1886.] 99 



odore foetidissimum, individua 7 vel 8 feminea sono pipiente celerrime 

 circumvolando congregantia et in cadaveris parte supra aquam elevata 

 interduui sedentia die 16 Juuii in Lapponia observavi, ova in cadavere 

 sine dubio depositura." The presence of a pool o£ putrid water is 

 pi'obably an indispensable condition for the development of the larvae 

 in such cases. 



I do not know whether this explanation of the antique supersti- 

 tion has been offered before. My friend, Geo. H. Bryan, Esq., B.A., 

 in Cambridge, published it, upon my communication, in Science 

 Gossip, Nov., 1885, p. 242. 



As to the diffusion of E. tenax over the American continent, two 

 principal results must be kept in view : first, that it took place overland, 

 and that this fly was not carried across the Atlantic during four cen- 

 turies of intercourse (it will be interesting in this respect to watch 

 whether it will ever be imported into distant islands, like New Zealand, 

 St. Helena, &c.) ; secondly, the incredible rapidity with which it spread 

 over the Atlantic States, iis soon as it found access to the conditions 

 necessary for its larval existence. 



Heidelberg : August, 1886. 



A LUMINOUS INSECT LAEYA IN NEW ZEALAND. 

 BY Or. Y. HUDSON. 



Referring to your request for further information on the luminous 

 larva mentioned in Mr. E. Meyrick's paper, which appeared in the 

 April number of your Magazine {cf. Vol. xxii, p. 266), I have much 

 pleasure in forwarding you a brief account of my observations on the 

 insect, which, although not so exhaustive as might be desired in a case 

 like this, are quite sufficient to corroborate your surmises at the 

 conclusion of his paper. 



This larva, as Mr. Meyrick remarks, may be found in damp, over- 

 grown gullies, where it is tolerably common, in fact, I have noticed as 

 many as a dozen at a time, but never in such numbers as Mr. Meyrick 

 alludes to ; indeed, such a sight would be absolutely dazzling, as the 

 light from a single individual kept in a caterpillar-cage may be seen 

 streaming out of the ventilators at a distance of several feet. "When 

 carefully examined with a pocket-lens, this light is found to proceed 

 from a large glutinous knob situated at the posterior extremity of the 

 larva, a fact I have verified by repeated investigations. The insect 

 inhabits irregular cavities in the bank, where it hangs suspended in a 



