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NATURAL HISTORY. 



Family, LampyrTdse. (Gr. Au/z^-w, to shine ; oi'pa, a tail.) 



LAMPYRIS. 



Noctiluca (Lat. night-shining), the Glowworm. 



The GLOWWORM may be seen in the warm summer even- 

 ings, shedding its pale green light on grassy banks. The female 

 insect gives out a much stronger light than the male, and 

 there is some light visible even in the larva. The light of this 

 insect proceeds from the abdomen. The light given out by 

 the firefly, another kind of beetle inhabiting South America, 

 proceeds from three yellow tubercles placed on the throat. 

 The grub or larva of the Glowworm is of a singular form, and 

 is furnished with a brush at the extremity of the tail, with 

 which it cleanses its body from dust or the slime of the snails 

 on which it frequently feeds. 



THE DEATH-WATCH. 



The formerly terrible DEATH-WATCH, is now generally 

 known to be merely a small beetle. Indeed it is nothing 

 more than the creature that perforates the round holes in old 

 " worm-eaten" furniture and wood- work. The " ticking" 

 is produced by striking the head against the wood. If there 

 is a Death-Watch in the room, it is easy to incite it to begin 

 to tick, by striking with the head of a pin on the panelling. 

 There are several insects that produce this sound, the Anobium 

 Btriatum, tesselatum, and pertinax. The last named is so 



