1 82 Kershaw, /i Naturalist iv Northern Queensland, [vo'r'xxxi. 



as well as the roots of the adjacent trees, the larwe apparently 

 feed. Another burrowing insect found here was a large 

 cricket, which makes a small round ])urrow in the open spaces 

 about half an inch in diameter and 15 inches deep. Around 

 the entrance was usually scattered a small quantity of fine 

 sand. Some of these burrows were noticed within our tent, 

 and during the evenings the insects frequently emerged. 



One of the most interesting sights witnessed during our trip 

 was the occurrence of the fire-flies, small, black beetles about 

 a quarter of an inch long, belonging to the family Lampyridae — 

 Luciola (? sp.) These first appeared on the 14th January, 

 and were seen almost every night until we left at the 

 end of the month. It was a wonderful sight to witness the 

 flight of these small creatures, which appeared as intensely 

 bright floating lights, moving gently to and fro around the 

 tree-tops or from tree to tree, and occasionally descending to 

 the ground. Two or three tall eucalypts near our camp seemed 

 to have a special attraction for them, and in the darkness of 

 the night the dozens of tiny lights floating about their topmost 

 branches presented quite a remarkable spectacle, which could 

 be seen from a considerable distance. Many flew round and 

 even into our tents, where they could be seen drifting to and 

 fro after our lights were extinguished. The light, which is 

 apparently a means of attracting the sexes to each other, is 

 produced from a small whitish patch on the under side of the 

 abdomen. In what is presumed to be the male, this patch is 

 situated on the penultimate segment, while in the female it is 

 larger and extends over the second and third last segments. 

 It has been suggested that the light is produced by the slow 

 oxidation or combustion of a substance supposed to be 

 phosphuretted hydrogen which is formed under the influence 

 of the nervous system, and that the seat of the light is the 

 parenchymatous cells of the superficial layer of the light organs. 

 The light given forth from these abdominal patches is so bright 

 and intense that it produces quite a radiance around the object 

 on which it settles. It pulsates in and out at short intervals, 

 and the insects have the power of extinguishing it at will, but 

 only for very short intervals. The alternate emission and 

 cessation of the phosphorescence is clearly seen as the insects 

 float through the air, and particularly while holding them 

 in the hand. That produced by some placed alive in a 

 small glass tube in the pocket of a white coat could be detected 

 through the material. When left undisturbed it became dull, 

 but directly the tube was shaken it became very brilliant, and 

 even when held near the light of a lamp could be clearly seen. 

 A somewhat similar light was noticed on the ground, which, 

 on investigation, proved to be produced by a small worm-like 



