Baryrrhynchus dehisce)
Diurus sylvanus
„ shelf or di
„ fordpatus
|
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Coccinellid, e.g. Caria
Metriodea apicalis var.
Caritheca sp. near mon
Aulacophora boisduval
jEnidia sp.
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Ditoneces sp.
Same model as 15
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TAB
DNGICORNS MIMICKI]
Elelea concinna
1
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, Alibora sp
. JEgoprepis insignis .
, Ectatosia moorei
. Dymascus porosus .
Stegenus dactylon .
. Ente lopes glauca
„ n. sp.
„ ioptera .
„ amcena .
. Serixia aurulenta
„ prolata
. Xyaste invida
. Xyaste torrida
. Xyaste fumosa
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MIMICRY
245
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Antipha sp.
„ w£r* va.
„ abdominal
Caritheca mouhoti
Haplosonyx albicor
Metrioidea apicalis
Hoplasoma unicolor
sEnidia sp.
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s gestroi
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246
A NATUKALIST IN BORNEO
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LONGICORNS.
Clytanthus sp.
Xylotrechus pedestris
Chlorophorus (Clytanth
Chloridolum thomsoni
Chlorophorus annularis
Demonax viverra
Clytanthus sumatrensis
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CHAPTER IX
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN
As curator of the Sarawak Museum it was my wel-
come duty at times to leave the civilization of the
capital (Kuching) and visit other parts of the State for
the purpose of acquiring new specimens for the
Museum collections. I cannot truthfully say that I
ever met with any stirring adventures during these
collecting expeditions, and the following chapters de-
scribing them are written merely in the hope that they
may convey some idea to stay-at-home nature-lovers of
the delights and difficulties that await a naturalist in
the tropics.
Since the Museum collections were very poor in
specimens of the mountain fauna of Borneo I decided
to spend a month in visiting and collecting on Pen-
risen, a mountain some 4,000 feet in height standing
at the head-waters of the Sarawak River, just on the
boundary between Sarawak and Dutch Borneo. My
friend Mr. E. A. W. Cox, then district magistrate of
Upper Sarawak, decided to accompany me, and since
he was both keenly interested in natural history and a
good shikari his partnership in the enterprise was
most welcome.
247
248 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
We left Kuching on half-flood one morning1 in
three boats of the usual up-river type, long low canoes
hewn out of tree-trunks with the side-planking at-
tached by rattan lashings, and covering in the craft a
low roof of palm-leaf thatch. Besides ourselves and
a Malay crew, our party consisted of four Dayak
hunters, a Malay, and two Chinese servants. The
boats were loaded down to the gunwale with bags of
rice containing a month's supply for all of us, pro-
visions of other sorts for Cox and myself, collecting
gear, clothes, and other necessaries. Our crews were
not large enough, and we made such slow progress
that we did not get very far before the tide turned,
and we spent some weary hours at a small riverside
bungalow until the middle of the night, when we
started on again. By dawn we had reached the point
of junction of the left-hand and right-hand branches
of the Sarawak River ; a halt was called for breakfast
on a gravel-bed, and for a bath in the sparkling
waters of the river. Then on again, and for the rest
of that day our undermanned and heavily laden boats
struggled up the rapids and shallows of the narrowing
river, so that it was six o'clock before we reached the
Government bungalow at Segu and received a warm
welcome from the gentleman in charge of the Govern-
ment coffee-plantations at that place.
Next day, after much parleying, we exchanged two of
our boats for four lighter craft more suitable for travel
in shallow and rapid waters, and engaged some Land-
Dayaks to take the place of some of our Malays who
now wished to return to Kuching. This day was a
1 Mr. H. N. Ridley has a note that the date was May 5, 1899.
Author's Preface, pp. xxv-xxvii, should be read here.
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 249
repetition of the preceding, except that we made better
progress ; the river was so rapid that paddling the
boats was out of the question, and they were poled
along at a fair pace against the strong stream. The
air grew cooler for every mile that we advanced, and
the scenery more beautiful ; we had left behind us
the mud-flats of the lowlands with their monotonous
vegetation of Nipa-palm, and the succeeding zone of
scrub and secondary jungle, and were now fairly in
the upper waters of the river. Great cliffs of lime-
stone, sculptured and grooved by weathering agents,
and clothed in a bewildering variety of vegetation,
towered above us on either hand. Every reach of the
river that we entered on appeared more lovely than
the last, and contained some fresh wonder on which
the eye could feast. At one spot the river-gorge nar-
rowed considerably, and the rush of the water between
the huge boulders that here bestrewed the river-bed
was so great that we were compelled to disembark,
partially unload the boats, and haul them by their
rattan painters through the torrents. Dusk found us
still some miles from the village that we had hoped
to reach that night, but as we had now left behind us
the chief river-gorges and had emerged into a region
where the stream flowed more placidly between low
and gravelly banks we had no difficulty in selecting a
spot suitable for a bivouac. There was a brilliant
moon, and for long after we had eaten our supper
we sat listening to the rush of the stream and to the
shrilling of countless insects that made the tropical
night clamorous.
On the opposite bank was a small tree growing
close by the water's edge, which was covered with
250 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
thousands of Fire-Flies, small beetles of the family Lam-
pyridce-y and I observed that the light emitted by these
little creatures pulsated in a regular synchronous
rhythm, so that at one moment the tree would be
one blaze of light, whilst at another the light would
be dim and uncertain.1 This concerted action of
thousands of insects is very remarkable and not easy
of explanation. Another instance of it was mentioned
by Cox ; certain ants that are found very frequently
proceeding in columns along the floor of the jungle,
when alarmed, knock their heads against the leaves or
dead sticks which they happen to be traversing ; every
member of the community makes the necessary move-
ment at the same time, and as the movements are
rapid a distinct loud rattling sound is produced. In
this case the action is probably a danger-signal, and
we can understand — theoretically at any rate — how it
was brought about. But the value to the species of
the rhythmic-light pulsation of the Fire-Flies is not
obvious, and as it is doubtful if the emission of phos-
phorescent light is under the control of the insects, or
is merely a simple automatic process of metabolism its
synchronism is a most puzzling fact2 [Note 19, p. 316].
An early start was made next morning, and we had
not proceeded very far on our way when we were
overtaken by a light canoe poled along at a rare pace
1 Also observed by Dr. N. Annandale at Kuala Patani (P.Z.S.,
1900, p. 865). Dr. Annandale states that the larger bluer lights
of three individuals seated together pulsated with a rhythm dif-
ferent from that of the hundreds of others, with smaller lights,
upon the same large tree by the river-bank. — E. B. P.
z There can be no doubt that the light is under the control
of the nervous system. See the examples under " Fire-flies " and
"Luminous beetles" in Longstaff's Butterfly-hunting. — E. B. P.
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 251
by five or six women and a man. These Land-Dayak
women wore dark blue petticoats, a coil of rattan
strips stained red or black round the waist, and brass
rings in long series on the arms and round the calves
of the legs, with two to three shell rings interspersed
amongst the brass armlets. Their canoe was very crank,
and I do not suppose that a white man would have
poled it very far without capsizing. But these women
were experts in the art ; the picturesque garb and
flashing ornaments setting off their glossy brown skins
to best advantage, and the rhythmical swing of their
bodies as they drove and lifted the long punt-poles
made a beautiful picture which lives vividly in my
memory even now. They exchanged some chaff with
our boatmen laboriously forcing our heavier boats up
the shallows, but they were evidently in a hurry, and
soon were lost to view round a distant curve.
We stopped for a while at Brang, a village built on
a bluff commanding a fine view of the river, as Cox
wished to forewarn the chief that in a month or
three weeks he would return to collect the annual
poll-tax levied by the Sarawak Government. A mes-
senger was sent up the steep and slippery paths that
led to the village, and he returned shortly with the
chief and his daughter. The latter was a somewhat
forbidding-looking female with a very pronounced
squint, but she was a great character, and a few
minutes' conversation sufficed to show that the real
head of the village was the chief's daughter. The
Sarawak Government in this year had found it neces-
sary to demonetize the Japanese yen or dollar, which
for some time had been part of the legal currency of
the country ; the reasons for this course of action and
252 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
its consequence, that the coins could not be accepted
in payment of the poll-tax except at a 10 per cent,
reduction of value, were carefully explained to the
chief. But he, poor man, was soon hopelessly be-
fogged, and referred us to his daughter for her
opinions on the matter ; she, after asking a few intel-
ligent questions, grasped the situation at once, and
pacified her parent with a few soothing words. Our
boatmen subsequently told us that this woman was a
spinster, truly a rara avis in a Bornean village, who
scorned matrimony, that she did none of the women's
work in the village or on the farm, that she insisted on
making her voice heard at village councils, and that
at the harvest-feasts she not only donned male attire,
but also took part in the men's dances. In fact she
was a Dayak " new woman."
Shortly after midday we reached Pankalan Ampat,
and, as henceforth our way lay by land and not by
water, we paid off our boatmen and sent messengers
to the neighbouring village of Sennah, requesting the
presence of the headmen. There is a Government
bungalow at Pankalan Ampat, built of wood and Nipa-
palm leaves ; it had not been occupied for many
months, and solitary wasps of the family Eumenidce,
which build little clay nests, storing the cells with
spiders as food for their young, had taken advantage
of the vacant house to construct scores of their nests,
which adhered to the palm-leaf walls of every room.
Wasps are good collectors, and many a curious spider
did I find in their stores. Some were dried up, others
had lost their legs, but occasionally I disinterred admir-
able specimens, which were hailed with joy as the
first-fruits of our collecting expedition.
H 0,
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 253
The Pengara, or native magistrate, of Sennah turned
up in the evening with his son, a lad of about four-
teen years of age, who, it was plain to see, was the
very apple of his father's eye, and endowed with all
the petulant airs and graces shown by spoilt children
in every clime. To the Pengara we explained our plans,
namely, that we intended to live for three weeks on
Mt. Penrisen, that therefore it was necessary for a
small hut to be constructed for us there, and for all
our baggage to be transported to our mountain camp ;
to every carrier we would give a present of tobacco,
but he could expect no pay, for this was a Govern-
ment expedition, and free service for a couple of days
was his due to Government officials. The Pengara
raised no objections to our proposals, but said that
all details could be arranged more expeditiously in
Sennah, and he offered us an invitation to the chiefs
house for the following day. Next day, then, we trans-
ferred ourselves and belongings to Sennah, where we
received a cordial welcome. A Land-Dayak village does
not consist of one immensely long house as do the
villages of the Sea-Dayaks, Kenyahs, and Kayans, but
of several houses, all, of course, raised on piles, and all
more or less joined to one another in an irregular
manner. I have visited several Land-Dayak villages,
but I never could find any definite or constant plan in
their structure ; they may generally be described as a
loose jumble of houses very roughly arranged in a
hollow square, one side of which is open. The centre
of the square is occupied by a raffle of timber and
bamboo, with a few connecting bridges, and the holy
of holies, the Head-House, stands in the middle. At
Lanchang village, in the Upper Sadong, the Head-House
254 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
is used as a guest-house, and I spent two days there
once [see pp. 286-90] ; but at Sennah we were not per-
mitted to go inside it, but took up our quarters in the
chief's house — a long building looking on to the river,
and occupied not only by the chief and his family
but by other families as well.
A European when he enters a Land-Dayak house
must give up all idea of privacy ; he is an object of
intense interest to the inhabitants. His clothes and the
way in which he puts them off and on, his food and
his manner of eating, his method of lighting a cigar-
ette or pipe, of striking a match, his every trivial action,
affords cause for interest and food for comment ; the
entire population of the village, old and young, male
and female, congregate around him and gaze in a
bovine manner at him for hours together. After a
time this becomes very irksome, but as our stay at
Sennah was short, we submitted with as good a grace
as possible to the ordeal of being the cynosure of
every eye.
With the chief we discussed again our plan of cam-
paign, and he promised to collect the necessary carriers
for us before nightfall. The men certainly did turn
up, but after sitting in solemn conclave in the outer
verandah, they sent in word to us that they could, not
carry our goods to the mountain as their farms required
all their labour and attention. The success of our
expedition trembled in the balance, but Cox proved
equal to the occasion ; he went out to the verandah
and addressed the men for a good quarter of an hour
by my watch. He spoke to them of the past, recalling
to their minds the days when no white Rajah ruled in
Sarawak, the days when no Land-Dayak could regard
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 255
his soul as his own, when he groaned under the in-
tolerable burden of taxation heaped on him by corrupt
and avaricious Malay princelings. He painted in vivid
colours the uncertainty of life in Upper Sarawak in the
early days of its history, when the country was cease-
lessly harried by Malays and Sea-Dayaks, when no Land-
Dayak could go forth to his labour and be confident
that on his return his home would be intact, his wife
and children ready to welcome him. Then he contrasted
all this misery and wretchedness with the present state
of peace and security, and as a proof of their apprecia-
tion of these blessings he asked the men to give two
days of their labour to forwarding the business of two
officials of the Government to which they owed their
well-being.
This most eloquent and well-timed speech had an
immediate effect ; it was punctuated with approving
grunts, and concluded amidst a chorus of acquiescence.
The main difficulty of our journey being thus success-
fully surmounted — and only those who have travelled
in uncivilized lands know what a constant source of
anxiety and worry transport can be — we distributed
some handfuls of tobacco and two bottles of gin, and
retired with light hearts inside our mosquito curtains.
The crowing of cocks, the grunting of pigs, and the
snarling of dogs under the house render late morning
slumbers impossible in a Dayak house, and the day
was yet young when we began the business of divid-
ing our baggage into suitable loads for the carriers.
Everything had to be made up into one-man loads,
for these people object to carrying anything between
two. All goods are carried in a sort of creel on the
back, the creel being supported by a band of strong
256 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
bark cloth, which passes round the forehead, and is
held in the hands to relieve the strain. Land-Dayaks
are good weight-carriers, and can go for hours at a
stretch up hill and down dale with from five to six
stone on their backs. The sun was high in the heavens
before we had seen the last of our 120 carriers on his
way, and then we with our servants, three guides, and
the Pengara's son bade farewell to our kind hosts, and
set off. The path lay for a few miles over the foot-
hills of Penrisen, clothed in scrub and tall grass ; it
was steep, slippery with mud, and very narrow, for
Dayaks always walk in single file, and in walking place
one foot exactly in front of the other. At times we
came on little brooks and gullies, crossed by crazy
bridges of bamboo or half-rotten timber, which we
ventured on gingerly. There was no shade, and the
sun beat down on the narrow path cleft through the
matted vegetation with untempered heat ; I do not
think that I have ever perspired so much in my life
before or since ; before long my clothes refused to
absorb any more moisture, and the perspiration dripped
off my coat-sleeves and trickled down the breast and
back of my tunic. At one o'clock we called a halt,
and rested for three-quarters of an hour ; food would
have choked me, and though I could have drunk a
gallon, I did not dare to drink very much, as I knew
that I should feel the effects directly I began to walk
again. By 3 p.m. we were on the lower slopes of the
mountain, and for about an hour climbed through a
zone of bamboo forest ; the shade and the more or less
open nature of the ground was a most welcome relief,
and it was no longer necessary to fix the gaze rigidly
on the ground to avoid snags, creepers, and other
*raps for the unwary.
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 257
Bamboo is the only forest-tree in the tropics which
I have observed to grow profusely in a circumscribed
area. There is nothing in the tropics to correspond
with the oak-, beech-, or pine-forests of more temperate
zones. The jungle is a gigantic and bewildering chaos
of scores upon scores of different species of trees, most
of them swathed in a luxuriant tangle of creepers and
parasitic growths all struggling up to the life-giving
sunlight ; it is a paradise for the botanist, but I believe
that on the whole finer effects of scenery are pro-
duced by great numbers of one or two kinds of tree
than by an inextricable confusion of varied plant-life.
The bamboo-forest passed, we came into secondary
jungle, and from this entered the primeval forest of
the mountain. The slope was very steep, but as it
was cool enough now we took things in a more
leisurely manner and halted for frequent breathers.
Land-Dayaks are inveterate smokers, and at every
halt our carriers produced short lengths of bamboo
which, with a few strokes of their small, angled knives,
were quickly converted into pipes. The bamboo was
half filled with water, and a small pinch of tobacco
was placed on the top of a slender piece of bamboo
inserted at an angle in a hole in the side of the main
piece. A man having lighted the tobacco would draw
into his lungs a great mouthful of the smoke, and
then pass the pipe on to his neighbour who would
repeat the process. A pipeful would suffice for no
more than three or perhaps four men. The tobacco
which these people smoke is of Chinese manufacture,
and when burning it has a horrid acrid odour, quite
unlike the Javanese tobacco which Malays and Sea-
D ayaks smoke ; I tried one whiff of the Chinese stuff
18
258 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
and regretted it for half an hour afterwards. All the
natives of Borneo use these angled knives for cutting
and carving small objects ; the blade is held between
the fingers and thumb of the left hand, the handle
lying along the fore-arm, whilst the article that is to
be carved is held in the right hand and is turned
and pressed against the knife-blade ; a left-handed man
would hold the knife in his right hand and the object
to be carved in his left.
Between five and six o'clock we reached the point
where we had decided to camp for the night. There
was here an enormous boulder known to the natives
as Batu Tinong ; it juiled out from the side of the
mountain, and overhung so far that a sort of open
cave was formed. Close by there was a mountain
stream dashing down a rocky ravine ; and quickly
divesting ourselves of our clothes, supersaturated with
sweat, we flung our weary bodies into the foaming
torrent. The chill of the water fresh from the mount-
ain-top acted as a splendid tonic and stimulant, and
we emerged cool and refreshed. Our followers mean-
while had constructed beneath the overhanging boulder
a floor of branches raised about a foot from the
ground ; on this our waterproof sheets and boat-mat-
tresses were spread, and we were soon discussing a
savoury supper such as a Chinese cook can, with
the most limited appliances, turn out under the most
adverse circumstances.
We then composed ourselves for well-earned slumbers,
but sleep was not for me ; to begin with I was over-
tired, every bone in my body seemed to ache, my
bed seemed uncommonly hard, and the knots of the
branches composing the floor could be felt through
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 259
the thin mattress. But above all, it was my first night
in the jungle, and the mystery and the majesty of the
great primeval forest awed and possessed my soul.
1 do not think that this feeling of weird mystery ever
quite wears off a mind that is at all impressionable;
speaking for myself, I can truthfully say that the
impression was renewed again and again whenever it
was my lot to pass nights in the jungle, and I can
even conjure it up now by dwelling on those past
experiences. In the daytime the forest is less eerie ;
you are conscious that there is glowing and active
life all around : much of it you cannot see, but the
not infrequent glimpses of Nature's great pageant of
animal life are enthralling and reassuring, and the
interest of collecting keeps the mind constantly on the
alert. But at night you can see nothing ; an almost
impenetrable darkness descends on the forest. Teem-
ing life is still all around, for you can hear it ; the
air is full of the noise made by millions of insects, a
noise that, like the roar of traffic in a great city or
like the sound of the sea, so permeates everything that
in time the ear becomes dulled, and a special effort
has to be made to listen .to it. There are, too, strange
rustlings in the trees, and occasionally the stillness
is rent by some strange cry or weird shriek, at the
sound of which, half-scared, you ask your followers its
meaning, only to be told that it is some ghost or lost
spirit. It may be the despairing yell of some monkey
seized by a snake, or the triumphant scream of some
night-bird clutching its hapless victim ; who can tell ?
If you step out of the radius of your camp-fires you
feel that you are brought face to face with forces over
which you have no sort of control ; you are sur-
260 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
rounded on all sides by handiwork that is not man's,
by swarming millions of creatures that live out their little
lives without the faintest reference to you. If a man
die in a city, he knows at least that he leaves behind
him a blank — perhaps a small one, a memory — maybe
but short-lived ; at any rate, if it be only in the smallest
way, his death does affect his fellow-man, for none of
us lives to himself alone. But if he die here in the
great forest, what is his death? It is but one out of
thousands that occur perpetually — uncared for, indif-
ferent, without effect.
With the dawn we were astir again, and, breakfast
over, we continued our climb ; by noon we had
reached what had once been a clearing, for it was
now covered by saplings and undergrowth. Our guides
told us that here was the place where a previous visitor
to the mountain, my predecessor the late Dr. G. D.
Haviland, had camped. It did not look a very
promising spot, for the slope of the ground was steep
and there was but one small and trickling brook to
furnish our water-supply, but we were told that higher
up there was still less water, so we had to acquiesce
in our guide's choice. The men with us began to cut
down the saplings and clear the brush-wood, and in
doing so disturbed quantities of insects. Life in the
jungle is thickest in the trees, and there is compara-
tively little on the floor itself ; the felling of a tree
always reveals a little world of living creatures. The
bearers with the collecting gear, killing-bottles, spirit-
jars, and so on, had not yet made their appearance, so
I was hard put to it to keep hold of the specimens that
I caught and that were brought to me ; my hat and
pockets soon were full, and I was driven to tying
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 261
insects secured by threads of fibre on to the buttons
of my coat, until Cox said I presented the appearance
of a Christmas-tree hung with living animals. The
Dayaks were much tickled with my difficulties and
vied with each other in presenting me with more and
more specimens, each addition being greeted with
roars of laughter. Fortunately I had my butterfly-net
with me, and managed to secure a specimen of a rare
mountain butterfly, Cyrcstis seminigra, that flitted across
the clearing ; another creature that I secured was one
of those queer Land-Planarians, or flat-worms, coloured
brilliant sealing-wax red with black and white cross-
bands.
The appearance of the rest of our train of coolies
put an end to my difficulties, and soon all my captures
were reposing in boxes or were pickled in spirit. The
Land-Dayaks now began to construct us a long lean-to,
or lankau, but we told them that that was of no sort
of use ; as our stay was to be one of three weeks, we
wanted a proper hut, one good enough, as Cox
phrased it, to serve as a Padi barn. So the men set
to work and in the space of three hours built us a
hut about 8 feet square, raised 2 feet off the ground,
open in front but with the sides, back, and roof of
well-made palm thatch. A species of Caryota palm
with pinnate leaves grew in abundance close by us,
and the thatch was made from these in a very
simple but ingenious way. Two bunks, two shelves,
both made of the palm-stems, and a three-stepped
ladder completed the house, and I may say here
that so efficiently was it constructed that, in spite
of some heavy rains, the roof did not leak till the
day before we left the mountain, and then the leak
262 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
was repaired in a couple of minutes. The rest of
the day was spent in unpacking our gear, in build-
ing a lankau for our hunters and a kitchen for our
servants, and in damming the brook to make a
bathing-pool.
Towards evening the rain came on, and very shortly
all round our hut numbers of enormous earth-worms,
ij to 2 feet long and very thick, made their appear-
ance ; the Dayaks showed the utmost horror of these
creatures and could not be induced to touch them
with their fingers ; we collected a good many
specimens but found that considerable care had to
be taken in preserving them, as many specimens
divided up into short segments when immersed in
spirit. After dinner we sat listening to the din of
insects around us, and rigged a reflecting lamp with
a sheet behind it in the hopes of attracting moths, but
without much success. Dr. Wallace has expressed the
opinion that moths do not come to light in jungle
stations until the light has been shown for many
nights, and this I can fully confirm. I never reaped
such harvests of moths on Penrisen as I did many
times on Mt. Matang when I used to stay with a
friend in charge of the Government coffee estate
there ; two or even three hundred specimens was no
unusual haul in four hours ; on suitable nights the
moths simply streamed into the house, attracted by
the bright lights which, of course, were visible every
night.
On the following day we dismissed our train of
coolies after giving them the promised guerdon of
tobacco, and retained with us, in addition to our own
servants and hunters, three of the Sennah men who
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 263
for a small wage consented to share our fortunes for
the next week or two. One of these men, Latip by
name, was a fine specimen of humanity, clean-run,
stalwart, and as active as a cat ; another, whom we
christened the "lion," on account of his flowing mane
of black hair, was inclined to corpulency, and before
very long we discovered that he had a rooted objec-
tion to hard work, and a very large appetite ; however,
he was of an amiable and good-natured disposition,
and was a source of constant amusement to our
hunters. The Pengara's son also stayed with us, as he
was anxious to display his prowess with a new muzzle-
loading gun that his indulgent father had given him.
After breakfast we decided to explore our surroundings,
and dispersed in all directions ; for my own part I
did not go far, the immediate vicinity of our camp
contained enough interesting material to keep a
naturalist happy for a month, and I soon had a fine
series of insects of all sorts, including such insignificant-
looking creatures as escape the notice of collectors on
the hunt for more striking animals. About midday
we re-united and the results were not very promising ;
none of the birds obtained were different from low-
country forms and none of the butterflies were new
to me. Cox reported that in his wanderings he had
come on a magnificent plateau at a slightly higher
elevation than our present camp, it was well supplied
with water and commanded a splendid view ; it
was evident that our guide had not taken us to the
best place, and cross-examining him we found at
length that his chief reason for not leading us to this
ideal spot was that the Caryota-palm with which our
hut was thatched did not grow there in sufficient
264 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
abundance, and so to save himself and his fellows the
labour of carrying up loads of the palm-leaves he had
obliged us to camp in a less suitable place. We
were very annoyed, but it was too late to change our
quarters as all the bearers had gone, but we gave the
guide nn mauvais quart d'heure. The afternoon was
fully occupied in skinning the birds, in pinning the
insects into collecting-boxes, folding up butterflies in
sheets of paper, pressing plants, and the other occupa-
tions of collecting naturalists. After dark we set our
moth-trap, but again without much result. As we
were waiting, nets in hand, for our victims, we heard
from many points around us a sharp bird-like chirp ;
it seemed impossible that a small bird should be
moving about at that time of night, and we were pre-
pared to give up the puzzle as hopeless, when sud-
denly a small frog leapt out of the darkness on to the
chimney of our lamp, clung there for a brief second,
then uttered a sharp chirp and dropped with singed
toes to the floor of the hut. We quickly captured it,
and found it to be a handsome reddish-brown species
of the genus Rhacophorust showing by its fully
webbed feet that it was a near relation of the
celebrated Wallace's Flying Frog. On our return to
Kuching I found that this was a new species, after-
wards described and named Rh. shelfordi by Mr.
Boulenger.
Since collecting on the lower levels of the mountain
had yielded poor results, Cox started next morning
with some of the hunters and Latip for the summit ;
in the afternoon he sent down word that he intended
to stay near the summit for three days, since the
locality seemed to promise well. As proof he sent
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 265
down by the bearer a specimen of the Mountain
Trogon, Harpactes dulitensis, the first example of which
had been shot by Dr. Charles Hose at a high eleva-
tion on Mt. Dulit ; a handsome spotted Toad with
very long legs, Bufo jerboa ; a crab of the genus
Potamon, and a new species of Stick-Insect. I
despatched the bearer with a supply of rice and pro-
visions, and spent an hour or two trying to make a
satisfactory skin of the Trogon. Trogons have skins
which may aptly be compared to wet tissue paper, and
as I am not a skilled taxidermist the result of my
labours was horrible to behold, and I threw it away
in disgust.
The next few days I spent pretty well by myself,
for Cox extended his stay near the summit of the
mountain, and I sent up to him all the hunters as he
was doing well in the collecting of vertebrates and
needed men to help him skin them. One Land-
Dayak — the " lion " — stayed with me and the two
Chinese servants, one of whom shortly fell ill with
fever and lay like a log in the lean-to that served as a
kitchen. There was a good deal of rain and butterflies
became scarce, but I shall not readily forget one
glorious afternoon ; the sun was shining brilliantly in
a perfect blue sky flecked with a few clouds, and
presently I heard the peculiar rushing noise made by
Hornbills as they fly (a noise due, I believe, to the
air rushing through the quills of the wings, for the
wings on the under side are only very thinly protected
by coverts), and from various directions I could see
numbers of these birds winging their way to a huge
Ficus tree that was in fruit close to the camp. The
birds began to feed greedily and, fetching a pair of
266 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
field-glasses, I lay on my back and gazed for long
at their curious antics. There were two or three
species, one of which, Anorhinus galcatus, as it fed
uttered a strange, mewing noise ; the others had more
raucous cries ; sometimes a bird would pluck off a
fruit, throw it in the air and catch it, throw it up
again, and again catch it and swallow it ; sometimes
one would stand on a branch and solemnly jump up
and down on it in the most ludicrous manner. One
could not help being convinced that the birds were
filled with the joie dc vivre, and I felt fortunate in
being able to get a good view behind the veil that is
nearly always stretched between the naturalist and
bird-life in the tropical forest.
Cox eventually climbed on to the summit of the
mountain, but it was a bleak wilderness covered with
Pandanus and very poor in animal life, so he descended
and moved his quarters to a lower peak known as
Mt. Prang. He sent down some interesting insect larvae,
and I made up my mind to join him on the peak
of Mt. Prang and investigate the habits of these
creatures for myself. The second Chinese servant
had now fallen ill with fever, and it was only with a
great effort that he was able to cook for me, so I left
them both with a supply of quinine tabloids and a
Dayak to look after them, and joined my companion.
I found that he had prepared a fine camp by making
a large clearing and erecting a long lean-to ; we com-
manded a magnificent view right down to the sea, and
could distinguish Kuching very clearly in the distance.
The felled trees in the clearing had attracted crowds of
Longicorns and Weevils and I soon added very largely
to my insect collections. One day was very like another,
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 267
and it would be tedious to describe each in detail : we
were generally up shortly after sunrise, and wandered
about near the camp till 7, then every one went off
on the day's hunt and did not return till after midday ;
the afternoon was busily employed in skinning and
preserving our captures, while as soon as dusk set
in we were occupied with catching moths and other
insects attracted by our lights. When we were dis-
cussing the plans of our expedition in Kuching, we
had visions of an abundance of game on Mt.
Penrisen, and one of the most cherished articles' of
our baggage was a large cooking-pot which we fondly
intended to keep ever full with a savoury stew. But
game on the mountain was conspicuous by its absence,
there were neither deer nor pig, nor Fire-Back Pheasants,
not even Button-Quail,1 and we were driven to feed
on the pickled beef which we had brought with us,
and on the fowls which we bought from the Dayaks.
The trees round Mt. Prang swarmed with Barbets,
but they were poor eating, and Hornbills with their
dark red flesh were not very appetizing.
Our supply of fowls having given out, and being
tired of the endless diet of rice and bully-beef, I decided
one day to eat a monkey, Semnopithecus rubicnndus,
that one of the hunters had shot, and having over-
come a slight feeling of repugnance at eating an
animal not so very distantly removed from the genus
1 Deer and pig do not ascend the mountains of Borneo above
2,000 feet, except perhaps on very rare occasions when in search
of food. Fire-Back Pheasants are found in the bamboo area, and
on the spurs of the mountains, but not above 1,000 feet. The
Argus and Bulwer's Pheasant (Lobiophasis) are found up to
2,000 feet. Button-Quail do not inhabit the old jungle ; they are
common on any cleared spot in the low country.— C. H.
268 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Homo, I enjoyed my meal very much, but I could
not induce Cox to join me. After the meal our Sea-
Dayak hunters and our Land-Dayak guides engaged
in a long discussion on what animals were good to
eat and what were not ; the former were nearly sick
when they heard that our guides ate bear when they
could get it, and did not believe us when we told them
that in Canada bear's feet were considered a delicacy.
Land-Dayaks will not eat deer, because they fancy
that in doing so they acquire the timorousness of that
animal ; but also it is amongst these people tabu to eat
beef or butter or to drink milk, and as their name of
the Supreme Being is Tupa [Note 21, p. 318] some
authorities have sought to trace a connection between
these Borneans and the beef-eschewing, cow-worship-
ping Brahmins of India. Ethnological speculations
are almost proverbially wild, but wilder shots have
been made than this, for it is certain that the Land-
Dayaks are amongst the more primitive people of
Borneo, and are of the same stock as certain tribes of
Java, where Hinduism was once the national religion.
The Land-Dayaks have a tradition that they came
from Java, and it may well be that they migrated
from that island before its Hindu conquerors were
driven out by the Mohammedan invaders.
Both Sea-Dayaks and Land-Dayaks found common
ground in descanting on the merits of pickled pork.
Whenever these people prepare for a future feast, they
fill great jars with lumps of pork to which is added a
modicum of salt ; the jars are sealed up and are not
opened till the feast days arrive, and then the putrid,
stinking masses of greenish-coloured meat are devoured
with gusto by young and old. That wholesale death
AN EXPEDITION TO PENBISEN 269
does not ensue from ptomaine poisoning seems little
short of miraculous.1
After some days we moved down to our old quarters,
and stayed there till our allotted time had expired,
when we sent down word to Sennah for the bearers
to transport our baggage. The carriers made their
appearance next afternoon, and amongst them were
some men from a neighbouring village, Tebia ; they
were the ugliest and most unprepossessing-looking lot
of natives that I have ever seen, and they were held
in some contempt by the Sennahs, but they were
certainly great people at getting about in jungle. Some
of them asked me why I was at such pains to put
together these collections of insects and reptiles : it
was the usual question almost always asked by natives,
and to it I made the usual answer that they were of
use for medical purposes ; no view but the strictly
utilitarian one appeals to a native, and this reply
always put an end to further inquiries. The Tebia
people on this occasion immediately volunteered to get
specimens, and I handed some of them killing-bottles
and tubes of spirit ; in a short time they were back
again with every receptacle choke-full of every variety
of animal from reptile to worm ; others joined in, and
before long I had the whole gang busily employed,
with the result that in about an hour I got more
specimens than the rest of us had been able to get
in a couple of days. We spent the afternoon in packing
up our gear, and Latip asked if he might have some
1 The pickled pork is well cooked before it is eaten, and when
cooked, a good deal of the offensive smell passes off — the cooking
may have something to do with its harmless effect on the people.
— C. H.
270 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
old clothes which we were about to throw away as
they were pretty well worn out. We gave them to him
and he bashfully retired into the jungle to put them
on ; in a few minutes he returned in a high state of
glee, clad in an ancient pair of trousers, a canvas
shirt, and an ill-fitting coat: from a fine, active athlete
he had been transformed into a disreputable-looking
tramp, and we implored him to doff his newly acquired
garments and resume the red loin-cloth or chawat
that set off his muscular limbs to such advantage — but
he was like a child with a new toy, and was so fasc-
inated with his appearance in a white man's clothes
that he could not be persuaded.
Next morning we bade a reluctant farewell to our
camp. I proposed to burn down our hut, but my
proposal was met with outcries by the natives, who
said that it was mall, or tabu, to do so ; all sorts of
evil would recoil on our heads if we were so wicked
as to destroy a hut in which we had lived — so it was
left to rot. On the way down we suddenly encountered
two bears that were slumbering on a fallen tree-trunk ;
as soon as they caught sight of us they rushed off
barking almost like dogs, and we had not a chance to
get a shot at them. Lower down the mountain one
of the bearers suddenly uttered an exclamation, and,
dropping his load, began to hack down with his
chopping-sword or " latok " a small tree that stood
a little way off our path. His fellows came to help
him, and (before long the tree was down and the trunk
split up ; it was riddled with burrows, and from them
the Dayaks extracted a pinkish grub with a faint but
delicious scent — these were the larvae of a Longicorn
beetle, and the Dayaks explained that they were
excellent eating when boiled.
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 271
In the low-country I was all but bitten by a green
Tree-Viper ; it was curled up round the branch of a
bush by the side of the path, and in walking by it I
tripped and nearly fell into the bush against the
snake, but was saved from actually doing so by a
man just behind me. The snake appeared ready to
bite, and showed no intention of gliding away, and
I was struck by the sluggishness of the creature, for
many of our train had passed close by, and doubtless
on account of its green colour had failed to notice it.
We did not stop at Sennah, but pushed right on to
Pankalan Ampat, which we reached about 5 o'clock.
We had to stay here a day or two, for Cox had to
collect the poll-tax of $2 per adult male. The method
of collecting the tax was amusingly archaic. Cox sat
at a table with the account-books before him ; the
chief of some village would then present himself, the
pockets of his coat full of copper coins: taking one
coin out of his pocket he would lay it on the table
and give the name of a man in his village ; the name
was checked by Cox, and then another coin was pro-
duced and another name given, and so on till the tale
was complete, when the money was handed over. The
headman of a small village, with one or two followers
accompanying him, turned up one day at noon ;
though he had walked nearly ten miles in the blazing
sun he was perfectly cool and collected, but directly
he began to recount the names of the men in his
village who had to pay tax his face became flushed,
the perspiration began to form on his forehead, and
he became so confused that one of his followers, in
his impatience, seized hold of all the copper coins
and began in his turn to recite the names ; ere long
272 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
he was in similar case to his chief. I could not help
being astonished to see that whilst prolonged physical
exertion had little effect on these men, a mental effort
produced the effects described. The tax being all
paid up we packed the money in stout wooden boxes,
and leaving the collectors behind us to hunt for a
few more days, we embarked on our homeward way.
Travelling down-stream was a very different thing to
travelling up-stream, and we went at a great pace ; at
one spot where the stream was very rapid and some
care had to be exercised in steering between rocks,
one of our Chinese servants, in a sudden access of
nervousness, leapt to his feet and endeavoured to
thrust the boat off from a rock with a pole ; I thought
that we were over that time, but by a miracle we
righted, and we took care to restrain our nervous cook
from repeating his offence. At Segu we rested again
for half a day to collect the tax from the large village
there. The chief by a perfect lour de force of memory
successfully recited without a break the names of
nearly two hundred men, and we set off for Kuching
at about 4 o'clock, our boats loaded down to their
gunwales with bullion. There was plenty of water
in the river, and before dusk we had passed all the
rapids, which on our upward journey it had taken us
a whole day to conquer; by n o'clock we were once
more in Kuching.
Except that Penrisen was disappointingly poor in
mammals and birds, we had had a thoroughly success-
ful trip, and our collections in all other orders were
very rich, whilst I, for one, had enjoyed an experience
of life in the jungle which is amongst the most precious
of my memories. If now, settled quietly at home, I
AN EXPEDITION TO PENRISEN 273
ever hear the " East a-calling," it is not the life in the
towns that calls me, not the freedom of social inter-
course, not the boundless hospitality of friends and
neighbours, nor the luxuries of a tropical home, but
the dark, mysterious forest with its teeming life, the
nights on the river-bank with the rushing stream beside
me, the starry sky above, the camp-fire with the natives
huddled round telling tales in murmuring tones, the
shrill clamour of the insects filling the whole air — these
are the things that call. Forgotten are the discomforts
of poor food, Mosquitoes, hard sleeping-places, the
weariness of travel. One was in closest contact with
Nature then — Nature almost savagely triumphant,
riotously luxuriant ; and whosoever has learnt to know
her in this mood can never altogether forget his
lesson.
19
CHAPTER X
OTHER EXPEDITIONS
THE Penrisen trip, described in the last chapter, was
the first of a series of collecting expeditions made with
the object of filling blanks in the zoological and ethno-
graphical collections of the Museum. Mt. Matang,
which is only a few miles from Kuching, and on
which there are two bungalows, was often visited, as
also Santubong at the mouth of the Sarawak River. In
1902 I went up to the northern end of Sarawak to stay
with my friend Cox, who had now been transferred to
the Trusan district. The scenery in this part of Borneo
is distinctly weird. Opposite the island of Labuan is
a large bay, at the western horn of which is situated
the Sarawak Government station of Brooketon, in
Brunei territory ; the eastern horn is the territory of
the British North Borneo Company. Into the bay
discharge the three rivers going from west to east,
Limbang, Trusan, and Lawas, the latter only recently
acquired by the Sarawak Government. The bay is
very shallow, and the Trusan River is slowly pushing
out a spit of land into the sea ; the bay is dotted in
all directions with large fish-weirs, or "kelong," and
the channel leading to the mouth of the Trusan is
274
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 275
marked with stakes which are not covered even at
high-water mark. So shallow are the waters of this
bay that it is possible to walk across it from Trusan
mouth to British North Borneo territory and never to
be much more than waist-deep.
I have never seen such curious mirage effects as in
this part of the world ; from a small boat the horizon
appears to be in the immediate foreground, and it is
broken by the little wavelets lipping over sand-banks ;
the true horizon is simply invisible, and it would be
impossible to have the faintest idea of its position did
one not see in the distance islands which appear to be
suspended in mid-air. This disappearance of the horizon
has an extremely distorting effect on one's vision, and
it becomes a matter of great difficulty to judge distance
or size accurately : a small steam-launch at a distance of
300 yards looks like a great mail-steamer a mile away,
and a man wading through the water towards the boat
seems a great distance off, and you are astonished that
he should reach you so soon. One November morning
the Government steam-launch Gazelle dropped me at
about a mile from the Trusan mouth, for the tides were
neap and it was not possible on a half-tide to get any
further inshore. As it was, the small boat which was
waiting to transport me and my belongings over the
intervening space drew rather too much water, and we
had to stop just outside the mouth waiting for the tide
to rise and carry us over the bar. The muddy banks
were thickly covered with hundreds of Egrets and Little
Herons, and they made a very pretty picture in the
morning sun, stalking over the mud-flats picking up
their daily food. Egrets, I am glad to say, are very
strictly preserved in Sarawak, on account of the benefits
276 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
they confer on cattle by clearing them of ticks. As
we sat waiting for the rising tide a man passed us
wading through the water and leading two buffaloes
with their calves ; he had walked through the water
from a small river between Trusan and Lawas. The
Brunei Malays often bring consignments of buffaloes
across to Trusan. The method of transport inflicts need-
less suffering on the poor animals ; a raft is constructed,
and to this the buffaloes are attached by their nose-
rings ; to prevent themselves from drowning they have
to swim, and this propels the raft, on which stand the
owners, urging their charges to further efforts by goads
and shouts ; but their heads have to be carried at an
awkward angle, and by the time they arrive at their
journey's end they are sometimes so exhausted that
they can hardly walk ashore.
Those peculiar amphibious fish the Periopthalmi were
swarming on the mud-flats ; one large species with a
sail-like dorsal fin, when startled, would dive down into
the mud and throw up a great squirt of liquid mud
from below. Another very conspicuous form was a
Gar- Fish that was leaping about in the shallow waters ;
they simply shot out of the water and travelled like
shimmering waves of light for several yards above the
surface. One of my boatmen related that a Malay
sitting in a boat fishing with a line had his side pierced
by one of these fish which leapt out of the water and
shot against him, but I don't know if there is much
truth in the story.1
1 During my stay in Singapore there were two cases of fishermen
killed in the harbour by this fish. The men were struck in the
chest by the pointed snout, which broke off in the thorax. One of
these fish weighed two pounds. They run nearly erect for a long
distance, striking the tail against the water at intervals.— H. N. R.
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 277
The tide at last serving, we entered the river and
paddled on at a good pace. Just near the river-mouth
the scenery was no different from that to which I was
well accustomed : there were the same stretches of
black, viscid mud and the same monotonous Nipa-
palms on either hand, but before long there opened
out quite a different type of view. The banks grew
hard and stood out of the water, great expanses of
turf dotted with clumps of Pandanus were frequent,
buffaloes were grazing peacefully or standing in herds
knee-deep in the river with Egrets perched on their
backs ; here and there was a Murut village, and the
whole scene was delightfully fresh to eyes jaded with
the monotony of tangled vegetation that shows few
variations of tint. Ere long we arrived at Sundar,
where is situated a Malay village, and on the opposite
bank a small bungalow or shooting-box, where my
friend was awaiting me, and where I received the
warm welcome that dismisses at a breath the tedium
of the previous journey. That evening we dropped
down on the tide to the river-mouth to shoot shore-
birds, and we took with us the headman of the
village, Pangeran Besar, the most delightful and
courteous Malay that it would be possible to meet ;
on our way down river we saw the Great Fruit- Pigeon
Carpophaga cenea * flying overhead, and Cox was suc-
cessful in bringing down one or two ; one that fell
was only wounded, so it was given to Pangeran Besar,
since, being an orthodox Malay, he could only eat
animals that had had their throats cut by a Moham-
medan. He whipped out a small pocket-knife and
1 Carpophaga cenea is the large pigeon, but Treron capellei I should
consider the most commonly seen of fruit-pigeons. — C. H.
278 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
sawed the head of the pigeon nearly off, but the bird
was already at its last gasp, and verily I believe that
it died before the knife touched it ; still, orthodoxy
was satisfied. As we drew near to the river-mouth
we saw that the receding tide had uncovered a few
isolated sand-spits, and some of these were covered
with flocks of Curlew, Whimbrel, Godwits, Sandpipers,
and other birds of like kind, all busily engaged in
searching for their supper. The crew were told to
paddle without letting the shafts of the paddles touch
the gunwale of the canoe, for the " chunking " of the
paddles is a loud sound that carries a great distance
over water ; we stealthily drew nearer one of the
most densely populated sand-spits until Cox was
enabled to wade on to it ; then, doubling his burly
form in a vain endeavour to elude the observation of
the already suspicious birds, he progressed like some
grotesque bear until he was within range, when he
fired a right and left into the flock. Scores of birds,
so densely had they been packed, fell to the shots, and
the remainder flew screaming in wide curves round
and about us. Black thunderclouds were rapidly
coming up in the south-east, and as the wheeling
squadrons of birds were seen against the dark back-
ground they appeared of a beautiful silvery-white, and
then, as they circled round between us and the sun,
their shining appearance vanished and they became
black silhouettes against the orange and gold of the
sunset sky ; it was a beautiful sight that I could have
watched for hours, but the curves of the screaming
squadrons grew larger and larger, and soon they
vanished from sight. I have few if any sporting in-
stincts myself, and the destruction of animals for the
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 279
sake of sport does not appeal to me, but the slaughter
of all these beautiful creatures was not undertaken in
purely a wanton spirit ; we were shooting for the pot,
and it may be mentioned for the benefit of epicures
that a Curlew stewed in claret — with an onion in his
inside to draw out his fishy flavour — is a dish fit for
kings, and we were in search of one of the rarest of
birds — Macrorhamphus taczanowskii, the Snipe-Billed
Godwit ; a bird like a Godwit, but with the tip of the
bill soft and flexible like a Snipe. This bird nests in
Eastern Siberia, but winters in China, India, and
Borneo ; very few specimens have ever been obtained,
and the only example in the Sarawak Museum had
been shot at the mouth of the Sarawak River amongst
a whole host of other waders, and our slaughter of
the innocents at Trusan was largely undertaken in the
hope of securing another specimen of this rare visitor
to Bornean shores. But our luck was out, and we
had to be content with materials for a stew. On our
way back the sun sank and it became intensely dark ;
the thunderstorm broke on us in all its force, with
crashing thunder, brilliant lightning, which for one
brief moment lit up the whole country-side, and absolute
torrents of rain. We were drenched to the skin in
no time, and it was almost impossible to see where
we were going ; but our crew rose to the occasion and
seemed thoroughly to enjoy the situation : they shouted
and yelled and fairly roared with laughter whenever
an unsuspected turn in the river took us crashing
into the bank. My experience of boat-journeys in
Borneo under varied conditions has taught me that
Malays and Sea-Dayaks wax most animated and cheerful
whenever discomfort or perhaps danger has to be
faced and overcome.
280 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Next day we went down-river and along the coast
for a short distance to a point on the sea-shore where
Cox had erected a small two-roomed hut. As our stay
was to extend over several days, we took provisions
and a large cask of water, for there was no fresh-water
spring within several miles of the spot. Pangeran
Besar and one or two of his numerous progeny accom-
panied us, and at the fishing village of Awat-Awat we
called for the furniture of the hut, which had been
left there ; it was very simple, consisting of a table
and two chairs. The hut was built right on the sands
and was surrounded by Casuarinas and a low scrub,
amongst which I found a few insects, a snake, shells,
and a curious Land Nemertean worm. The sand was
swarming with Hermit-Crabs, Clibanarius longipes, drag-
ging their shells about, and there were numbers of
little Fossorial Wasps digging their burrows in the
sand or clearing the entrances to their burrows when-
ever they returned with food for their young. These
Hymenoptera belong to the Bembex tribe of Solitary
Wasps, which do not store up food for their larvae to
feed on and then seal the nest up, but constantly keep
their larvae supplied with fresh food — in this case
flies — opening up the nest whenever they arrive with
their burden and closing it again when they depart
in search of more. Our days were spent in fishing
with a seine net, in shooting, and in examining the
contents of the fish-weirs that dotted the seascape in
all directions. It was a pleasant, idyllic life, spent in
glorious sunshine or balmy breezes, and I was sorry
when the time came for Cox to return to the Govern-
ment fort. On our way up-river we witnessed a rather
interesting spectacle : a flock of Egrets was flying in
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 281
a V-formation down-river, and we were lazily watch-
ing them, when suddenly the leader " put the brake
on hard" and wheeled over at a sharp angle to the
right, the whole flock following him with one accord ;
we were at a loss to account for this sudden change of
direction, when all at once we perceived a huge swarm
of bees progressing up-river. They passed us with a
prodigious hum, and there is no doubt that if the
Egrets had not suddenly altered their course they would
have flown straight into the bees, and there would have
been trouble. It seems rather remarkable that the
Egrets should have realized their danger so readily, as
such an encounter could not have been of sufficiently
frequent occurrence for the birds to have acquired
experience of the danger ahead.1
The Malays living in this part of Borneo work sago
to a limited extent, and the method is very primitive.
A platform is built out over the river and beneath it
is placed an old canoe ; by the side of the platform
is rigged a lever with counterpoise at one end and
a string to which is attached an empty paraffin-oil tin
at the other. This is for raising water out of the river
and is the " shadoof " of Egypt. The felled sago-tree
is split open, and the pith is scraped out by means of
* Mr. H. N. Ridley thinks that such encounters would be quite
common. — E. B. P.
I agree with Mr. Ridley that such encounters would be quite
common. The birds would hear the bees coming some little
distance away. These bees sometimes settle on one's boat in
journeying along the rivers, and if they are allowed to go where
they please for a short time, they crawl all over one without
attempting to sting, and depart as quickly as they came. They
have nests hanging below the large boughs of the "Tapang"
trees, Abauria, and sometimes one of these trees will have as
many as seventy or eighty nests on it at the same time. — C. H.
282 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
planks through which are driven numbers of nails —
in the old days a V-shaped instrument with a thong
of plaited rattan joining the limbs of the V was used
instead. The triturated pith is spread on a mat on
the platform, and the worker, pouring water on it, dances
on the mat and continually pours more water on it ;
the fine sago flour is washed free from the woody
fibre (which is left on the mat) and suspended in
the water which flows through the mat and floor of
the platform, and falls into the empty canoe below ; it
is deposited as a sort of slime in the bottom of the
canoe, and the superfluous water flows off. The danc-
ing of the sago-workers is sometimes singularly graceful,
and if the worker be a young man, and he knows that
he is observed by some of the opposite sex, he dances
con amove.
My few days at Trusan fort were not very eventful,
and I will spare my reader an account of my daily
wanderings in the neighbouring jungle. One other
expedition that I made was to Tabekang in the upper
waters of the Sadong River, in August 1903, and the
following extracts from my diary may be of some little
interest : —
22nd. — Left Sadong at midday in the Government
boat, with five prisoners from the Sadong gaol and a
policeman as crew ; at 4.30 we reached Gedong, a
small Malay village with one Chinese shop ; had
dinner in the shop and slept in the boat.
23rd. — Was waked at 4 a.m. by the roar of the bore
rushing up-river. As we were lying in a tributary of
the main-river we were in no danger of being swamped,
but the boat rocked considerably ; the bore was not a
big one, owing to recent heavy rains, and the tide was
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 283
a long time in reaching Gedong. The bore having
passed, it was now safe to proceed up-river, and at
5 a.m. I woke all the men and we paddled on till 8,
when we stopped to bathe and breakfast ; we stopped
again at i for a short time, but nearly all day the
men were paddling against a strong stream and it was
4.30 before we reached Empongau, a considerable
Land-Dayak village. I slept in the boat.
2<\th. — By virtue of the Sarawak flag which we flew
at the stern of our boat I was able to impress the
services of six Dayaks to help us on our way to
Tabekang, and with this addition to our crew we
made good progress ; the Malay prisoners were in great
fettle and put their backs into the work. The scenery
was not particularly interesting, the banks being
covered with tall grass or secondary jungle, and there
was not much animal life about ; I saw, however,
several kingfishers and some squirrels. There was an
epidemic of swine-fever raging both amongst the wild
pigs and the domestic pigs, and we passed numbers
of carcases floating in the river. At 1.45 p.m. arrived
at Tabekang, a very picturesque spot. The banks of the
river are high here, and on the right bank stands the
Court House, the Government bungalow, Chinese
bazaar, and Malay Kampong ; on the left bank is a
large Land-Dayak village. At 5 o'clock I watched
canoe-loads of Dayaks returning from their day's
work on their farms, which this year are 2 or 3 miles
down-river ; the men wore the usual red or dark-blue
loin-cloth, the women the dress described on p. 251.
On arriving at the landing-place they all bathed, the
men stark-naked, the women with all their clothes
on ; after their bath the men picked up their paddles
284 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
and walked up to the village leaving the women to
shoulder the heavy loads. As the ground all round
the bungalow was much overgrown with grass, I had
a contingent of Dayaks over from the other side to
clear it.
25/7*. — Visited the Tabekang village ; it consists of three
houses of 17, 18, and 20 rooms respectively. In each
house there is an outer verandah open to the sky, an
inner verandah ("ruai" of the Sea- Dayaks) and rooms
opening off from this. The inner verandah is not
used much as a general sitting place as in Sea-Dayak
houses, but the people sit more in the rooms, which
are of very fair size. Attached to each house and
opposite to it is the " Bala," x or Head-House, a small
one-roomed building raised high on piles, and con-
nected with the outer verandah by a primitive stair-
case composed of one notched log, with or without a
hand-rail. The skulls, all very ancient, are slung
from a beam across the room, and a fire is generally
kept burning beneath them. The young unmarried
men of the village sleep in the Head-House, and it
is also used as a club-house in which the elders
discuss affairs. At the time of head-feasts only old
men are allowed to enter the " Bala." The Tabekang
Dayaks are a mannerless lot and unusually inhospit-
able ; they strongly objected to being photographed,
but I was able to take the head-measurements of a few.
26th. — At midday started for the neighbouring village
of Lanchang ; it was a terribly long walk through
1 Bala, with Balul, and Baluh, which occur several times in
this chapter, are different pronunciations of the word Balai and
Bali, meaning sacred. Full account of the use of this word is
given in The Pagan Tribes of Borneo, London, 1912.— C. H
-s-
&.C
532-
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 285
secondary jungle over a very bad path. As I was
suffering from rheumatism I was carried part of the
way by two men in turns, in a sling-basket (" galaos "),
the basket resting on the bearer's back and suspended
by bands of bark-cloth from his forehead. The pos-
ture in which I was compelled to huddle in this sling
was so uncomfortable that I could not endure it very
long, and had every now and again to get down and
walk. Dayaks, like other savages, are unable to express
with any accuracy terms of time or distance, At one
point in our march I asked one of the train of
Lanchang men how far we then were from his village ;
he made the usual vague reply that it was not very
far. When I suggested ten minutes' walk as the distance
he assented readily, but when after walking for a
good half-hour I suggested that the village was still
an hour's walk distant, he again agreed that that was
probably the distance : as a matter of fact we arrived in
a few minutes. As no savages reckon time in minutes
or hours, it is not surprising that such an expression
as "ten minutes' walk" conveys no sort of idea to
their minds ; if pressed to give some measure of the
time it takes to traverse a certain distance, they will
say that if they start at sun-rise they will arrive when
the sun is at a certain height, which they will indicate
by pointing to the sky. The following are some of
the expressions used by Sea-Dayaks to denote short
periods of time : " Enti mandi ditu bok agi basah
datai din," if one bathes here one's hair is still wet
when one arrives there ; " sakali niawa," one rest ;
"sakali niawa ngema," one rest [after] carrying a
burden; " salumpong tenggau," one length of fire-
wood, i.e. the time it takes to burn. Some of the
286 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Sea-Dayak expressions for denoting the different hours
of the day are very delightful, e.g. —
" Mansang jimboi," time to dry things in the sun : about 8 a.m«
" Ujong nutok," the end of the padi pounding : about 4 p.m.
" Salah kelala," to see indistinctly : between 6 and 7 p.m.
" Pupus tindok anembiak," when all the children have gone to
sleep : about 8 p.m.
" Dini ari dalam," dawn deep down : about 3 a.m.
" Empliau bebunyi," the gibbons calling : this at first streak of
dawn.
"Tampak tanah," to see the ground : about 5 a.m.
I found the village of Lanchang gaily decorated with
flags in my honour, and I was met at the entrance by
the three chief men, the Orang Kaya, the Pengara,
and the Penglima. The latter is rather a remarkable
character, a talkative, pushful old man, extremely argu-
mentative and litigious ; he is most unpopular in the
village, and on this account has never been elected to
the office of Orang Kaya, the nominal head of the
village, but on account of his distinct ability the
Sarawak Government created the special office of
Penglima for him, and he runs the entire place, his
two superiors in office being mere nonentities. I was
conducted to the chief " Bala " of the village, which
for the nonce had been converted into a guest-house,
the heads having been removed and some appearance
of comfort attained by rugs and a mattress spread on
a bench against the wall, with the addition of a
European table and chair which looked strangely out of
place. I shook hands with innumerable people and
distributed some arrack and tobacco ; all the women
of birth, both young and old, came in and settled them-
selves all round me — they were most persistent in their
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 287
demands for tobacco, but otherwise were not conver-
sational. I observed in the rafters a number of drums,
and one of huge size known as a sabang, about 4^ feet
high and i \ in diameter ; I tried to buy it for the Museum,
but was told that it was " pemali," or tabu, being used
only at head-feasts. The Penglima told me that at
head-feasts the heads were brought down from the
rafters and put into baskets with little bamboo-tubes
filled with arrack attached to them ; the celebrants
wear fantastic costumes, with head-dresses of grass, and
after offering rice and fowls to the heads, beseech
them to send good luck in harvesting and sowing —
and in former days in war ; a great deal of food and
drink is consumed, and a dance round the heads is
performed. The Penglima's heads he declared were
very antique, and in his opinion had lost their virtue,
so he had given them to his brother, who was very
attentive to them and frequently gave them a fowl
and put rice into their mouths whenever he held a
feast. He (the Penglima), however, wanted some new
heads with skin and hair still adhering to the skulls,
and as the fighting days of the Land-Dayaks have
gone for ever, he proposed to visit the Sea-Dayaks in
the Kalaka and persuade them to give him some ; he
was careful to point out that bought heads would
have no virtue. The installing of new heads in the
Head-House is a great ceremony ; they are first slung
up on a large bamboo erection outside the Head-House
by which is erected a tall and thick bamboo, one
length of which is filled with arrack ; four old men
dance round this for a while, then one of them bores
a hole in the arrack-filled joint, and as they dance they
stop every minute or so to suck the liquor from the
288 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
bamboo till it is finished. A large hole is then cut
in the bamboo, and by some sleight of hand from it
is extracted a canine tooth of the Clouded Leopard,
which had been placed there by divine means — this is
a powerful charm sufficient to ward off bullets from
the possessor. Then rice dyed yellow with turmeric
is flung up to the heads, with many prayers to drive
off sickness, send good crops, and so forth, the prayers
being punctuated by a sort of wailing screams. The
women dance in a large circle all round the central
figures, and much beating of gongs and firing of guns
goes on all the time. There is much feasting, which
may last for four or more days, and then the heads
are transferred to the Head- House.
2jth. — I was waked early by the usual chorus of cock-
crowing, pigs grunting and dogs snarling beneath the
" Baluh " ; spent the morning in trying to photograph the
unwilling natives, in taking measurements, and in buying
odds and ends of ethnographical interest for the Museum.
At 4 p.m. I descended from the " Baluh " and went into
the inner verandah of the Penglima's house: here was
arrayed a row of dishes piled up with uncooked rice,
and reposing on the rice cooked eggs ; between the
dishes were joints of shaved-down bamboo containing
cooked " pulut" rice (Oryza glutinosa). Nine or ten boys
battered unceasingly on a row of gongs, and an old
man clad in an English soldier's red tunic and a pair
of Chinese trousers sat at one of the doors leading
into the verandah and chanted an immensely long
prayer, whilst we sat in front of the dishes ; the prayer
being at length ended, we fell to on the eggs and
" pulut " rice. A man with a bowl of water in one
hand, a bead-necklace in the other, sprinkled us all
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 289
with water, dipping the necklace in the water and
shaking it over us. After the meal the uncooked rice
was put into baskets and presented to me, and the gongs
struck up again ; the women of the village now appeared
on the scene, and a gangway down the length of the
verandah was cleared. A young Dayak then donned the
soldier's tunic and a skirt, which was bulged out round
the hips by means of a coil of plaited fibre ("tekal"), and
after uttering a weird screech he stretched out his
arms, assumed a most lackadaisical expression and went
through a variety of postures ; the feet were not moved
very much : as a rule the whole of the sole rested on
the ground, and the heels were shifted occasionally.
Gongs accompanied the dance, and the performer broke
off several times as he was not satisfied with the rhythm
in which they were beaten. The dance, which was
supposed to represent the soaring of the Brahminy Kite,
lasted about twenty minutes, and long before that time
had elapsed the man was pouring with perspiration.
He was succeeded by three women, whose dance was
a very simple affair : they put small shawls round their
necks, stretched out their arms, placed the feet together,
and just bent up and down at the knees so as to scrape
their brass leglets together, producing a clicking noise.
Then two men danced a Malay sword-dance, a sort of
sham-fight, very artistic and with a good deal of life-
like action in it. At 8 I went up to the "Baluh" for
dinner, and was amused by a very drunk old man who
showed me how he could dance. I tasted some of the
spirit brewed by Land-Dayaks from fermented rice, and
found it far more palatable than the Chinese-made
arrack, which, however, they much prefer, on account,
I expect, of its higher percentage of alcohol. At 8.30
20
290 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
my presence in the Penglima's house was requested,
and, on going down, I found the verandah packed with
people and lit by smoky lamps and flaming torches ;
many of the people had come from a good distance, and
some young men who were celebrated as songsters, from
the village of Slabi ; during the intervals of dancing
these men droned at their lugubrious " pantuns," as
they call their songs. The Penglima circulated amongst
the crowd doling out infinitesimally small doses of
arrack and pinches of tobacco, so that my limited supply
of these commodities sufficed for the lot. At 10.30
I retired for the night to the Head-House and most of
the people went off home, but the gayer spirits kept
up the pantun-singing and gong-beating till dawn, so
that I got little sleep.
2$>th. — As soon as I could collect enough coolies, I
started back for Tabekang and arrived there at n a.m.
Found that Jiloom, my Sea-Dayak collector, had returned
from Piching, where I had sent him, and that he had
brought back a number of Land-Dayak things. Amongst
others he had brought a " Ton-Ton," or zither, cut-out of
bamboo ; the body of the instrument is one joint of
bamboo and the strings are strips of bamboo cut out of
the joint, left attached at their ends, and bridged up with
strips of wood.1 The performer sits cross-legged, rests
the zither against one leg, beats the strings with a short
1 This method of making stringed instruments, by raising and
bridging up strips or fibres of the bamboo or reed of which the
instrument is made, has a very wide geographical distribution, the
range extending from India through Burma and the Malayan
Archipelago eastwards to the Philippines and New Guinea. It also
occurs in Madagascar, Egypt, West Africa, and parts of South
America.— H. B,
OTHER EXPEDITIONS 291
stick, and beats on one end of the bamboo-joint with
his open hand ; he is accompanied by a man who beats
his hand on the top of a short length of bamboo,
making a noise like water coming out of a bottle.
Some Dayaks brought in two Tarsiers, Tarsius spectrum,
which appears to be not uncommon here.
2()th. — Spent the day photographing and developing.
Bought a Flying-Squirrel, Sciuropterus.
$oth. — Some natives came over to the bungalow and
I took head-measurements of a good many ; some of
the Lanchang women appeared and, to my surprise,
expressed a desire to be photographed — I was not long
in gratifying their request. An Engkro man attracted
my attention, as he presented a very different appearance
from the usual type of Land-Dayak ; he wore his hair
long at the back and with a deep fringe in front, whereas
the Land-Dayaks always shave the hair in front ; he
had on a bead necklace, armlets of bark with ground-
down sections of cowries stuck in them, and plaited
fibre bracelets : altogether, he looked more like a Sea-
Dayak ; these people and the Milikin are worth investi-
gation, as I do not believe that they ought to be classed
amongst the Land-Dayaks. Most of these people when
their head-measurements are being taken stand quite still
and unmoved like old cows, but a handsome young
Kuran Dayak with an aquiline nose and swaggering
manner fidgeted and giggled all the time that I was
measuring him, saying that he was ticklish.
3 is/. — Walked over to Piching and got a very good
reception from the people, who are singularly kind and
hospitable. The usual feast was prepared for me, but
there was no beating of gongs at it, and I was asked if
I would excuse this want of orchestral accompaniment
292 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
to the feast, as a child had died the day before in one
of the houses of the village.
September ist. — Started at 7.30 from Tabekang with
a full crew ; reached a point about a mile below Gedong
at nightfall in pouring rain ; tied up to a Malay house
for the night. The river is very wide here, and the bore
on reaching these wide spaces flattens out ; canoes
always make for these spots when they know that the
bore — " bena " — is due. Had a wretched night, owing to
countless mosquitoes and a leaky covering to the boat.
September 2nd. — Started at daybreak, the rain still
pouring down ; at 9 a heavy storm overtook us, and
the wind was so violent that I thought we should be
blown over ; the gusts, getting under the palm-leaf shelter
of the boat, caused us to heel over perilously near to the
capsizing limit : we made for one of the banks and
tied up till the worst was over. Reached Sadong at
midday.
CHAPTER XI
ANIMAL LIFE OF THE SHORES: VISIT TO
A TURTLE ISLAND
BESIDES the last described expeditions, a number of
others to different parts of Sarawak were made for
collecting purposes, among which were trips to the
mountains Matang and Santubong.
Mt. Matang, which is only a few miles from
Kuching and easily accessible, was visited on several
occasions ; there are two comfortable bungalows on
the mountain, so that collecting could be carried on
with all the comforts that civilization affords. Mt.
Santubong, situated at one of the two mouths of
the Sarawak River, was also a favourite hunting-
ground of mine, but I never succeeded in getting
to the top of this mountain, as it was very steep
towards the summit — in fact, almost sheer. The fauna
of these two mountains, in spite of their proximity,
presented well-marked and constant differences ; thus
some species occurring commonly on one mountain
would not be found on the other. There are many
analogies between insular and mountain faunas, for
tracts of low-lying land intervening between isolated
mountains are almost as effective barriers to the free
294 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
interchange of species as are the seas which separate
islands. Most of the species common to both Matang
and Santubong were widely distributed lowland forms,
analogous with those widely distributed mainland forms
which spread on to adjacent islands.
The sea that washes the Sarawak coast affords a
comparatively poor harvest to the naturalist, for it is
shallow and the bottom is of fine mud, discharged by
the great rivers, which, in a country where the annual
rainfall averages about 130 inches, are always swollen
and turbid. As I considered it of more importance to
collect land animals than marine, I never devoted a
great deal of attention to the latter. The marine fauna
of the tropics stands in no danger of decrease on
account of the depredations of man, whereas even in
Sarawak, that peaceful backwater of civilization, there
have been notable alterations in the land fauna in the
neighbourhood of towns and Government stations
within the last twenty-five years, whilst the natives
themselves, by their extravagant system of cultivation,
whereby tracts of jungle are annually destroyed, must
be responsible in the long run for the extermination
of many species. Still, it was not possible to live any
length of time at Santubong without taking at least
a passing interest in the animals which were to be
found on the river-banks and seashore.
I had a great ambition at one time to investigate
thoroughly the fauna of the mangrove-swamps, and
determined to make a beginning by excavating the
burrows of that aberrant Crustacean, Thalassina anomala,
a sort of Crayfish. These creatures burrow deeply in
the mud, throwing up a large cone of the material
that they have excavated. One roasting hot morning
ANIMAL LIFE OF THE SHORES 295
a Malay and I attacked with large mattocks one of
these cones; at the end of an hour the Malay was
knee-deep in water in a long trench that he had cut
along the track of the Crayfish's burrow, and I could
hardly see the man's back for the crowd of mosquitoes
on it, while my own hands were too busily employed
in brushing mosquitoes off my person to permit me to
dig at all. As the end of the burrow seemed as far
off as ever, we retired defeated from the field. The
investigation of a mangrove-swamp fauna I decided
henceforth to leave to some other naturalist endowed
either with the skin of a rhinoceros or with an
enthusiasm that could rise superior to acute physical
discomfort. The stems of the Nipa-palms that grew
in this swamp were closely studded with peculiar flat
shells that presented a sufficiently near resemblance
to shells of Lingula, a Brachiopod that has persisted
from the most ancient geological times to the present
day, to lead me at first to think that I had made a
great find. A closer examination, however, showed
that these were the shells of a true Mollusc belong-
ing to the Anomiacea, a sub-order that includes the
common Anomia ephippium (Linn.) of Europe and is
related, though distantly, to the Oysters. The name of
this mollusc, JEnigma cenigmatica, shows that it had
puzzled naturalists before me. The shell is a bivalve ;
the left valve, which is the only one that the observer
can see before the animal is removed from the palm-
stem to which it is attached, is elongate-oval, dark
purplish-red in colour, very thin and more or less
translucent ; the right valve is much smaller, white,
transparent, and very delicate ; it is perforated in
the middle, and through the hole passes a structure
296 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
called the byssus, which attaches the animal firmly to
the surface on which it is found. The shells are
attached to the palm stems well above low-water mark,
and in many cases above the high-water mark of neap-
tides ; consequently for the greater part of their lives
they are exposed to the full glare and heat of a
tropical sun. The shells, when above water, fit so
closely to the palm stems that they can hardly be
removed with the blade of a sharp knife. Having
grown in one position, they are perfectly adapted to
all the slight irregularities and inequalities of curvature
of the palm stems, and the space under the left valve,
in which of course the animal lies, must be well-nigh
air-tight. When the shells are immersed in water the
byssus relaxes slightly, and as this organ is attached
at one end to the inside of the left valve, and, passing
through the animal and through the right valve, at the
other to the palm stem, the effect of its relaxation is
the loosening of the left valve so that water can flow
under it and bathe the tissues of the Mollusc. It is
only during these periods of immersion that the animal
can feed, and it is probable that it lives on small particles
that are swept into its mouth along some ciliated grooves
that traverse the foot. Professor G. C. Bourne has made
a careful anatomical study of this animal,1 and has
discovered some interesting features adapted to protect
it from desiccation. In bivalve Molluscs there is a
fold of the body wall immediately underlying each valve
of the shell and enveloping the body of the Mollusc
between them ; these folds are termed the mantle-lobes,
and the space between each lobe and the actual body
is the mantle-cavity. In ^Enigma cenigmatica the lower
1 Quart. Journ. Microsc. Sci. (N. Ser.}, LI. (1907), p. 253.
ANIMAL LIFE OF THE SHORES 297
parts of the mantle-lobes, i.e. the parts near the edge
of the shell, are much thickened and corrugated ; the
thickenings help to Jseal up the mantle-cavity and the
corrugations probably contain a certain amount of water,
so that the mantle-cavity is always moist, and evaporation
is reduced to a minimum. In fact, the tightly fitting
junction between the upper or left valve and the palm
stem is supplemented by an internal thick cushion which
acts like the indiarubber washer of a watertight joint in
a metal pipe. The mantle-cavity is also produced here
and there into sinuses which run into the body, and they
can be cut off from the main cavity by ridged folds with
interlocking hairs. Professor Bourne considers these
extensions of the mantle-cavity to be water reservoirs.
One other feature of this Mollusc's anatomy is worthy
of attention. There occurs on the left or upper mantle-
lobe a ring of pigmented spots ; these are rudimentary
eyes with cornea, lens, and retina, or at least primitive
representatives of these structures. As they are situated
at some distance from the edge of the mantle-lobe, it
is obvious that light can only reach them through the
upper valve of the shell, and since this shell is translucent,
but by no means perfectly transparent, the light that
reaches the eye-spots must be very dim. The structure
of the eye-spots is so simple that probably the utmost
extent of their powers is to discriminate between dark-
ness and light, and Professor Bourne suggests that they
are of use in giving warning to the animal to keep the
valves of the shell closely pressed to the palm stem during
the heat of the day.
Another denizen of the mangrove-swamps at Santu-
bong was a little crab of the genus Sesarma, bright blue
in colour. At low tide it could be seen running about
298 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
on the mud or on the mangrove-roots, but as the tide
rose the crabs retired to their burrows, bearing in their
claws a lump of mud. This mud was used to plug
the mouth of the burrow, the crab backing into its
burrow and manipulating the mud from inside until
the opening was hermetically sealed. When the tide
fell again the mud plugs were pushed out and the
crabs emerged into the open once more.
The great stretches of sand exposed at low tide just
beyond the mouths of the Sarawak River had a char-
acteristic fauna of their own. On one occasion, after
a heavy blow in the North-East Monsoon, I found the
shore strewn for at least two miles with thousands of
a peculiar gelatinous Holothurian with a smooth white
skin. Shoals of those queer little amphibious fish, the
Periophthalmi, were a very characteristic element in
this shore fauna. At low tide they were seen sunning
themselves in shallow pools, and at the least disturbance
would rush towards the sea, the flapping of their bodies
and tails against the wet sand making a noise like the
squattering of ducks in mud. As the eyes of these
fish are situated high on the top of the head they can
detect the approach of an enemy from any side very
readily, and as they are easily alarmed and can move
at a surprising pace, it is a matter of difficulty to catch
them. The only practicable way of getting large
numbers of specimens is to fire into the brown of a
shoal with small dust-shot. A species of Periophthalmus
closely allied to the shore-frequenting form is found
on river banks as far inland as the influence of the
tides is felt ; it occurred also at Kuching in ditches,
and lived in burrows well above low-water mark ; the
natives assert that this species is viviparous, but I
ANIMAL LIFE OF THE SHORES 299
was never able to confirm the statement. It would
take a long time to detail all the creatures which
frequent these shallow seas and sandy shores, and as
the habits of many of them have been charmingly
described in Colonel A. Alcock's A Naturalist in Indian
Seas, I will pass on to give the briefest possible account
of two interesting little crabs that were found, one in
the sand off Santubong, the other at Buntal, on the
opposite side of the big bay.
The Santubong crab is named Dorippe facchino, and,
as in all the species of the genus, the two hinder pairs
of walking legs are reduced in size, turned upwards,
and terminated by prehensile claws. In this particular
species the legs hold in their claws an oval gelatinous
plate on which grows a little Sea-Anemone ; the crab
rests with the hinder part of the body buried in the
soft mud or sand, the front part of the body and the
big claws being exposed, but the former partially
sheltered by the sea-anemone growing on the plate
that is borne aloft by the peculiarly modified hind-legs
of the crab. This is a very interesting case of symbiosis,
and no doubt the crab derives much advantage from
the association, for the Sea-Anemone is furnished with
stinging powers that render it an unsavoury morsel to
fish and other enemies of the crab. Whether the Sea-
Anemone is also benefited is not so certain, but at least
it is provided with a pied-a-terre in an environment
where these creatures cannot usually flourish owing to
the shifting, unstable nature of the sea-bottom. The
little plate on which the Sea-Anemone grows is secreted
by the crab itself, it is always of the same outline and
size as the base of the Sea-Anemone, and it is marked
by concentric lines of growth, showing that it has
300 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
increased in size as the associated animal has grown in
girth. If a crab be deprived of its burden, it manifests
every sign of disturbance, and hunts about the vessel in
which it is confined until it finds the object of its
search, which is then hoisted up in the two hinder
legs into the old position, the crab then backing down
into the mud until almost concealed from view. It is
\ difficult to imagine how the association of the two
creatures commences ; how does the newly formed crab
succeed in getting hold of a young unattached Sea-
Anemone ? That is a very pretty problem for some
one to settle.
Opposite to Santubong the character of the sea-bottom
was different. Here no large river poured out its load
of mud, but instead were several smaller streams drain-
ing through mangrove swamps and carrying with
them waterlogged leaves and sticks. The sea-bottom
was of a harder sand, and here lived another Dorippe,
D. astuta, which did not bury itself in the sand, but
moved about freely. It was protected from observation
by a large leaf, which it invariably bore aloft in the
two hinder pair of legs, and with which it covered the
body completely. So close was the resemblance be-
tween one of these leaf-covered crabs and a waterlogged
leaf washing to and fro in the gentle bottom-currents,
that the closest scrutiny was needed to detect the
presence of the crab. I think no more remarkable
instance can be found of a wide difference in the
habits of two closely allied species — differences evolved
in response to differences of environment.
Lying some distance out at sea, off Santubong, are
three coral islets, the only examples of coral formation
within easy reach. The reefs were fringing reefs, but
ANIMAL LIFE OF THE SHORES 301
the extent of the coral was not very great ; still, it was
coral, and therefore worthy of examination. The islands
were much resorted to by turtles, which at night came
up on the sandy foreshore and deposited their eggs
in large numbers in pits which they dug in the sand
and then covered over. As turtles' eggs are held in
high esteem as a delicacy in the Far East, the owner-
ship of these turtle islands was a valuable possession,
and to prevent jealousies the Sarawak Government
permitted the principal Malay chiefs to hold the islands
in annual rotation. The commencement of the egg-
laying season is attended with all sorts of ceremonies,
known as " nyama " and " tabus." The spirits of the
turtles have to be propitiated with sacrifices, and no one
is allowed to land on the islands for three days after
the ceremonies have begun. Most unfortunately, it
was on one of these days that a friend and I elected
to visit one of the islands, Satang by name, for the
purpose of collecting reef-dwelling organisms. As our
launch approached the island we saw some Malays
gesticulating and haranguing three Chinamen in a
dug-out canoe belonging to a large junk anchored
about twice a stone's throw from the shore. It soon
became evident that the Malays were preventing the
Chinamen from landing for the purpose of getting
the wood and water which they required. On our
arrival we were saluted by a Malay, who courteously
informed us that it was " pemali " or " tabu " for
strangers to land on the island during that or the
next two days. Fortunately, my friend had an unrivalled
knowledge of Malays and the Malay character, and
instead of precipitating a quarrel by brutally forcing
his way ashore, he set to work to argue the matter in
302 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
a friendly way. The magic word " prenta," i.e. Govern-
ment, played a great part in the argument, and finally
it was agreed that we should land on the other side
of the island as far from the turtle-shrines as possible.
The day was spent in reef-collecting, and in the course
of it I made a discovery concerning the habits of an
abundant and widely distributed Crustacean which
appears worthy of record, since to the best of my
knowledge the observation is new. Whilst turning
over lumps of weathered coral in search of creatures
harbouring below them, I noticed in one lump a
cylindrical hole, evidently made by a reef-boring worm ;
incautiously I put my finger into this hole, and
instantly received on its tip a blow of such force as
to cause a sharp pain. I quickly removed my finger
from this mysterious hole and thrust down into it
the end of a walking-stick. I could then feel by the
jarring sensation that a rapid succession of blows was
being rained on the ferrule of the stick. On withdrawing
the stick, an elongate, olive-green animal that looked
rather like a fish leapt out of the hole, swam with great
rapidity across the pool in which I was standing,
and took shelter under a large boulder. It was the
work of a few moments only to upheave the boulder
and grab the animal, which was then seen to be a
Crustacean belonging to the group Stomatopoda and
named Gonodactylus chimgra. As I held it in my
hands it continued to deliver with its large front-legs,
or chelipeds, the most persistent and painful blows on
my fingers and hands, until at last I was glad to
immerse it in a glass tube full of spirit. But, hey
presto ! one blow of these redoubtable chelipeds and
the stout glass tube was shattered, the animal dropped
ANIMAL LIFE OF THE SHORES 303
into the water and was swimming for dear life to the
nearest shelter. Eventually it was secured and plunged
into a stone jar filled with alcohol, and the animal
could be heard delivering its postman's knocks against
the wall of its prison until it expired. The Stoma-
topoda include the well-known genus Squilla, those
elongate, almost crayfish-like Crustacea with huge
raptorial claws or chelipeds, that call to mind the
raptorial claws of the Mantidce amongst insects. The
function of these chelipeds is obvious : they are ad-
mirably adapted for grasping and holding the creatures
on which the Squilla feeds. But in Gonodactylus chir-
agra the chelipeds are not in the least adapted for
grasping purposes ; the basal joint is long and very
robust — its apex carries a smaller dumb-bell shaped
joint, a small quadrangular joint intervening ; this
"dumb-bell" joint shuts down on the lower side of
the basal joint, and its apex bears the terminal joint,
which is so hinged that it shuts back on the upper
face of the "dumb-bell" joint. The terminal joint is
produced to form a spine, but its base forms a more
or less rounded and smooth knob — the percussive
part of the whole apparatus. The animal rests near
the top of its burrow or hole with the chelipeds drawn
up in front of it in exactly the attitude which a Mantis
adopts when at rest ; on the approach of an intruder
the "dumb-bell" joint, with the terminal joint closely
applied to its upper surface, is violently pushed or
flung out by the action of the strong muscles inside
the robust basal joint. The action is as rapid as that
of a strong spring, and the force of the blow has to
be felt to be appreciated, and I am quite certain that
it is sufficient to stun any small fish or other Crustacea.
304 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
I cannot say whether the Gonodactylus uses its chelipeds
in defence only, but it is conceivable that a stunned
animal could be held between the basal and " dumb-bell"
joints and quietly devoured ; while the Squilla, not
stunning its prey first, has need of a more efficient
grasping apparatus.
CHAPTER XII
NATIVES OF BORNEO
BEFORE the ethnography of Borneo had been studied
the inhabitants of that great island were termed
collectively Dayaks, and the term is still applied by many
continental ethnologists to tribes that have few affinities
with Dayaks in the strictest sense of the word. This
loose application of the term Dayak leads to immense
confusion, for to say that the Dayaks are the inhabitants
of Borneo is as far from a complete statement of fact as
it would be to say that Yorkshiremen or Welshmen are
the inhabitants of the British Isles. Sir James Brooke,
first Rajah of Sarawak, was one of the earliest to attempt
a classification of the Sarawak tribes. In his day the
people inhabiting the upper waters of the Sarawak and
Sadong Rivers were continually subjected to raids by
Malays and their mercenaries, the men of the Saribas
and Batang Lupar Rivers. Sir James Brooke recognized
that the raided and the raiders belonged to two distinct
stocks; to the first, inasmuch as they lived inland in
hilly country, he applied the name Land- or Hill- Dayaks;
to the second, since they came across the sea from their
own headquarters to those of their victims, he applied
the name Sea-Dayaks. The names have stuck in spite
21 306
306 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
of being rather cumbersome, and in the case of the
Sea-Dayaks very inappropriate. Explorations in Sarawak,
British North Borneo, and Dutch Borneo have revealed
the presence of a whole host of tribes, each with a
distinctive name and a well-defined area of distribution,
but it is only within recent years that it has become
possible to sort these tribes out into a few main cate-
gories. I will not try to give a complete list of all the
tribes of Borneo, but will try rather to sketch the bare
outlines of a scheme of classification which has been
compiled from the writings of the leading authorities on
the subject. Most ethnologists now agree that in the
islands of the Malay Archipelago there exists, in addition
to the coastal, round-headed Malayan stock, an older,
narrow-headed race to which the term Indonesian has
been applied ; such, to take a few examples, are the
Tenggerese of Java, the Battaks of Sumatra, the Muruts
and Land-Dayaks of Borneo. The main feature of the
ethnography of the Malay Archipelago then is, that
the centres of the islands are occupied by a narrow-
headed, or at any rate only moderately broad-headed,
race, while the coasts are inhabited by a broad-headed
people. Any further subdivision in the present state
of our knowledge can only be tentative. Concerning
Borneo the most recently published views are those of
Dr. Charles Hose1 and myself. We distinguish a typical
Indonesian stock that we regard as the oldest stock
extant in the island, and we suppose that it slowly filtered
into Borneo in far distant times from various sources,
but mainly from Further India. To these Indonesians,
' Hose and Shelford, Journ. Anthrop. Inst., XXXVI. (N. Ser.), IX.
(1906), pp. 60-3. See also the fuller statement in Pagan Tribes of
Borneo, Hose and McDougall.
NATIVES OF BORNEO 307
divisible into many different tribes, the generic name of
Kalamantan has been applied, to distinguish them from
the Indonesians in other islands of the Archipelago.
Pulo Kalamantan is the name applied by Malays to the
island of Borneo, and is possibly derived from the
word lemanta (raw sago), sago having been one of the
principal exports of Borneo for many generations.
When the country was thinly covered with Kalamantans
there followed successive immigrations of Kenyahs, a
race characterized in the main by a moderate brachy-
cephaly; these mixed with their Kalamantan prede-
cessors, so that at the present day there are found
tribes difficult to place in either category. At some
period, the length of which is quite uncertain, there
followed up the principal rivers of eastern and south-
eastern Borneo the Kayans, a powerful race, that drove
before them the weaker Kalamantan and Kenyah tribes ;
some of the Kenyah tribes amalgamated more or less
with the Kayans, and at the present day are superficially
very like them. The wave of immigration still continuing
to flow, the Kayans, and those Kenyahs who had not
amalgamated with the Kalamantans, swept over the great
watershed dividing Sarawak from Dutch Borneo, and
occupied the Baram and Rejang Rivers in Sarawak.
Last of all came the Sea-Dayak, a brachycephalic
Malayan ; advancing up the Kapuas from the south-
west, he drove all before him and overflowed into the
Batang Lupar and adjacent rivers in Sarawak, where to
this day he remains in great force. In recent years the
Sea-Dayak has migrated in numbers to the Baram and
Rejang Rivers, and advancing up these he is slowly
but surely driving before him the Kenyahs and Kayans
who in ancient times moved down these rivers from
308 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
their sources. The Malays, a maritime, trading people,
are found on the coasts and cannot be regarded as an
indigenous race ; they have spread all over the Malay
Archipelago and Malay Peninsula from a centre which
has been fixed by universal consent at Menangkabau, in
Sumatra. Their civilization is of a much higher order
than that of any of the savage tribes, and at one time
they exercised a nominal sway over the whole island
of Borneo. H we plot out roughly on a map of Borneo
the distribution of the various tribes at the present day,
we get a sort of epitome of the changes that have taken
place in the past. We see that the Kalamantans are
congregated in some force in two parts of the island,
the north-east and the west ; we see furthermore that
there are no large rivers in these parts, and this gives
us the clue. The great rivers of a densely forested land
are its highways, and up these rivers have poured the
waves of immigration, not up the small rivers ; the
lands watered by small rivers are then the last refuges
of the Kalamantans, now weakly and decadent ; either
they have been driven here by Kenyans, Kayans, and
Sea-Dayaks, or they have lived here ever since the time
when in the heyday of their vigour they spread all over
Borneo. Other Kalamantan tribes, as, for example, the
Kalabits, Ot-Danum, and Kahayan, linger on in the
interior highlands, mere flotsam and jetsam thrown
high and dry by the rushing tide that submerged so
many others, such as the Long Utan, now only a
memory. Some of these people, living far from great
rivers, are ignorant of the way in which to handle a
canoe, and are struck dumb with awe and fear when at
the instance of the white man they have been brought
down from their mountain homes and have viewed
NATIVES OF BORNEO 309
for the first time great expanses of water. In the
Batang-Lupar low-country linger on the last remnants
of the Srus, in the Rejang the Kanowits and Tanjongs,
decadent tribes tottering on the verge of extinction,
their ancient habits and customs forgotten, melancholy
evidence of the severity of the struggle for existence
amongst savage communities. On the coast at Matu,
Oya, and Muka are found the Milanos, a Kalamantan
tribe that has to a great extent adopted the Mohammedan
religion and Malay customs : they are great fishermen,
and are perhaps in less danger of extinction than related
tribes ; whether they were driven down to the coast
by the immigration of Kayans and Kenyahs, sweeping
over the watershed of Borneo, or whether they, like the
Land-Dayaks in the west, and the Muruts and Dusuns
in the north-east, are " outliers " — to use a geological
expression — of a former continuous stratum, is quite
uncertain. Concerning one tribe, the Punans, there is
considerable doubt : they are a nomadic people, with
no fixed abode ; they wander through the jungle in
search of the wild sago-palm, which is their staple di^% >
and of jungle produce such as rattans, camphor, and
gutta-percha, which they barter with more settled tribes
and with such enterprising Chinese and Malay traders
as penetrate to the interior. Dr. Haddon of Cambridge
and Dr. Nieuwenhuis of Leyden, than whom there are
none better qualified to pass an opinion on the matter,
regard the Punans as a race apart ; the former because
head-measurements show them to be moderately broad-
headed, the latter because of their singular habits
of life. Dr. Hose, however — and I am inclined to
agree with him — considers them to be of Kalamantan
stock.
310 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO
Dr. Haddon x would abolish the term Dayak alto-
gether on account of the confusion that has been
caused by its inaccurate use ; and to the Sea-Dayaks
he applies the term I ban, a corruption of the Kayan
" ivan," 2 a man, and a term applied to themselves by
the Sea-Dayaks. For the Land-Dayaks he would prefer
to use another term, or would as an alternative call
them the Dayaks. Dayak is a word that cannot now
be eradicated, and as the Sea-Dayaks are to-day the
dominant tribe in Borneo and are destined, I fear,
eventually to oust from Sarawak, at any rate, nearly all
the other tribes, I would apply the word Dayak to them
alone. Like Dr. Haddon, I still search for a satisfactory
name for the Land-Dayaks.3
The following table will show in a succinct manner
the ideas of classification discussed above : —
[The author had written below his concluding paragraph " Repro-
duce Table from Tatu Paper," referring to his own and Dr. C. Hose's
" Materials for a Study of Tatu in Borneo." 4 The greater part of
this memoir is reproduced in Hose and McDougall's Pagan Tribes of
Borneo, vol. I. p. 245, and, as Dr. A. C. Haddon's Appendix to vol. II.
of the same work includes on p. 320 a more recent classification
drawn up by Dr. Hose, I have with his kind consent reprinted this
rather than the earlier one. Dr. Haddon in adopting this classifica-
tion states (p. 319, 11. i) that "it will be found to agree very closely
with the anthropometric data," and that " we may regard it as
expressing the present state of our knowledge of the affinities of the
several tribes."— E. B. P.]
1 In his memoir, " A Sketch of the Ethnography of Sarawak,"
Archivio per I'Antropologia e I'Etnologia, XXXI. (1901), pp. 341-55.
2 Ivan is a Kayan word meaning a person who moves from his
home to that of some one else — as in the case of marriage. — C. H.
3 It would probably be simpler to retain the term Dayak for the
" Land-Dayaks" and to call the " Sea-Dayaks " Iban.— H. B.
* Journ. Anthrop. Inst., XXXVI. (N. Ser.), IX. (1906), pp. 60-91.
NATIVES OF BORNEO 311
A CLASSIFICATION OF THE PEOPLES OF SARAWAK.
I. Murut Group :
Murut, Pandaruan, Tagal, Dusun ;
Kalabit, Lepu Potong ;
Adang, Tring.
II. Klemantan Group :
1. South-western Group :
Land- Day aks ;
[Certain tribes of Netherlands Borneo] ;
Maloh.
2. Central Group :
a. Baram sub-group : Bisaya, Tabun, Orang Bukit,
Kadayan, Pliet, Long Pata, Long Akar.
b. Barawan sub-group : Murik, Long Julan, Long Ulai,
Batu Blah, Long Kiput, Lelak, Barawan, Sakapan,
Kajaman.
c. Bakatan sub-group : Seping, Tanjong, Kanawit, Baka-
tan, Lugat.
3. Sebop Group :
Malang, Tabalo, Long Pokun, Sebop, Lerong ;
Milanau (including Narom and Miri).
III. Punan Group :
Punan, Ukit, Siduan, Sigalang.
IV. Kenyah Group :
Madang, Long Dallo, Apoh, Long Sinong, Long Lika Bulu,
Long Tikan.
V. Kayan Group.
VI. I ban Group :
Iban (Sea Dayaks) and Sibuyau.
NOTES
NOTE i, p. xxiv. — Annual Cost of Sarawak Museum. The author
had not filled in the amount, which has been calculated from
the following statement of expenditure for 1905 in The Sarawak
Gazette, XXXV. (1905), p. 117 :—
Sarawak Museum — $ c.
Establishment ... , 41836 43
Furniture and Stores 155 06
Purchase of Specimens 405 45
Miscellaneous 964 47
Total 6,361 41
Dr. Hose has kindly given me the following information as to the
Sarawak currency : " We use the Straits dollar, the value of which
is 2S. 4d. There are, however, Sarawak half-dollars, 2o-cent and
ro-cent silver pieces ; and also copper coins, i cent and £ cent.
100 cents go to i dollar, i cent is worth just over a farthing, its
exact value being §28d." The value of 6,361.41 dollars is therefore
approximately ^742 53. — E. B. P.
NOTE 2, p. 12. — The "Soursop," Anona muricata, may have been
first introduced by the Dutch.— C. H.
NOTE 3, p. 13. — A pair of Nasalis which I tried to bring to
England suffered so severely from sea-sickness that both died
before reaching Colombo.— C. H.
NOTE 4, p. 29, n. i— Kink-tailed Siamese Cats. Dr. H. O. Forbes
kindly writes : —
" It is many a year since I made some remarks at the Liverpool
Biological Society — probably four or five if I may venture a date —
on that kink-tailed, blue-eyed, Siamese Cat. My memory is vague
as to their publication or not. My remarks referred to the interest I
had in exhibiting the creature's skin from the occurrence in the
East of what I had noted as extremely common, if not universal, in
312
NOTES 313
the cats of Portugal when I lived there about 1876. The kink, I
was told, was there believed to have become hereditary from a
custom long practised by the Portuguese of pinching or breaking
the tails of the new-born kittens, and it would be of special interest
if the fact could be established that the kink in Malayan cats' tails
had been communicated to them through those imported by the
early Portuguese into the East. My recollection is that I exhibited
the skin — presented to the Liverpool Museum — of the cat in ques-
tion only, and that the body — presented to Herdman after removal
by my taxidermist from the skin — was dissected and the anatomical
data discussed by him at the same meeting. If I can trust my
memory, the tail of this particular cat, though short and kinked, had
its full number of vertebrae, some of them reduced in size and
wedge-shaped (bones not cartilage), which produced the kink.
These were really deformed vertebrae, which, together with the
undeformed vertebrae, completed the full number found in normal
tails of Felis domestica."
Professor W. A. Herdman, F.R.S., has written, saying that his
memory agreed with that of Dr. Forbes. He also kindly enclosed
the following copy of all that was published on the subject : —
From Proceedings of the Liverpool Biological Soc.t vol. IX. (1895),
p. xi.
"At the 4th meeting of the session, on Jan. n, 1895, Prof. Gotch,
President, in the chair.
"i. ...
"2. Dr. H. O. Forbes and Prof. Herdman, F.R.S., described some
of the anatomical peculiarities of the tail of a Siamese Cat belonging
to Mr. Richard D. Holt. Mr. Ridley, of the Botanic Gardens,
Singapore, added some further remarks on the habits of the
animals. The skeleton and stuffed specimen were exhibited."
The subject seems to be well worthy of detailed investigation,
and breeding experiments on Mendelian lines may be expected to
yield interesting results.— E. B. P.
NOTE 5, p. 32. — Prehensile-tailed Mammals in Old World. A. R.
Wallace states in his Malay Archipelago, 1869, vol. I., p. 211, that the
tail of Galeopithecus " is prehensile, and is probably made use of as
an additional support while feeding." Mr. Oldfield Thomas, F.R.S.,
" doubts whether the tail of Galeopithecus is prehensile, as it is
included to the tip in the interfemoral membrane, and its under side
is hairy to the end. Probably, as with Bats, it is used to retain insect
captures of sorts, its general build being very much as in many
Bats. It is, however, curled downwards at the end, and the hook so
314 NOTES
made can hardly help sometimes finding itself round branches, even
if not deliberately used for the purpose." — E. B. P.
NOTE 6, p. 53.— Egg of the Frog-Mouth. So far as we know, eggs
are turned over periodically during incubation, and adhesion to the
nest would render this difficult. Specially directed observation is
required. — H. B.
NOTE 7, p. 53. — The nests of CollocaUa lowi are bought by the
Chinese at from $80 to $100 a pikul (133^ Ibs.), those of C.fuciphaga
at from ftio to $20 a kati (i£ Ibs.).— C. H.
NOTE 8, p. 84. — Change of Colour on Immersion in Formalin. The
author's experience with the snake may be compared with Dr. G. B.
Longstaff's Chameleon, C. dilepis, which assumed its palest colora-
tion— " a uniform pale yellowish colour " — when chloroformed.
Butterfly-hunting, etc., 1912, p. 216.— E. B. P.
NOTE 9, Plate XIII, facing p. 105.— The Flying Frog. The author
had intended, but was unable, to include Frogs in Chapter IV.
Among his drawings, however, were found the two figures on this
Plate. Mr. Boulenger, F.R.S., informs me that the upper figure is the
Bornean Flying Frog, Rhacophorus nigropalmatus, and that it is well
worth publishing. A description of the Flying Frog is given by
Wallace (with a figure) in his Malay Archipelago (pp. 59-61, vol. I.,
1869 edition), and by M. Siedlecki, of Krakau, in Bull. Acad. des Sci.
de Cracovie, 1908, pp. 682-89, and in Biol. Centralblalt, Leipzig,
XXIX. (1909), No. 22, pp. 704-14 ; No. 23, pp. 715-37. In flying, or
rather gliding, the limbs are held so close to the body that the feet
make one continuous surface with it, while the lungs are strongly
inflated. The frog can alter its direction in the air by powerful
strokes with its hind legs.
Mr. Boulenger cannot decide whether the lower figure represents
the tadpoles of the same species, but it certainly shows the de-
velopment of some tree-haunting species which, like Rhacophorus,
surrounds its eggs with a mass of froth enclosed between leaves. —
E. B. P.
NOTE 10, p. 115 n. — The Common Cockroach found wild in Russia.
Mr. North has kindly looked up the reference. The full title of the
paper is '* Adelung (N. von) Beitrage zur orthopteren fauna der
siidlichen Krim, pp. 388-413." The section referred to deals with
Slylopyga orientalis, L., pp. 401-2. The author remarks that of
nineteen specimens examined all were taken in the open under
dead leaves and sticks. — E. B. P.
NOTES 315
NOTE ii, p. 149.— Stick-Insects (Phasmidce). These insects are
very abundant any time during the day when trees are being felled,
numbers being disturbed by the fall of each tall forest tree. — C. H .
NOTE 12, p. 150. — Heteropteryx grayi. Usually met with on the
ground. The native name is "Senantun." — C. H.
NOTE 13, p. 156 11. — Dr. Koningsberger on Colly ris Larvce. Mr.
North, who has kindly looked up the reference quoted by the
author, finds that it is only the general title of the Bulletins of
various Botanic gardens in the Dutch E. Indies, and unless the
place is given the reference is useless. It is not Buitenzorg, for there
are no papers by Koningsberger in the issue of 1901 or 1910 or any
other between these dates. The reference is probably to the
following paper : " Koningsberger (J. C.) en Zimmerman (A). De
dierlijke Vijanden der Koffie cultur op Java [the animal pests of
coffee culture in Java], Part II, Med.'s Landen Plantentuin, Batavia,
1901." Part I was published in 1897.— E. B. P.
NOTE 14, p. 173 n. 2. — The Light of Lampyridce, etc. When in
Jamaica this winter (1915-16) several large fawn-coloured Lampyrids
flew to the lamp on the verandah and settled on the wall, where
they were attacked by a rather small spider which had its habitation
in holes in the wall. I rescued one from a spider, and it recovered,
but immediately flew back to the same spot and was attacked again.
The Lampyrid kept flashing its light the whole time, but it did not
keep off the spider by this defence. Of course the wall was brightly
lighted, so possibly the flashlight was not in that case conspicuous
enough. But the real use of the light, if not for defence, I do not
understand.— H. N. R.
NOTE 15, p. 174. — Malacoderm Larvce. Mr. C. J. Gahan informs
me that he does not know of any observations similar to that
recorded by Mr. E. J. Bles, " but it is known that Lampyrid larvas
use the terminal sucker to clean their head and limbs from the
slime of the snail after having fed on the latter." It is probable
that Mr. Bles's observation points to the use of a secretion which
prevents the slime from adhering closely to the larva, thus making
its removal easy. — E. B. P.
NOTE 16, p. 181. — Laccoptera sp. Dr. D. Sharp fears that there is
no means of determining the species, of which the specific name
had been left blank in the author's manuscript. It does not appear
to be a species mentioned in the papers quoted. — E. B. P.
316 NOTES
NOTE 17, p. 221. — Migrating Swarm of Cirrochroa bajadeta. I
have seen this taking place in July at Miri in the Baram district,
Sarawak.— C. H.
NOTE 18, p. 235. — A. R. Wallace and Mimicry of a Brenthid. The
statement was apparently not published by Wallace himself, and I
had some difficulty in verifying it. It is quoted by F. P. Pascoe,
evidently from information supplied to him by Wallace or noted on
a Wallace specimen (Trans. Ent. Soc., 3 Ser., III. [1864-9], P* IJ3)-
— E. B. P.
NOTE 19, p. 250. — Synchronous Flashing by Fire-Flies. See also
Edward S. Morse on " Fire-flies flashing in unison," in Science (N.S.,
vol. XLIII., No. noi, pp. 169-170, Feb. 4, 1916), and K. G. Blair
on "Luminous Insects" in Nature (1915-16, XCVI., p. 411). It is
strange that the phenomenon should be so rare. Prof. Morse saw it
once fifty years ago in Gorham, Maine, but although he has been on
the look-out for it ever since, has never seen it again. — E. B. P.
NOTE 20, bearing on Plate XVII, facing p. 253, and XX, facing
p. 284. — A Head-hunting Expedition in Recent Years. The following
account of "The Recent Troubles in the Rejang River" was con-
tributed by R. Shelf ord to The Sarawak Gazette, XXXIV. (1904),
p. 211.
" In the beginning of September [1904] information was laid at
Sibu to the effect that a party of forty-three Ulu Ai Dayaks from the
Yong, Chermin, Sut, Kapit and Palagus rivers had started off to
attack the Pimans in the Mujong River. Dr. C. Hose followed up
the party at once and succeeded in overtaking one boat containing
eight men who were brought back to Kapit ; a small force was sent
after the remaining thirty-five with instructions to arrest or to attack
them, the force however failing in its objective returned to Kapit.
Later in the month news was brought that the thirty-five Ulu Ai
had killed twelve Punans on the i5th, the slaughter being attended
with circumstances of revolting brutality. The Punans had enter-
tained the Dayaks overnight with their customary hospitality, but in
the morning the Dayaks fell on their hosts and killed all, men and
women indiscriminately ; one girl clung to her lover of the previous
night in the hope that he would spare her at least but she was
pushed off and struck down without mercy. On the 22nd Dr. C.
Hose again arrived at Kapit, this time determined to mete out
punishment with no sparing hand ; he found that one of the leaders
of the murderous gang had already been arrested in Kapit bazaar
by the orders of Mr. F. de Rozario, and small parties of loyal Dayaks
NOTES 317
were at once dispatched to the various homes of the other murderers
with strict injunctions to bring back the guilty or, persuasion and
threats failing, to attack them. With one exception these parties
were successful in their missions and the Pengulus of the various
houses for the most part brought down themselves those implicated
in the Punan massacre. On the 2gth news was brought that four of
the worst characters, men from the Lamanak River, were intending
to evade justice by crossing over to the Empran district, there to join
the notorious Bantin ; on hearing this thirty men under Pengulu
Dalam Munan were dispatched with orders to bring back the
recalcitrant four, dead or alive ; instructions were issued to the
small but well-armed force at 5 p.m. and by 5.30 p.m. the boats
had started up-river ; at nightfall it came on its quarry lodging in
the house of Umbi in the Wong River ; three of the ruffians were
at once sent down to Kapit under escort, but Munan for judicious
reasons of his own stayed with the other till next day when he too
was brought down and incarcerated in company with his fellow-
murderers. Eleven in all of the leaders and worst characters were
imprisoned and a fine of $5,200 in old jars and gongs was levied
on the remaining thirty-two of the gang ; of this sum $1,200 is to be
paid to the Punans as compensation (pati nyawd), the property
looted from them is to be restored and the heads, all of which were
recovered, are now buried at Sibu. From the date of issue of
Dr. C. Hose's mandate to the close of the proceedings numerous
Dayaks might be seen daily wending their way to Kapit fort, some
bearing on their backs the precious jars and gongs in which they
had been mulcted ; each jar as it was brought in was carefully
examined and its value assessed, whilst the gongs were weighed and
their worth readily calculated ; in a week's time a goodly array of
these forms of Dayak currency stood in the fort. Care was exer-
cised in every individual case to fix the fine in proportion to the
gravity of the offence, thus, the eight men who were overtaken by
Dr. C. Hose whilst on their way to attack the Punans were fined
only $20 apiece ; on the other hand, one evil character failing
to pay the requisite amount had his parang, ivory armlets and coat
stripped from him to make the full tale complete. During the week
of trouble the supply of salt was entirely cut off from innocent and
guilty alike and this severe action far from exciting any animosity
against the Government amongst the loyal Dayaks stimulated them
to fresh efforts to secure all the guilty men as they realized that the
embargo would not be removed till that object was achieved.
" A loyal Dayak, Balin by name, has been entrusted with the task
318 NOTES
of bearing to the Punans their stolen property and some presents ;
lest the Punans should echo the well-known saying of the suspicious
Trojan, " Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes," Balin takes with him as
a token of genuine peace a white tunic of Dr. Hose's ; needless to
say there is no chance of the Punans mistaking a garment of such
Gargantuan proportions for the property of anyone, other than the
original owner. On the 3oth the entire party of ruffians having
been secured and the fine paid up almost to the uttermost farthing
Dr. Hose returned to Sibu with his prisoners and spoil ; the eleven
desperate characters were lodged in gaol and the remainder with
some of their relations have been placed across river within range
of the fort guns and Munan will be responsible for their good
behaviour in the future. To employ a term in use amongst gold
miners, the whole " clean-up " occupied eight days or to be more
exact, fifteen days from the date of the murder to the return to Sibu
of the punitive party. It would hardly be seemly for one who holds
no executive office in the Government of Sarawak to criticise or
even comment on the conduct of the whole affair, but it is difficult
to refrain from remarking that the decision and rapid action of
Dr. Hose created an enormous impression amongst the Dayaks at
and around Kapit ; the disaffected and lukewarm were convinced
that the arms of law and order in Sarawak were far from paralysed,
whilst the loyal cordially approved of every step taken and zealously
lent their aid in bringing the guilty to justice, Pengulus Munan and
Mroum with all their followers being especially prominent."
No information concerning Plates XVII. and XX. was found
among Mr. Shelford's notes except that conveyed in the respective
titles— "The start of a Head-hunting Expedition" and " Punan
heads," but Dr. Hose's recollection, together with the above article
from The Sarawak Gazette, makes it clear that the heads were those
recovered from the murderers and photographed before they were
buried. Dr. Hose believes that the expedition was one sent out
from Kapit by him to arrest the murderers. If this be so, it
was a Head-recovering rather than a Head-hunting Expedition.
Mr. Shelford took these photographs when he was staying with
Dr. Hose at Kapit.— E. B. P.
NOTE 21, p. 268. — The word for the Supreme Being had been left
blank by the author. Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., has kindly sent me
the following statement from The Natives of Sarawak and British
North Borneo. H. Ling Roth, I. (1896), p. 165. "Tupa is so called
from tupa the Dyak form of the Malay word tumpa, to forge as a
NOTES 319
blacksmith — because he created mankind and everything that
draws the breath of life, and daily preserves them by his power and
goodness.
" Tenubi made the earth and all that grows upon it, and, by his
unceasing care, causes it to flourish and to give seed to the sower
and bread to the eater.
"Some Land- Dyaks say that Tupa and Tenubi are but different
names for the same great being — the creator and preserver of all
things both visible and invisible — a view which the Rev. W.
Chalmers inclines to as the original and true one."
Neither Mr. Balfour, Dr. Haddon, Dr. Hose, Dr. McDougall, nor
Mr. Ling Roth can say what the author had in his mind in the
passage on p. 268 here referred to. It is possible that Mr. Shelford
was thinking not of Tupa but some other word which would give
the clue.
Concerning the refusal to eat deer, Dr. Hose tells me that several
Bornean tribes refuse to eat any horned cattle, and that some Land-
Dayaks consider themselves to be related to deer, into which they
believe certain of their people have changed. — E. B. P.
-a
>f
2
I
-/J
3
I
fcfl
OJ
K
I
The paddock and two views of the racecourse, Kuching. (From the
author's photographs.)
Plate XXIX.
toJC
c
j3
INDEX
" Abang Kantong," Malay name for
cuckoo, 67
Abauria, 20, 281
Abraxas grossulariata, larva of, 215
Acacia cornigera, 204
Acari and their hosts, 183, 184
Acrceina freely exposed, 213-14
Adelochelys crassa, 113
Adelung, N. von, on common cock-
roach wild in Russia, 115, 314
Adeniophisi 93
Adjutant Bird, 71 ; voracity of, 71* 72
sEgoprepis insignis, 234, 244
ALnigma cznigmatica, 295-7
Alcock, Col. A., "A Naturalist in
Indian Seas," 299
Alibora> 234, 244
Allocotus calvus, 58
Amycicza lineatipes, 231 (PI. XVI
facing 230)
Anisomorpha^ defensive fluid of, 147
Annandale, Dr. N. , on Enhydrina^
97 ; on Water-Cockroaches, 124 ;
on Hymenopus bicornis^ 137-140 ;
on Stick-Insects, 149 ; on Luciola,
170, 173-5 > on phosphorescence in
insects, 173, 250 n. I
Anomia ephippium> 295-7
Anona muricata^ 12, 312
Anorhinus galeatus, 266
Anthothreptes malaccensis, 55
Anthracoceros malayanus, 61 ; con-
vexus, 62
Anthribida, 184, 233
Antipha abdominalts, nigra, 236, 245
Ants, plants and, 183-205 ; mimicked
by caterpillar, 230 (PI. XVI); by
spider, 231 (PI. XVI) ; by beetles,
233. 243
Arachnothera longirostris, 53 ; nest of,
54 (PI. X) ; modesta, 55
Arctictis binturong^ 32-3
Argus Pheasant, 64
Arixenia esau, 19
Arrhenodes, 234, 244
Ascepasmince, 151
Aspidomorpha miliaris, 175, 178
(PL XV facing 181) ; puncticosta,
176, 182; egg-laying of, 176-7, 182
Astathes Jlaviventris, posticalis, 236,
245
Atta, 203
Awat-Awat village, 280 (PI. XVIII)
Baker, J. B., 155 n.
" Bala " or u Baluh," 284 et seqq. ; see
also Head-House
Balcenoptera schlegeli, 47
Baldheadedness in birds, 58
Balfour, H., 104 n., 318 n. 21 ; on a
Land-Dayak zither, 290 n. ; on
Iban, 310 n. 3 ; on egg of Frog-
Mouth, 314
Bamboo forest, 256-7
" Banteng," 46
Barking Deer, 45
Bartlett, E., on snakes fighting, 93 ;
on Brookcia^ 1 1 3
\ 321
322
INDEX
Baryrhynchus dehiscens, 234, 244
Bates, H. W., on mimicry, 206-7
Batrachostomus auritus, the Frog-
Mouth, 52-3 (PI. IX), 314
Bats, 18-20, 313 ; damage to fruit by, 19
Batu Tinong boulder, 258
Baur, on Adelochelys, 113
Bear, Malayan, 34-6 ; fondness for
honey, 35
Beccari, Dr., on Myrmecophilous
plants, 188-90, 195, 196 n. ; on
rustling noise of ants, 195
Bees and Acari, 184; swarm of, 281;
see also Melipona
Bembex, 161, 280
Bibos sondaicus, 46
"Bigit,"i3
Bingham, Col., on Hamadryad, 100
Binturong, 32-3
Birds as enemies of butterflies, 208-9,
212
Blair, K. G., 155 n., 316 n. 19.
" Blanda," Malay word for foreign,
12
Blatta oricntalis, 114, 115, 314
BlattidaZ) see Cockroaches
Bleeker, Dr., on Thalassochelys% in ;
and Borlitia, 112
Bles, E. J., 174, 315
Bore of Trusan River, 282, 291
Borlitia borneensis, 112
Bos bubalus, 46
Boulenger, Dr. G. A., on Sea-Snakes,
96 ; on Liemys, 1 13 ; on Rkacophorust
264, 314
Bourne, Prof. G. C., on ^Enigma
fenigmaticuniy 296-7
Braconid<Z) as models for Longicorns,
228, 232, 243
Brahminy Kite, 289
Brain-Fever Bird, 67
Brang village, 251
Brenthidce, 183 ; accommodation for
mites by, 183-4 ;as models for mimi-
cry, 234-5, 244, 316
" Brer Rabbit" stories, Malay forms of,
44-5
" Brok," 8, 9
Brongniart, on hatching of Mantidae,
143, 146
Brooke, Sir Charles, H.H. Rajah of
Sarawak, promotion of natural his-
tory by, xxiv-v ; administration of,
xxv— vi
Brooke, Sir James, on Dayaks, 305
Brookeia bailey 7, 113
Bruner, L., on an aquatic grasshopper,
126
"Bubut," 64; and " Ruai," folk-tale
concerning, 64 ; nestling of, 65, 66
Buceros rhinoceros^ 59, 6l-2 ; see also
Hornbill
Bufo jerboa, 265
Bulbul, 49
Bungarus fasciatusy jlaviceps, 91 ;
candidus, 103
Caco mantis merulinus> 67
Caduga larissa, 21 1
Calopterna acuniinata, 126
Calamaria^ 77 » leucogaster, 103
Calamus antplectens^ 187, 196
Callagur picta, 112
Callimerus, 237, 245
Callula pulchra, 26
Calochromus dispar, 165 ; larva of,
168
Calotes lizard, enemy to Mantids, 134
Camponotus, 185
Caprimulgus macrurust 51, 52
Carausius morosus^ 155 n.
Carpococcyx radiatus, 63
Carpophaga anea, 277
Gary ota palm, 261
Cassidida, 175 ; egg-laying of, 176-
80 ; use of larval skins and excre-
ment by, 179-83 (PI. XV) ; dis-
tastefulness of, 182
Cat, domestic, Malayan and Siamese,
29,312-13
INDEX
323
Caterpillars, warning colours of, 131-2 ;
mimicking snakes, 229 ; and ant, 230
(PI. XVI)
Centropus sinensis, 63
Cervulus muntjac> equinus, 45
Charocampa my 'don , 229
Chakosiina, mimic Pierine butterflies,
209 ; and Euploeine, 223
Chapman, F. M., on displays of male
birds, 50
Cheiromeles torquatus, 19
Chelone mydas, 109; imbricata, no;
see also Turtle
Chersydrus granulatus> 101
Chloridolum, 238, 246
Chlorophorus (Clytanthus) annularis,
238, 246
Chorinemus toloo, 97
Chrysopelea chrysochlora, ornata, 79 ;
" flight " of, 80, 82
Cicindelidse, larvae of, 156-61 ; as
models, 210, 238, 245
Cirrochroa bajadeta, swarms of, at
Kuching, 220-1 ; at Miri, 316
Cittocinda suavts, 49
Clerida:, 237, 245
Clerodendronfistulosum, 187, 194-5
Clibanarius longipes, 280
Clouded Leopard, 27, 28 ; its tooth as a
charm, 288
Clytus arietis, 238
Cobra, 91, 104 n. ; mimicry of, 102, 103
Coccinellidce (ladybirds), as models,
236-7, 242, 244
Cockroaches, 114 et seqq., 314; swim-
ming, 118 ; resistance to immersion,
118-19 ; spiracles, structure of, 122 ;
stridulation of, 141 ; attacked by
Mantis, 142
Collocalia fuciphaga, lowi> 53 ; see
also 38, 314
Colly ris emarginata, 156, 315; larva
of, 156-8 ; sarawakensis, 210
Collyrodes lacordairei, 238, 245
Colobopsis derodendroniy 194
"Colours of Animals," 133
Coluber oxycephalus, 83 ; metanurus,
84 ; ttetrittntSf 84 ; radiatus, 85, 103
Copsychus saularis, 49-51
Cosmolestes picticeps, 217
Cox, E. A. W., 108, 247-8, 250-1,
254, 261, 264-6, 268, 271, 274, 277-
8, 280 ; on noise made by ants, 250
Crabs, 265, 297-300
Cremasto%astert 185 ; difformis, 188,
192, 202
Creobotra> 132
Crickets, swimming, in Australia, 125 ;
in Ceylon, 125 ; in Fiji, 126
Crocidurat 24
Crocodilus porosus, 105 ; ferocity of
young, 105-6 ; hair-balls and pebbles
in stomach of, 106-7
Cuckoo, 63-8 ; mimicking a Drongo, 56
Cuniculina nematodest 147
Curculionidi? (weevils), 183, 233, 266 ;
as models, 235, 244
Curlew, 278-9
Cyclemis amboinensis, in
Cylindrepomus comis, 239, 246
Cylindrophis lineatus, rufus, 78, 103
Cynogale bennettii, 32
Cynoptemts, 19, 20
Cyrestis seminigra, 261
Daboia viper, poison of, 95
Daly, Mahon, on " flying snakes," 82
Danaince, freely exposed, 213-14; de-
voured by Macaques, 215 ; mimicked
by ElymniaS) 211-14
Daphisia pulchella, 237, 245
Darter, Indian, 72
Darwin, Sir Francis, 149 n.
Dayaks, Land-, 251 ; dress of, 251,
283 ; villages of, 253 ; Head-Houses
of, 253, 284-8 (PI. XXI) ; as weight-
carriers, 256 ; bamboo pipes and
tobacco of, 257 ; pickled pork of,
268 ; traditions of, 268 ; dance of,
289
324
INDEX
Dayaks, Sea-, 253, 306, 308, 310;
division of time, 285, 286
Deilemera, 218
Demonax, 239, 246
Dendrophis pictus, 79 : " flight " or,
8 1 ; mimicked by caterpillar, 229
Dermoptera, 21
Deroplatys desiccata, 129, 133 ; shel-
fordi, 130
Dichelaspis, 96
Dipsadomorphus trigonatus, 101
Dischidia, 187, 192, 199-204 ; rafflesi-
ana, 187, 200, 201, 203-4 ; shelfordi,
187, 202-4
Dissemurus platuriiS) 56
Distira cyanotincta, 96
Distypsidera> 158
D turns > 234, 244
Dixey, Dr. F. A., on mimicry, 207
Dixippus morosuSi 155 n.
Dolichoderus bituberculatus, 202 n. 2
Doliophis (Adeniophis) bivirgatust
intestinalis, 93-4
Dorippe facch ino, 299 ; as tufa, 300
Drongo, Racket-Tailed, 56
Dryophis prasinuS) 83, 85 ; mycterizans^
85, 86
Dugong, 46
Duponchel, 210
Durian, 4, 12 ; Blanda, 12
Dytiscus, 121
Earth-worms, enormous, 262
EC his carinata, 101
Ectatosia moorei, 234, 244
Edentates, 47
Egrets, 275, 277, 280-1
Elelea concinna, 234, 244
Elephant, not indigenous in Borneo,
41
Elymnias lais, 211-14
Empongau village, 283
Endomychida, as models for Longi-
corns, 227, 235, 244
Enhydrina valakadien, 96-7
Epania singaporensis^ 217, 233, 243 ;
sarawakensis ', 233, 243
Ephies dilaticornis, 237, 245
Erythrus> 237, 241
Eulyes amcena, 137
Eumenida, nests of, 252
Eury enema herculanea, 153, 154
Everett, Alfred, 57
Felida> 27-9
/W/.y, nebulosa% 27 ; bengalensis, 28 ;
planiceps, 28 ; badia, 29
^VV/^j- irregularis, 197 n.
Fin-back Whale, 47
Fitzsimmons, F. W., '* Snakes of South
Africa," 104 n.
Flower, Capt. S. S. , on tails of snakes
conspicuous and head-like, 78-9 ; on
"flying snakes," 82 ; on mimicry in
snakes, 85, 103 ; fig. of Trionyx by,
113 n.
Flying Lemur, 21-3 ; -squirrels, 36, 37 ;
-snakes, 79-82 ; -frogs, PI. XIII
(facing 105), 264, 314
Forbes, Dr. H. O., on the cry of the
Gibbon, 6 ; on Malay Cats, 29 n. I,
312-3
Fore-legs of insects, adaptation for
digging of, 1 60
Froggatt, W. W.,on swimming cricket,
125
Frog-Mouth, 52-3 (PI. IX), 314
Fryer, J. C. F., on laying and hatching
of turtles' eggs, 109, no
Gadow, H., on prehensile-tailed tropi-
cal American mammals, 22
Gahan, C. J., on Prisopus, 127 n. ; on
Phengodes, 170 n. ; on Lampyrid
larvae, 315
Gajah, Malay name for the elephant, 41
" Galaos," 285
Galeopithecus votans, 20-3, 313-14
Galerucidce, mimicked by Longicorns,
235-6, 244-5 ; taste of, 236
Gar-Fish, 276
INDEX
325
Garial (Gavial), 109
Gecko, attacking Lampyris, 173 n. 2
Gedong village, 282, 291
Geomyda spinosa, HI
Gibbon, 5 ; cry of, 6 ; hand of, 7
Glenea, 232, 243
Godwit, Snipe-Billed, 279
Gongylus gongy lodes, 134, 140, 144-7
Gonodactylus chiragra, 302-4
Gray, G. R., 112-13
Gryllotalpa, fore-leg of, 160
Gymnathidce, 59
Gymnura rafflesii^ 27
Haddon, Dr. A. C, 309, 310; on
"Tiipa," 318 n. 21
Hamadryad, 92-3, 99
Hanitsch,Dr.,on Malacoderm larvae, 169
Harpactes dulitensis^ 265
Haviland, Dr. G. D., camp on Mt.
Penrisen, 260
Head- Feasts and ceremonies, 287-8
(PI. XXII)
Head-House or "Bala," 253-4, 284,
286-90; at Lanchang, PI. XXI
(facing 287)
Head-hunting Expedition, PI. XVII
(facing 253), 316 n. 20
Heads, Punan, PI. XX (facing 284),
316 n. 20
Heliconina, freely exposed, 213
Helictis everetti, orientalis, 30
Hemigale hardwickii, 34
Hemimerus talpoides, 20
Hemiptera (bugs), mimicked by Mantis,
J37 > by moth, 224
Herdman, Prof. W. A., on Siamese
Cat, 313
Herpes tes brachyurus, 76
Hestiasula sarawaca^ 130, 134, 144
Heteropteryx grayi> 150,315
Hierococcyxfugax, namfs, 67
Hierodula, 128 \ gastrica, 141
Hipposiderus, 19
Holoce-bhahis, 217
Holothurian, 298
Honey-bear, 34-6
Horn bills, 59, 267 ; nesting habits of,
59, 60 ; nestlings eaten by Dayaks,
6 1 ; structure of casque, 62 ; feeding
on Fiats fruit, 265-6 ; noise of, in
flight, 265
Hose, Dr. C, 20-1, 24, 33, 57, 103,
106 n. i, n. 2, 107, 109, 113 n.,
205 n., 265, 267 n., 269 n., 277 n.,
281 n., 284 n., 312 n. 1-3 ; 314 n. 7 ;
315 n. II, 12 ; 316 n. 17 ; 318 n. 21 ;
photographs of Maias by, 3 (PI. II),
4 (PI. Ill) ; " Mammals of Borneo,"
28» 39-40 ; on Felis planiceps, 28 ;
on Mydaus, 31 n. ; on Malayan
Bear, 35-6 ; on Tricky s lipura, 39,
40; on Buceros, 62, 63 n. I ; on
Bornean cuckoos, 63 n. 2, 67 n. ;
" Pagan Tribes of Borneo," by
McDougall and, 284 n., 306 n., 310 ;
pursuit and punishment of murderers
of Punans, by, 316-18
Hose, E., on Python attacked by swine,
43
Hydnophytum, 160, 186-8, 190, 192 ;
coriaeeiun, borneense, 187
Hydropedeticus vitiensis, 126
Hylobatcs mullet 7, 6
Hymenopus bicornis, 137 ; resembles
Melastoma ilower, 138-9
Hystrix crassispinis, 38-9 (PI. VII)
Idolum diabolicum, 133; simulates a
flower, 136
Imperata cylindrica, 65
Insects, their part in the formation of
jungle soil, 161-2
IpoiJHza,) 178
Iridomyrmex cordata var. myrmecodias^
188
IthomiifMy freely exposed, 213
Kalamantan, Pulo, Malay name for
Borneo, 307
326
INDEX
Kalamantan (Klemantan) tribes, races
of, 307-8, 311
Kapit River, PI. XVII (facing 253),
316 n. 20
Kayan tribes, 307-8, 311
Kenyah tribes, 307-8, 311
Keringa Ant, 185, 230-1 (PI. XVI)
Kershaw, J. C., on Collyris, 159, 160 ;
on egg-laying in Cassididcc> 181 n.
"Kijang,"45
King-cobra, 92
Koningsberger, Dr. J. C., on larva
of Colly ris, 156-7, 315
Koptorthosoma, 184 n.
Korthalsici) 187, 192, 195
" Kra," or " K'ra " (Macacus cynotnol-
fus), 10, ii ; 56
Krait, 91, 93-6
" Kubang Plandok," 23
Kuching, illustrations of, PI. XXIII to
XXXII at end of vol.
Laccoptera, 181 (PI. XV), 315
Lackesis wagleri, 83, 86, 94 ; borne-
ensis, 87, 94 ; sutnatranus, 94
Lamiida, 232, 241, 243-6
Lampyridte) significance of light of, 173,
173 n. 2, 315 ; method of cleaning
by, 174, 315; synchronous light of,
250, 316
Lainpyi-is noclihica^ 165, 171-2
Lanchang village, 284-91 ; Head-
House of, PI. XXI (facing 287)
"Latok,"27o
Lemurs, 13-18
Leptura, 239, 246
Lieniys inornata^ 1 1 3
Lingula, 295
Little Heron, 275
Lobiophasis, 267 n.
Locust, mimicking Tricondyla, 210
LcnchodeS) 123, 155 n. ; uniformis,
153
Longicorns, 266 ; mimicking other
Coleoptera, 227-9, 232-8, 241, 244-5,
316; mimicking Hymenoptera, 228,
232-3, 238, 243 ; other Longicorns,
232, 238-9, 246; larvae eaten by
Dayaks, 270
Longstaff, Dr. G. B., 104 n., 128,
233 n. ; on Termites, 37 n. ; on
swimming cricket, 125 ; observation
on mimetic Longicorn, 233 n. ; on
phosphorescent insects, 250 n. 2 ; on
Chameleo dilepis, 314
Luciola vespertina^ 170, 172, 173 ;
gorhami, 173
Lydda, as models, 239-42, 244-5 »
metamorphoses of allies and, 172 ;
mimicked by Longicorns, 228, 241,
244-5 5 by Hemiptera, 242 ; by
Lepidoptera, 242
Lycoid type of coloration, 239, 240
Lycodon subcinctus, 103
Lycostomus gestroi, 165 ; larva of, 165-8
Macacus arctoides, 8 ; nemestrimiSi 8,
9 ; cynoniolgiiS) 9, 10, 56 ; Macaques,
devour malodorous insects, 214-15
Macaranga caladifolia^ 187, 193, 195,
204
Alacropisthodon rhodornelas, 102
Macropteryx comatus, 53
Macrorhamphus taczanowskii, 279
Maias, 2-5 ; sleeping habits of, 3
(PI. II), 4 (PI. Ill) ; attack on
Dayak, 4 ; its dread of snakes, 75
Main, II., 155 n.
Malacodermata, 165-75, 315; "Tri-
lobite-larva " of unknown form of,
169 (PI. XIV), 170, 172; transition
in life-histories of, 172
Malays, 308
Mangrove-swamp rauna, 294
Manis javanica, 47 ; Malay story re-
lating to, 48
Mantida, 128 ; cryptic coloration of,
129; display of, 132-5; mimicry of
bug by, 137 ; stridulation of, 140 ;
cockroach-eating, 142; egg-cases an4
INDEX
327
hatching of, 142-6 ; larvae of, 143 ;
parasites of, 143
Marmessoidea quadriguttata, 147
Marshall, Dr. G. A. K., on a terrifying
Mantis, 132 ; on distasteful Lyddct,
165 ; on birds eating butterflies, 208,
222 ; on a weevil as model, 235
Matang, Mt., 216, 221, 237, 262, 274,
293-4
McDougall, W., 318 n. 21; "Pagan
Tribes," &c., by Hose and, 284 n.,
306 n., 310
Megalocolus notator, 217
Melanism in Pierince, 225
Melanitis ismene, 220
Melastoma, 138, 139
Melipona, 35 ; apicalis, 216-17 ; lactei-
fasciata, 216-17 ; evidence of protec-
tion, 216-17 5 mimicry of, 217, 242-3
Menangkabau, 308
MenexenuS) 155 n.
Metallyticus semiczneus, 142
Metriona trivittata, 180, PL XV (facing
181)
Mimetic series of Squirrels and Tree-
Shrews, 25 ; of insects resembling
Lycid beetles, 241-2, 244-5 '•> of
Longicorn beetles, 241, 243-6
Mimicry, xx ; between Squirrels and
Tree-Shrews, 24-7 ; aggressive, 25,
56-7 ; in Musteline Carnivora, 29-
31 ; of Drongo by Cuckoo, 56 ; in
snakes, 101-3 ; of and by Hemiptera
(bugs), 137, 224, 242 ; by young
Mantis, 137 ; Batesian and Mlillerian,
206 et stqq. ; by moths of Pierin<c,
209, of Eu-blaina 223, of Hemip-
tera and Lycidce 224, 242 ; of Tiger-
Beetles, 210, 238, 245 ; of Danaine
butterflies by Elymnias, 211-14 > in
Pierina, 222 ; ot Melipona bees,
217, 242-3 ; of Lycid beetles, 228,
239-45 > °f snakes by caterpillars,
229; of ants by caterpillar, 230
(PI. XVI), by spider, 231 (PI. XVI),
by beetles, 233, 243 ; see also
Longicorns
Minchin, Prof., adventure with cobra,
100
Mitchell, Dr. P. Chalmers, experiments
with snakes on Primates, 75-6 ; on
Python swallowing prey, 88-9
Mongoose, 32
Monomorium pharaon is, 185
Mormolyce phyllodes^ 162 ; habits of
larva, 163-4
Morse, E. S., on Fire-flies, 316 n. 19
Moths, mimicry by, 209, 223-4, 242 ;
attracted to light at Mt. Penrisen,
262
Moulton, J. C., 52 (PI. IX from photo-
graph of), 54 ; " Trilobite- Larvae "
brought to England by, PI. XIV
(facing 169)
Mouse-deer, 44, 45
Mud-turtles, 113
Muir, F., on Colly r is, 159, 160 ; on
egg"laymg°f Cassididie, 175-8, 181 n.,
182
Miiller, Fritz, on mimicry, 206-7
" Munsang " (Musang), 33; coffee-
berries eaten by, 33, 34
Murray, on Prisopus, 127 n.
Murut, 306, 309, 311 ; Head Feast of,
PI. XXII (facing 288)
Mus ephippuni, 37 ; negleclus, rattus,
sabanus, 38
Museum, Sarawak, at Kuching, xxiv-v ;
annual cost of, 312 ; PL XXIII (end
of vol.)
Mydaus javanicus ) mcliccps, 30
Mygniinici) 232
Myosoma, 228
Myotis, 20
Mynnccodia, 160, 186-92, 199, 204 ;
ttiberosa, 187-8
Myrmecophilous plants, 185-205 ; table
of, 187
Naia Iripudians, 91, 92 ; bungarus^ 92
328
INDEX
" Nandak," 49
Nannosciurus exilis, 37, 51
Nasalis larvatus, 12, 312
Nauphceta, 141
NecrosciincB) 226
Nemertine, Land, 280
Nemobins, 125
Nepenthes bicalcarata, 187, 196, 201
Nephila maculata, 216
Nezara viridttla, 223
Nieuvvenhuis, Dr., 309
Nipa-palm, 108, 248, 295
Nothopeus, 232, 233, 243
Notonecta glauca, 1 2 1
Nycteribiid<Z) 19
Nycticebus tardigradus, 13
Oberea, 228, 243
Ocrea, 195
Odynerus, 184 n.
CEcophylla sniaragdina, 185 ; as model,
230-1 (PL XVI)
" Orang Blanda," 12
" Orang Kaya," 286
Orang-utan, I ; its dread of snakes, 75,
76 ; see also Maias
Orange-Scale of Florida, 193
Orthoptera, aquatic, 124-7
Oryza glutinoscti 288
Overdijk, Heer, on life-history of
MonnolycC) 164
Owls, 24, 68-71 (PL XI)
Packycentria, 187, 196
" Padi-bharu" (new rice), 32
Palm-civets, 33, 69
Palophus haworthi, 151
Paneslhia javanica, 123, 161
Pankalan Ampat, 252, 271
" Pantuns," 290
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, leucomys-
tax, 33
Parthenogenesis in Phasmids, 154-5
Pascoe, F. P., 316 n. 18
Pearson, H. H. W., on Dischidia,
202-3
" Pedada," 12
Penrisen Mountain, 25, 238 ; expedi-
tion to, 247-73
Pen-tailed Shrew, 23
Peringuey, Dr. L., on a terrifying
Phasmid, 151
Periophthalmus, 276, 298
Periplaneta americana, 115; austra-
lasia:, 115, 123
Perkins, Dr. R. C. L., on provision for
mites (Acari) by Xylocopid bees and
Ody items wasp, 184 n.
Petatirista nitida, 36 (PL VI)
PhasmidfZ) I47> 3^5 '•> procryptic ap-
pearance and habits of, 147-51 ;
eaten by Trogons, 147, 215; resting
attitude of, 148 ; stridulation of,
150-1 ; eggs of, 152-3 ; partheno-
genetic reproduction of, 154-5
Phasmince resemble but do not mimic
Necrosciini'c, 226
Phauda limbata mimics a Lycoid bug,
224, 242
Phengodes hieronymi^ 170
Phlebonotus pallens, 117
Pholodilus badius, 68-71 (PL XI) ;
peculiar tongue of, 69
Phyllodroniia, gennanica, 1 16
Piching village, 290-1
Pipistrellus, 20
Pistia stratiotes, 173
Pityriasis gymnocephala, 57
Planarians, Land, 261
" Plandok," 23, 44, 45
Plants, myrmecophilous, 185-205 ;
table of, 187
Plateau, Prof. F., experiments on im-
mersion of insects, 119 ; on larva ot
Abraxas grossulariata, 215
Plat urns, 96
Plotus melanogaster, 72
Pocock, R. L, on conspicuous Mustel-
ine Carnivora, 29-31 ; experiments
INDEX
329
with snakes on Primates, 75-6 ; on
Python swallowing prey, 38-9
Poly podium carnosum, 187, 190, 192,
197-9, 204, 205 n. ; qrtercifolium,
187, 197 ; sinuosum, 187, 197
Pompelon subcyanea, 223
Pongo pygmaus, I n.
Porcupines, 38-41 (PI. VII) ; noise
made by quills, 38-9 (PI. VII)
Porpoise, 46
Potamon, 265
Poulton, Prof. E. B., "Colours of
Animals," 133 ; on mimicry, 207,
242 n.
Prang, Mt., 266-7
Precis atlites, iphita, 220
Prioptera octopunctata, I75> I79
Prisopusflabelliformis, fisheri, 127
Psebena brevipennis, 233, 243
Pseudocreobotra wahlbergi, 132
Pseudophoraspis nebulosa, 117
Pterinoxylus difformipes, \ 50
Pteropus edulis, 18
Ptilocercus lowi, 23
" Pulo Kalamantan," Malay name for
Borneo, 307
Punans, 309-11 ; heads of, PI. XX
(facing 284), 316 n. 20
Putorius nudipes, 31
Pyrestes, 237, 241, 245
Python, attacked by wild swine, 43 ;
habits of, 87-90 ; attacking man, 89,
90
Python curtusy reticulatus, 87 (PI. XII)
Rhacophorus nigropalmatus, PI. XIII
(facing 105), 314; shelf ordi, 264
Rhinoceros sumatrensis, 41 ; sondaicus,
42
Rhinopithecus, 12
Rhinoplax vigil, 62, 63
Rhithrosciurus macrotis, 37
Rice, pulut, 288
Ridley, H. N., 33, 41 n., 42 n., 52 n.,
59 n., 84, 88, 1 10 n., 160 n., 195 n.,
248 n., 276 n., 281 n. ; on Macacus
at Singapore, 9-11 ; on Orang
Blanda, 12 ; on the Slow Loris in
magic, 14-5 ; on Galeopithectts,
22 n. ; on Tupaia capturing frog,
26 ; on Siamese Cats, 29, 313 ; on
Squirrels eating Termites, 37 ; on
Copsychus, 51 ; on nests of Sun-
birds, 55 ; on Drongo, 56 ; on An-
thracoceros, 62 ; on Mammalian fear
of snakes, 76 ; on Python, 88 ; on
Cobra and Hamadryad, 92-3 ; on
Doliophis, 94 ; on Dipsadomorphus,
101 n. ; on Macropisthodon^ 102 ;
on Ringhals, 104 n. ; on insect phos-
phorescence as a warning, 173 n. 2,
315 ; on Macaranga, 193 n. ; on
mimetic caterpillar, 230 ; on mimicry
of the Keringa ant, 230, 231 n.
Riptortus, 217
Rodentia, 36-41
Rorqual, 47
Roth, H. Ling, breeding of partheno-
genetic Phasmid by, 155 n. ; on
"Tupa," 318 n. 21
"Ruai,"64
" Rusa," 45-6
"Sabang," 287
Sadong, 282, 292 ; River, 282-3
(PI. XIX) ; bore of, 282
Sago- working, 2.81-2, 307
Santubong Mountain, 274, 293-4, 299,
300
Sarawak currency, 312 ; jars and gongs
used as, 317
Satang Island, 301
Scaly Ant-eater, 47-8
Scelimena logani, 125
Schultze, W., on egg-case of Metriona,
1 80 ; PI. XV (facing 181), partly from
Scitiropterus , 36-7, 290
Sciurus everettiy ientinki, notatus,
tenwis, 25
Sclethrus amcenus, 238, 245
330
INDEX
Scops owls, 24, 68
Sea-Anemone carried by a crab, 299,
300
Segu, Government bungalow at, 248, 272
Semnopithecina, 1 1
Semnopithecus cristatus, femorah's,
hoseiy 13; rubicundus, 13, 267
Sennah village, 253-5, 269, 271
Sepedon fuemachcctes, 104 n.
Serinetha abdominalis, 224, 242
Sesarma, 10, 297
Sharp, Dr. D., 170, 315 ; on Idolum,
a flower-like Mantis, 136; on Phas-
mid eggs, 153 ; Lycid bred by,
1 66 n. ; on egg-laying in Cassididie,
175-8 ; PI. XVI (facing 230), partly
after
Siamese Cats, Kink-tailed, 29, 312-3
Siedlecki, M., on " Flying Frog," 314
St'ma, 185
Simia satyrus, r ; see Maias
Sipalns granulatus, 235, 244
Sipyloidea, 153
Slabi village, 290
Slow Loris, 13; superstitions respect-
ing, 14, 15
Smith, Capt. John, on cockroaches, 115
Snake poison, effects of, 94-6
Snakes, 74-104, 271 ; dread of, by Pri-
mates, 75, 76 ; flying, 79-82 ; warning
colours of, 93, 103, 104 ; mimicry
in, 101-3 ; mimicry by caterpillar
of, 229
Sonneratia lanceolata, 12
Sotalia borneensis, 46
" Soursop," 12, 312
Spathomehs model for Longicorn, 227,
244
Spiders, mimicking ant, 231, PL XVI
(facing 230) ; stored by wasp, 252 ;
attacking Lampyrid, 315
Spugh-slang, 104 n.
SquJlla, 303
Squirrels, 36-7; Tree-Shrews (Tupaia)
and, 24-7
Stick-Insects, see Phastnidce
Streblida, 19
Stridulation in Mantida, 140 ; in cock-
roaches, 141 ; in Phasmida, 150-1
Sunbirds, 53-5 (PI. X)
Sundar village, 277
Surniculus lugubris, 56
Sus barbatus, 42 ; verrucosus, 44
Symbiosis, 299 ; see also Acari, 183-4
Tabekang village, 282-4, 290-1 ;
Sadong River at, PI. XIX (facing
283)
Tabu, 270, 287, 301
Tarsius spectrum, 13, 15-18 (PL IV, V),
290
Tax-collecting, 271-2
Tebia village, 269
" Tembadau," 46
"Tengiling," 47
Terias hecabe, 218
Termites, winged, eaten by squirrels,
&c., 37
Testudo emys, 1 1
Tetrigin&i 124-5
Thalassina anotnala, 294
Thalassochelys caret fa, no
Theopropus elegans, 144
Therates labiata, 158
Thomas, Dr. O., on Galeopithecus,
313-14
Tiger-Beetles, see Cicindelidce
Tiger's skull as charm, 28
Tirumala crowleyj, 211
Tomistoma schlegelii, 109
"Ton-Ton," 290
Tortoises, in
Toxophora^ 217
Trachycomus cristatus, 49
Trachystola granulata, 235
TragiditS) 23 ; javanicus, napu, 44
Tree-Shrews; see Tupaia
Tree- Viper, 83, 86, 94, 271
Trepsichrois mulciber, 223
Treron capellei, 277 n.
INDEX
331
Treub, Dr., on Myrmecodia, 188-9 J on
Nepenthes, 201
Trichys lipura, 39-41 (PI. VII)
Tricondyla gibba, 160, 210, 245 ;
eyanea, var. wallacei, 210 ; rufipes,
210
" Trilobite-larva," 169 (PL XIV), 170,
172
Trionyx subplanus, 107, 113
Trogons, 265 ; feeding on PAasmidte,
147. 215
Tupaiai 24-7 ; mimicry between
Squirrels and, 24-7 ; ferruginea,
gracilis, minor^ montana, tana, 25
Turtle, Green, 109 ; egg-laying of, 109,
no, 301 ; Hawksbill, no; Logger-
head, in
Turtle island, visit to, 301-4
Typhlops, 77
Ungulata, 41
Ursus malayanuS) 34-6
Velinus nigrigenu> 217
Vesper tiliO) 2O
Vespiform pattern, 242
Vosseler, on sounds of cockroaches, 141
Wall, Captain F., on snakes eaten by
Hamadryad, 93 ; on snakes' enemies,
99
Wallace, Dr. A. R,, "Malay Archi-
pelago," 4, 6l, 313, 314 ; on mimicry
in Longicorns, 235, 316; on tropical
moth-collecting, 262
Warning colours and other characters
in snakes, 93, 103, 104 ; see also
" Lampyridae," " Stridulation," and
under " Mimicry," the models
Wasps collecting spiders, 252
Water-Buffalo, 46
"Wa-wa," «« "Wok"
Weevils, see Cureulionuks
Weismann, Prof. A., 155 n.
Westwood, Prof. J. O., 210
Whale, skeleton of, 47
Whitehead, J., 57
Wild Boar, 42-4 (PI. VIII); see also
Sus
Williams, Capt. C. E., on Gongylus
gongy lodes, 134-5* and its sounds,
140 ; on egg-case of, 144-5
" Wok," onomatopoeic name for Gib-
bon, 6
Wood-Mason, Prof., on sounds of
Mantidce> 140, 141
Wray, L., on snakes eaten by Hama-
dryad, 93
Xenopeltis unicolor^ 78
Xyaste, 228, 236, 241, 244
Xylotrechus, 239, 246
Yapp, Prof. R. H., on Poly podium
and ants, 197-9
Ypthima, 218-20 ; pandocus, 218-19 ;
fasciata> 219
Zamenis mucostis, 103
Zaocis carinahis, 103
Zelota spathomelina, 227, 235, 244
Zither, Land-Dayak, 290
Printed in Greal Britain by
UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED
WOKING AND LONDON
;••
y/r
SHELFORD, R.W.C. -QH
1*5
A naturalist in Borneo. .35
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