March, I9I7-] WiLLIAMS : NoRTH AMERICAN LaMPYRID^E. 11 



NOTES ON THE LIFE-HISTORY OF SOME NORTH 

 AMERICAN LAMPYRID^.^ 



By Francis X. Williams, 

 Los Bangs, Philippine Islands. 



Introduction. 



This paper represents the biological portion of two years' work at 

 the Bussey Institution on several species of beetles of the subfamily 

 Lampyrinae or true fireflies. The portion dealing with the embVyol- 

 ogy, and the structure and development of the light-organs of two 

 common species, Photuris pennsylvanica DeGeer and Photinus con- 

 sanguincus Leconte, together with illustrations of these two fireflies 

 and their early stages, has recently appeared in the Journal of Mor- 

 phology. The observations on the life-histories were made throughout 

 the year but especially during the summer both in the field and in the 

 laboratory. For collecting Lampyrinae and particularly their larvae, 

 a small electric flashlight was found to be indispensable. 



I wish to thank all those who have helped me in my work and es- 

 pecially Dr. Wm. M. Wheeler for many helpful suggestions and criti- 

 cisms. 



Previous Biological Work on Fireflies. 



Comparatively little work has been done on the life-history and 

 habits of American fireflies. In Europe, where more is known of the 

 Lampyridae than in our own country, Lampyris noctilnca L. has fur- 

 nished more data than any other species. The male of noctiluca is 

 fully winged but only faintly luminous, the female, on the other hand, 

 is apterous and larviform and glows brightly. Newport, whose work 

 was done from 1830 to about 1842, furnished a good general account 

 of the life-history of this glow-worm. Olivier (1911, etc.), Fabre 

 (1913), and others have also contributed biological data, but the most 

 recent publication is that of Vogel (1915), who gives data on the 

 larva of Lampyris noctiluca in relation to its life-history, and an ex- 

 cellently illustrated description of the external anatomy, as well as 



1 Contributions from the Entomological Laboratory of the Bussey Insti- 

 tution, Harvard University. No. 124. 



