THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 73 



THE LIGHT-EMISSION OF AMERICAN LAMPYRID^ : NOTES 

 AND CORRECTIONS ON FORMER PAPERS. 



BY F. ALEX. MCDERMOTT, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



The author wishes to make the following corrections in and additions 

 to his former papers on "The Light-Emission of American Lampyridae" 

 in this journal : 



Vol. 42 (19 10), p. 360. — Modify lines 13 to 9 from bottom to read : 



"The consangiiiîieiis emits two such flashes, separated by an interval 

 of about a second, followed by a longer interval before the next two ; 

 sometimes the double flash is followed by a residual phosphoresence, as in 

 pyralis. The angulata usually emits a single flash, much shorter and 

 more sudden than that oï py rails, being in this regard like that oi scintil- 

 ians, but more greenish in colour than the light of the latter insect." (The 

 twinkling light ascribed to angulata was no doubt that of a male Lecontea 

 hicife7'a Melsh., its somewhat larger and very similar relative.) 



P. 363. — Delete note at foot of page, as this paper proved to have 

 no bearing on the immediate subject. 



Vol. 43 (191 1), p. 404. — After line 4, Photicris has been observed 

 mating only rarely; upon one occasion a pair of these insects were 

 observed to meet when flying low in almost directly opposite direc- 

 tions, and to alight on the ground and couple ; this occurred in a 

 little patch of woods where there were very i^,"^ other fireflies of any 

 species near. Both were flashing rapidly as they flew toward each other. 



P. 405, line 17 from bottom, after "p. 142." — Rennie (Insect Miscel- 

 lanies, Lond., 1831, pp. 222-232) cites some observati-'^ns on Lavipyris 

 noctiluca, which, however, are on the whole opposed to the theory of the 

 sexual significance of the photogenicity. 



Line ir from bottom. — Olivier (Compt. Rend. Assn. Fr. Av. Sci., 

 1909, Sess. 37, pp. 573-580; ler. Cong. Internat. d'Entomol., Brux , 

 Aug., 1910, pp. 273-382), has also "made some observations along the 

 same line as Gorham. 



Line 4 from bottom. ^For '-'Avesbury" read "Avebury." (Sir John 

 Lubbock.) 



Rennie (supra) also notes the tendency of Lainpyris ?ioctiluca $ to 

 fly into lighted rooms. 



P. 406, line 8. — Before "light" insert '-ordinary." 



March, 1921 



