EXTOMOLOGY. 115 



Jiupreslida, and as in all probability the transformations arc nndorgono in -wood, 

 the trunks of troos, etc., I fear tbat the authoress must Ikivo fallen into some error.' 

 It falls to my lot to come to the aid of the lady, for the natives assure me that the 

 transformations of tlieso species of Bupreafin arc undergone in the earth, and that 

 the larva! form the papery cases -with which I have often met." 



Of the fire-fli(!s, it is said, "According to the Buddhists, fire-Hies were produced 

 by the element of fire. The tire-flies appear to sip the nectar of flowers, and to be 

 very choice in their selection. In the mangrove swamps and on the coa.st where 

 JEfjiceras grows, that tree while in flower will be seen to be burning witli their 

 radiance, while all is dark around. In other sitiiations I have observed the flowers 

 of a wild species of Coix covered with them, to the exclusion of all the other plants 

 in the neighbourhood." 



lly first e.xiieriencc of fire-flies in Pegu was a remarkable one. Night had closed 

 in, and my .scivant, who brought in the tea, asked me to step out of my tent and see 

 the fire-flies whi(di, he said, he had never seen the like of before. On stepping out of 

 the tent, a truly beautiful sight presented itself. In front was the broad and deep 

 river sweeping on, wktl ioiKox;, with its indistinctly seen background of primaeval 

 forest on its opposite bank. Around me was the recently-formed clearing, witli its 

 two or three huts and my own camp, as the sole proof of man's occupancy, for miles 

 and miles, but, for all the wildness and almost desolation of the scene, the bank on 

 whicli I stood was a glorious spectacle, and those ac(]uaiiited with the class of native 

 servants will well understand that it must have been at once unusual and beautiful 

 indeed to rivet the attention of a khitmutgar ! 



The bushes overhanging the water were one mass of fire-flies, though, from the 

 confined s))ace available for them on low shrubs, the numbers may not have been 

 actually more than are often congregated in Bengal. The light of this great body of 

 in.^ects was given out in rhythmic flashes, and, for a second or two, lighted up the 

 bushes in a beautiful manner; heightened, no doubt, by the sudden relapse into 

 darkness which followed each flash. These are the facts of the case (and I may add, 

 it was towai-ds the end of the year), and the only suggestion I would throw out, to 

 account for the unusual method of displaying their light, is, that the close congregation 

 of largo numbers of insects, from the small space ati'orded by the bushes in question, 

 ma}- hav(! given rise to the synchi'onous emission of the flash, by the force of imitation 

 or si/mjMil/ii/. 



Order IIYMENOrTERA. 



Wings four, membranous, naked, veined. Mouth mandibulate and suctorial. 



Larva usually apodal. Pupa inactive. 



Abdomen united to thorax by a pedicle. Females furnished with an ovipositor, 

 normally consisting of six pieces, and often modified into a sting. The Hymeno]itera 

 are solitary or social, the latter forming communities consisting of a single fruitful 

 female, numerous males called 'drones,' and a countless multitude of sexually 

 undeveloped females or neuters, who carry on all the business of the nation. Agamic 

 reproduction {Parthenogenesis) obtains in this order partially, as eggs laid by virgin 

 ' queens ' produce di'oncs only. 



Sub-order TEREBRANTIA. 



Abdomen sessile. Female armed with a serrated or boring ovipositor. Larva 

 with six legs and several prologs. V(>getable feeders. The pmietures made in 

 trees or plants by the ovijiositor give rise to ' galls.' 



Tenthiiedo, sp. 



Sub-order PUPIFORA. 



Abdomen petiolate. Larva apodal. 



