18 Journal New York Entomological Society. [VoL xxv. 



This is a very common firefly, a rather broad flat species, with a 

 small retractile head, slaty black elytra and a pinkish stripe on each 

 side of the disk of the thorax. It belongs to the Photinus group, and 

 like the members of that genus, is capable of giving forth a viscous 

 milky exudation and of clinging tenaciously to one's fingers. But it 

 differs rather widely in its habits from Photinus^ as will be seen from 

 the following. 



Ellychnia corrusca is most conspicuous in spring, appearing on tree 

 trunks in New England, as early as April, and may be met with when 

 autumn is merging into winter. Like the smaller variety antuninalis, 

 it hibernates in the adult state, seeking refuge from the cold, beneath 

 stones, .in decaying logs, under tree burlapping, and beneath the 

 looser moss about the base of tree-trunks where at times it congre- 

 gates in considerable numbers. It is a decidedly hardy insect and, 

 given the proper condition, a very large per cent, of the autumn 

 individual seems to hibernate successfully. I confined i8 specimens 

 (c? and ?) in a small brass box filled with moss and provided with a 

 screen cover, and in late November placed it outside a window with 

 north exposure where it remained until the middle of April, The 

 box was brought in from time to time, slightly warmed and the beetles 

 examined. Not all the Ellychnia were thus brought out of their 

 torpor during these brief spells, but the activated beetles were very 

 thirsty and drank eagerly from the moss which I had moistened. Of 

 these i8 beetles exposed to temperatures that fell more than once 

 below zero Fahrenheit, i6 were alive and healthy at the end of April. 

 Mating takes place when the beetles are well out of hibernation. The 

 earliest record I have in captive specimens is May y, 1916. This 

 pair, with other beetles, were previously given banana peel, the soft 

 inner portions of which they consumed to some extent. As adults 

 they are probably purely phytophagous. 



The female oviposits readily in captivity. The tgg is practically 

 spherical, creamy white, and like that of Photimis, provided with a 

 viscid outer membrane. It is faintly luminous for a time at least. 

 The young larva much resembles the Photinus larva, though it is 

 possibly a little broader. I was unable to rear it beyond the first 

 moult. There are two luminous points on the eighth sternite, but 

 these are not so pronounced as in young Photinus and Photuris, and 

 in the same individual are sometimes fainter on one side than on the 



