Blog

The Insect Biodiversity
of Solomon Islands

Solomon Aelan (Solomon Islands) boasts a tremendous amount of biodiversity, with each of the many islands unique in its variety of flora and fauna. Though noted for its beautiful array of butterflies, such as Queen Victoria’s birdwing (Ornithoptera victoriae), the insect diversity of the islands is largely unknown and likely underestimated. In this blog for “Solomon Aelan Pijin Langguis Wik” (Solomon Islands Pidjin Language Week), we delve into a collection of Solomon Islands insects and learn how specimens can teach us about biodiversity and sustainability.

Blog by Keziah D'Souza, Assistant Collection Manager, Entomology

Header: Ornithoptera (Ornithoptera) priamus urvillianus from Guadalcanal (AMNZ189549), collected by Peter G. Fenemore. © Auckland Museum CC BY

Chrysis sp. from Kukum in Honiara, Guadalcanal (AMNZ190891). Collected by Peter G. Fenemore.

© Auckland Museum CC BY

Calliphara sp. from Salakana Island, Choiseul Province (AMNZ190888). Collected by Peter G. Fenemore.

© Auckland Museum CC BY

Dorcus intermedius from Nggela Islands, Central Province (AMNZ189750). Collected by Peter G. Fenemore.

© Auckland Museum CC BY

A Marvellous Biodiversity to Protect


Solomon Islands consists of nine provinces (Western, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Central, Malaita, Isabel, Makira-Ulawa, Rennell & Bellona, Temotu) encompassing six major islands (Lauru (Choiseul), New Georgia, Santa Isabel, Guadalcanal, Malaita, and Makira (San Cristobal)) and over 900 smaller islands, within the Solomon Islands archipelago. From the expansive Marovo Lagoon to the heights of Mount Popomanaseu, the islands are globally significant in terms of their biodiversity.

 

The Solomon Islands are one of the most biologically rich archipelagos on earth. Huge proportions of the animals and plants found there are endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else on earth. These species are closely linked to the culture, livelihoods and well-being of people.

Lavery et al. (2016).

Each of the islands are uniquely diverse, with high numbers of endemic species; the number of endemic butterflies of the Makira-Ulawa province alone is over triple the number of known endemic butterflies in New Zealand (Above, Figure 1.). 

Insect life teems on the islands; early 19th century naturalists would write of finding olketa anis/ans (English: ants), beetles, grashopa (grasshopper), moskito (mosquito) and milipid (millipede), many of which they had never seen before. Of the many of the species noted and collected by naturalist William M. Mann during his time in Solomon Islands (1915 - 1916), such as Agrilus sp. (Coleoptera) and Sceliphron sp. (Hymenoptera), some (like the ant Polyrhachis emeryana) would eventually be used to describe the species (holotype). Olketa bataflae (English: Butterflies), such as the birdwings (Ornithoptera sp.) were a favourite amongst collectors, due to their beauty and large size. 

Figure 1: Pie-charts showing the total number of butterflies per island/island group (in blue), and the number of which are endemic species and/or subspecies (in yellow). Adapted from Tennent (2002).

The sight of these insects on the wing is very fine as they fly along among the treetops with a lazy flapping flight and occasionally sailing with outspread wings

Charles Morris Woodford (27 May 1886) on Malaita.

Libythea geoffroy eborinus from Honiara, Guadalcanal (AMNZ189553). ​Collected by Peter G. Fenemore.

© Auckland Museum CC BY

Calliphara sp. from Salakana Island, Choiseul Province (AMNZ190888). Collected by Peter G. Fenemore.

© Auckland Museum CC BY

Unfortunately, the insect biodiversity of the Solomon Islands remains largely unexplored. This underscores the significance of work in this area, as it is likely that the effects of human-mediated climate change and resource overexploitation on insect diversity are currently underestimated. Efforts in insect collections, which can provide a snapshot of the time of the biodiversity in an area, are crucial resources that can indicate environmental change. An increase in insect pests or a decrease in native insects would guide how resources can be allocated to preserve and protect the environment, and by extension, the insect diversity.

In the past century, insect pests of coconut crops have plagued various Pacific Island countries, including Solomon Islands. Dr. Peter Geoffrey Fenemore was stationed as an entomologist researching these pests in Guadalcanal, and his general love of insects led him to amass a collection in his spare time. These specimens were donated to the Auckland Museum collections in 2023. 

(1956 – 1958)

The P.G. Fenemore Collection

In 1956, Peter was working in the British Ministry of Agriculture when he was offered the chance to continue a programme of research on the coconut bug (Amblypelta cocophaga), a serious pest that could devastate the coconut plantations of Solomon Islands. 

“[I] immediately said yes without even consulting my wife.”
Peter G. Fenemore, pers. comms, 2024

Between trying to find a way to increase the number of predatory weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) to deter the coconut bug and balancing atop a fire escape ladder to observe the goings-on, Peter would traverse the native forest in Kukum near a small agricultural research station. There, Peter says he would “collect whatever insects I could find”, which would result not only in the 120 specimens donated to Auckland Museum, but several of his specimens being used to help describe new species - one beetle species was even named after him, Strongylium fenemorei (Tenebrionidae).

Dr. Peter Geoffrey Fenemore with his collection of Solomon Islands insects, 2023. Photo taken by Melissa Kirk.

At Kukum, birdwing butterflies would come and feed on the flowers of Hibiscus close to the house

Peter G. Fenemore, pers. comms, 2024

Birdwing butterfly Ornithoptera (Ornithoptera) priamus urvillianus from Guadalcanal (AMNZ189549), collected by Peter G. Fenemore. © Auckland Museum CC BY

© Auckland Museum CC BY

The P.G. Fenemore Collection encompasses a range of insect groups – beetles (Coleoptera), wasps (Hymenoptera), true bugs (Hemiptera) and of course, a beautiful array of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera). It provides an insight into the wonderful biodiversity of Solomon Islands, from the colourful Calliphara sp. of Salakana Island (Choiseul province), to the patterned Tmesisternus schaumii of Savo Island (Central province). Peter’s collection is an example of how, when done sustainably, insect collections can be a resource of tracking environmental change, an indicator of potential pest incursions and, ultimately, a display of the beauty and insect biodiversity of Solomon Islands. 

You can find out more information on the collection and other Solomon Islands specimens at Collections Online.

 

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Peter Geoffrey Fenemore for his generosity in sharing his stories, and of course, this wonderful collection. I also thank Jennifer Carol for the beautiful photos and Rebecca Bray and Olivia Taouma for the edits. 

Tmesisternus schaumii from Sutakiki, Guadalcanal (AMNZ189491). Collected by Peter G. Fenemore. © Auckland Museum CC BY

References

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Crowley, T. (2008) Pidgin and Creole morphology. In Kouwenberg, S. & Singler J.V (Eds.), The Handbook of Pidgin and Creole Studies (pp. 74 – 98). Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Greenslade, P. J. M. (1969). Land fauna: Insect distribution patterns in the Solomon Islands. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B: Biological Sciences, 255 (800), 271–284. http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1969.0011

Harris A.C. (2008). Six nest cells of a species of Sceliphron (Hymenoptera; Sphecidae; Sceliphronini) discovered in a 115 year old war canoe from New Georgia, Solomon Islands, in a museum display: evidence for a potential early anthropogenic dispersal mechanism for sphecid muddaubers. The Weta 36: 8-9.

Huebner, T. & Horoi, S.R (1979). Solomon Islands Pijin: Grammar Handbook. Peace Corps Language Handbook Series. Education Resources Information Centre. https://fsi-languages.yojik.eu/languages/PeaceCorps/Pidjin.html

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Kaszab, Z. (1977). Die Tenebrioniden des Papuanischen Gebietcs: I. Strongylini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Pacific Insects Monograph, 33, p. 112.

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Kopi, M. (with Beimers, G.) (2008). Wei Fo Raetem Olketa Wod Long Pijin. Official Pijin Spelling Guide as approved by Solomon Islands Government, Ministry of Education & Human Resource Development. Solomon Islands Translation Advisory Group (SITAG).

Leary, T. (1990). Survey of wildlife management in Solomon Islands. SPREP Project PA 17. Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Solomon Islands Government Traffic (Oceania). 

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Lawrence, D. R. (2014). A naturalist in the Solomon Islands. In The Naturalist and his ‘Beautiful Islands’: Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific (pp. 63–138). ANU Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13wwvg4.9

Mann, W. M. (1915 - 1916). Field notes by William M. Mann, Fiji and British Solomon Islands, 1915-1916. Smithsonian Institution Archives. https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/fbr_item_modsi45

Paudel, S., Marshall, S.D.G., Tsatsia, F., Fanai, C., Kolubalona, M., Mansfield, S., Jackson, T.A. (2021). Monitoring an invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle population using pheromone traps in Honiara, Solomon Islands. New Zealand Plant Protection, 74(1), 37–41. https://doi.org/10.30843/nzpp.2021.74.11742 

Sherley, G. (Ed.). (2000). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional. Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). https://www.sprep.org/att/publication/000159_Invasive_strategy_and_species.pdf 

Solomon Islands National Environment Strategy (NEMS) 2020–2023. Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). https://solomonislands-data.sprep.org/system/files/Solmon%20Islands%20National%20Enmvironment%20Strategy.pdf 

Solomon Islands State of Environment Report (SPREP), 2019. http://www.mecdm.gov.sb/

Stibick, J. N. L. (1978, September, 25). The genus Pantorhytes (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Division A: I.  Additions and changes to the common and major cacao species. Pacific Insects,18 (3-4), 115 – 136. http://hbs.bpbmwebdata.org/pi/pi18-3.htm

Tanner, V. M. & Harris, D. R. (1969) List of the insect type specimens in the Entomological Collection of the Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, No. III. Great Basin Naturalist, 29 (3), Article 7. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol29/iss3/7

Tennent, J. (2002). Butterflies of the Solomon Islands. Systematics and biogeography. Storm Entomological Publications.

Wetterer, J.K. & Sanford, D.P. (2003). The little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata: Distribution, impact and control. Sociobiology, 41(3), 1-25.