26 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



insect is called, in the winter, the " Flying Elephant," per- 

 haps in reference to its long proboscis. When the insect is 

 settled the light is more luminous than when it is flying, and 

 when the male and female have mated it is wholly ex- 

 tinguished. The male, I believe, does not survive many 

 hours, as I never caught one in the summer which was not 

 luminous. They fly in swarms, and I have repeatedly taken 

 two or three species in the same swarm. They are most 

 plentiful in gai'dens, though they are found everywhere. The 

 Chinese ladies catch them and imprison them in a fine gauze 

 net, and wear them in their hair.' 



" Mr. W. F. Evans said that Sir John Barrow's experience 

 was in favour of the luminosity of Fulgora. 



" Mr. Newman remarked that his note on Mr. F. Smith's 

 former statement was confined to that part which referred to 

 the Honduras fire-fly, i. e. to Fulgora laternaria, not F. can- 

 delaria. Nothing that had been adduced that evening had 

 any bearing upon the luminosity of F. laternaria. 



" Mr. Bates said that Fulgora laternaria was pretty com- 

 mon on the Upper Amazons; he had been aware of Madame 

 Merian's statement, and had observed the insect closely ; but 

 he had never found it luminous, and, what was stronger than 

 the negative evidence of any single observer, there was no 

 rumour or idea existing amongst the natives to the effect 

 that it was luminous. The natives were well acquainted 

 with the insect, which was the subject of fables current 

 amongst them ; for instance, a tale was told of one of these 

 insects having emerged from the forest and attacked a boat's 

 crew of nine persons, eight of whom were killed by the 

 poisonous creature, and the pilot only escaped by jumping 

 into the river. But though the fly was thus reputed to be 

 venomous*, there was no story current of its being luminous. 

 Mr. Bates himself was of opinion that Fulgora laternaria was 

 not luminous, and (strange as it might seem) that the Hon- 

 duras correspondent on whose statement Mr. F. Smith relied 

 had attributed to the Fulgora what, in fact, was the lumi- 

 nosity of a Pyrophorus." 



Polymorphism. — At the May Meeting of the Entomolo- 

 gical Society, Mr, A. R. Wallace again introduced the sub- 

 ject of Polymorphism to the notice of the members present. 



