136 THE FIRE FLY. 



nent globular, luminous body, in size about 

 one third larger than a mustard-seed. Each 

 of these bodies is like a living star, emitting 

 a bright, and not small light : since two or 

 three of these animals, put into a glass 

 vessel, afford a light sufficient to read with- 

 out difficulty, if placed close to the book. 

 When the fly is dead, these bodies will still 

 afford considerable light, though it is less 

 vivid than before ; and if bruised and rubbed 

 over the hands or face, they become lumi- 

 nous in the dark, like a board smeared over 

 wdth English phosphorus. They are of a 

 reddish brown or chesnut colour ; and live 

 in rotten trees in the day, but are always 

 abroad in the night. 



The other kind is not more than half as 

 large as the former : their light proceeds 

 from under their wings, and is seen only 

 when they are elevated, like sparks of fire 

 appearing or disappearing at every second. 

 Of these the air is full in the night, though 

 they are never seen in the day. They are 

 common not only in the southern, but in the 

 northern parts of America, during summer. 



The Fulgora Lanternaria, or Peruvian 



