292 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



The geographical features are rather remarkable : the group forms an 

 irregular triangle, the sides of which are about 720, 600 and 200 miles 

 long. They lie within the influence of the trade winds, and inside the 

 zone of hurricanes, which often do much damage, as the islands are 

 mostly small and low, usually under 100 feet above tide level, the loftiest 

 not over 400, while often they lie almost even with the water. In com- 

 position they are chiefly white sandstone or coral rock more or less 

 disintegrated, often with sand beaches of dazzling whiteness. Situated on 

 the edges of coral banks, often of a most dangerous character, and with so 

 little of commercial attractiveness, we find most of the trade between the 

 Bahamas and United States to consist of " fruiting," which is carried on in 

 small schooners of from 150 to 200 tons burthen, plying chiefly between 

 the island ports and Baltimore. 



With this rather extended preliminary account, attention may now be 

 directed towards the insect fauna. The first researches we made in this 

 direction were on Egg Island, May 12th. This is a small wooded islet 

 about a mile in length and 67 feet high ; on the topmost point is situated 

 a lighthouse, while the beach along the harbour is adorned with an exten- 

 sive cocoanut grove. Arriving about six o'clock in the evening, a short 

 trip was made ashore, one of the objects in view being the capture of fire- 

 flies, which could be seen flitting around in the thickets. Only one could 

 be captured, however, and this proved to be a Fyrophorus, a genus of 

 Elaterid beetle in which the light is emitted from two whitish spots, one 

 on each side near the hind angles of the prothorax. This light is under 

 the control of the insect to some extent, since two or three of the beetles 

 that were knocked down became at once invisible, when they could cer- 

 tainly have been seen had the light continued. It was found later that in 

 such cases the Pyrophortis could often be taken by carefully feeling in 

 the dark for it — placing the palm of the hand flat on the ground over the 

 spot where it was thought the specimen had fallen, and its presence 

 would then be betrayed by its " snapping " in the manner of most elaters 

 when pressure is applied. 



Next morning another opportunity was afforded for going ashore, and 

 by beating bushes over an umbrella a good number of additions were 

 made to the collections of Coleoptera, though search along the beach and 

 lagoons yielded no Cicindelidae nor Carabidas whatever. It is probable that 

 they are rare on the island, as they seem, in fact, to be in most spots in the 



