Part 23

Ants, wasps, and bees, 80 numbers of, in India and Malaya, 81-88 destructive to insect-specimens, 85 and vegetation, special relation between, 89

Apatura and Heterochroa, resemblance of species of, 257

Apes, 116

Aqueous vapour of atmosphere, its influence on temperature, 9 quantity at Batavia and Clifton, 10

Arctic plants, large leaves of, 236 flowers and fruits brightly coloured, 237

Areca palm, 45

Arenga saccharifera, 43

Argus-pheasant, wonderful plumage of, 205

Arums, 48

Assai of the Amazon, 43

Auckland Isles, handsome flowers of, 238

Audubon, on the ruby humming-birds, 130, 137

Australian Region, mammalia of, 340 birds of, 340 extinct fauna of, 341 its supposed union with S. America, 341

Azara, on food of humming-birds, 135

Bamboos, 52 uses of, 53-58

Bananas, wild, 47

Banana, 48

Barber, Mrs. on colour changes of pupa of Papilio nireus, 168

Barbets, 105

Bark, varieties of in tropical forests, 33

Barometer, range of, at Batavia, 24

Batavia, Meteorology of, 4 and London, diagram of mean temperatures, 5 greatest rainfall at, 24 range of barometer at, 24

Bates, Mr., on climate at the Equator, 24 on scarcity of forest-flowers on Amazon, 61 on animal life in Amazon valley, 70 on abundance of butterflies at Ega, 75 on importance of study of butterflies, 78 on leaf-cutting ants, 86 on blind ants, 88 on bird-catching spider, 97 on use of toucan’s bill, 106 on large serpents, 115 on the habits of humming-birds, 132

Bats, 118

Beetles, 94 abundance of, in New Forest-clearings, 96 probable use of horns of, 202

Belt, Mr., on virgin forests of Nicaragua, 62 on aspects of tropical vegetation, 67 on leaf-cutting ants, 86 on an Acacia inhabited by ants, 89 on uses of ants to the trees they live on, 90 on a leaf-like locust, 93 on tree-frogs, 116 on the habits of humming-birds, 133, 134 on uneatable bright-coloured frog, 175 on use of light of glow-worm, 205

Betel-nut, 45

Bill of humming-birds, 129