Y. HANEDA 361 



cruciata and Luciola lateralis species, whose larvae live as aquatic 

 glowworms; Luciola cruciata, distinguished by black wings and a red 

 cross on the head, is the largest in Japan. Its larva develops in clear 

 streams and has a pair of small abdominal luminous organs. The 

 firefly appears from the end of June to July, and Japanese people go 

 to various places where it swarms to view the splendor of its flashing 

 light. As the glowworm tends to decrease in number, many famous 

 places for fireflies have been under protection by the government as 

 sanctuaries. The larva of Luciola lateralis appears in rather dirty 

 water in rice fields or brooks. Luciola parmila is a mountainous spe- 

 cies. Pijrocoelia fumosa is common near Tokyo; however, only its 

 larva is luminous. Other species seem few in number because they 

 are not easily recognized. 



In Micronesia fireflies live only in the coral Islands of Palao and 

 Yap. The firefly Atyphella carolinae found in these islands is 7 mm 

 in length and has black wings. After sunset swarms of the insects fly 

 up for about an hour at a time and are a beautiful sight to see. 



Many species of fireflies live in the East Indies, Malay Peninsula, 

 and New Guinea, and although I collected some specimens, they 

 were burned in Tokyo during the war. Later specimens I collected 

 were lost in Singapore, so unfortunately I am unable to report on 

 them. 



Synchronous Flashing of Fireflies 



Although my specimens from these countries were lost, I can never 

 forget the amazing spectacle of synchronous flashing of fireflies in 

 New Guinea. I happened to see it in March, 1940, at the Rabaul 

 Botanical Garden, Rabaul, New Britain. On the leaves of a big silk 

 tree countless numbers of fireflies were alighting and flickering rhyth- 

 mically, causing the whole tree to appear as if it were breathing. This 

 species, with black wings, was 7 mm long. Its flicker is distinct, be- 

 cause when the light disappears, it does so instantaneously and com- 

 pletely. My detailed observations are as follows: 



1. The silk tree was a big one, and the fireflies alighted forming 

 three groups, one on the upper part, one on the middle part, and 

 one on the lower part. The flicker was transmitted rhythmically, the 

 upper group extinguishing its light first, followed by the middle 



