48 PROCEEDINGS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



The light of Anurida was a continuous, pale greenish-yellow 

 glow general throughout the body, and with a lens of 1^-inch 

 focus could not be seen to be more intense in any organ of the 

 body, but failed to display the legs and antennae. The specimens 

 of Neanura were only seen to flash at the time of their capture, 

 and then not while looking at them with a lens. The impression 

 received was that the flash was very short, perhaps between one 

 fifth and one-half second duration as compared to the average 

 camera shutter speed, and was repeated after perhaps 20 seconds, 

 while the third flash (seen the first evening) was so faint as to 

 be easily missed. The fact that the light is flashed excludes the 

 idea of infection by, or feeding upon luminous bacteria, or fungi, 

 as a cause of the light while the length of time that the Anurida 

 lived in the vial (more than three days) would seem to indicate 

 that its light also is primary. 



The luminosity of the nests of Brazilian termites described by 

 Castlenau (1850), Smith (1879), Severiano da Fonseca (1880), and 

 Knab (1895) (1909), x is of interest in this connection for the 

 descriptions of the multitude of minute moving lights which cov- 

 ered the surface of the nests is strangely similar to the impression 

 received from reading Allman's or Dubois' account of the appear- 

 ance of the ground where the luminous Collembolans were found. 

 Urich's account 2 appears to refer to another sort of luminosity, 

 probably "foxfire." 



As will be noticed the writer's observations on the light of 

 Anurida compare closely with Allman's and Dubois' observations 

 on Anurophorus fimetareus and Lipura noctiluca respectively, while 

 the flashes of Neanura quadrioculata (?) are similar but probably 

 fainter than those seen by Molisch to emanate from Neanura 

 muscorum. The notes by these three observers are the only other 

 original observations that have come to the writer's attention. 



Mr. F. Alex. McDermott in answer to my queries was kind 

 enough to cite various accounts of luminous springtails and in 

 order to bring before American observers the data found in look- 

 ing up these notes they are briefly abstracted and appended 

 chronologically, the first mention being quoted entire. 



1851 Allman, Proc. Royal Irish Acad. Dublin, vol. 5, p. 125. 

 "On the omission of light by Anurophorus fimetareus." The 

 note in full follows: 



"Professor Allman read a notice of the emission of light by Anurophorus 

 fimetareus Nicolet (Leplura fimetarea Linn.). During a walk over the 

 Hill of Howth near Dublin on a dark night in February last [1851] he was 



1 See Science, October 22, 1909, vol. xxx, pp. 574-575 and Science, January 

 7, 1910, vol. xxxi, pp. 24-25. 



2 Journ. Trinidad Field Naturalists Club, vol. n, p. 2SS, 1896. 



