116 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



worm gliding swiftly along the gravel path. It shed a light 

 about a quarter of an inch in breadth, much more brilliant than 

 that of the ordinary glow-worm, and left a track of light about 

 a foot behind it; as an un-entomological companion said, it 

 appeared as if it was "breaking bits off its tail;" the fact 

 being that it left its phosphoric light on the stones and 

 inequalities of the ground as it passed, the spots of light 

 nearer to the creature being as bright as itself, and gradually 

 fading. About two feet in front of ihis there appeared to be 

 another insect half flying half hopping, and also brilliantly 

 phosphoric. At once I threw a pocket-handkerchief over 

 each, and took both into the house to examine them. The 

 first was a species of centipede of a reddish brown colour, and 

 about two inches long, while the second was nothing but an 

 ordinary daddy-longlegs (Tipula oleracea), which appeared 

 to have been caught by the centipede and lo have escaped, 

 as one wing was very much damaged and it had lost two or 

 three legs, and was of nearly equal brightness with its 

 aggressor, which appeared to have the power of leaving its 

 light on everything it touched. I never before met with a 

 luminous British centipede, and should be glad if you could 

 inform me if it is a common occurrence, and also if you think 

 that it was attacking such a comparatively large insect as a 

 daddy-longlegs for the purpose of preying upon it. 



[I have delayed the publication of this letter for many 

 months because I thought the fact recorded was familiar to 

 every entomologist; but having received other communica- 

 tions to the same purport, accompanied by enquiries as to 

 name, &c., I cannot hesitate longer to give what information 

 I possess on the subject. The centipede described by my 

 correspondent, Mr. Greville, is Geophilus electricus of 

 authors ; and although often so abundant that it is impossible 

 to walk on a gravel path any October evening without crush- 

 ing some of them, still so few entomologists have really 

 studied its habits with care, that many strange stories have 

 got abroad respecting it. It is the "glow-worm in winter" of 

 newspaper paragraphs, and reappears every year in print just 

 as autumn is merging into winter, and when the sun of the 

 "enormous gooseberry" has set for the season, Linneus has 

 described, under the name of Scolopendra phosphorea, a 

 species which appears very closely allied to our English 



