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one beautiful summer’s evening. We were returning home after a 
long day’s botanising up Shawk Beck, and walking along the banks 
of the brook our attention was attracted by the little electric-like 
lamps of that insect ; they were a charming sight. Some were on 
the leaves of the Golden Rod, and others were dotted all over the 
bank. As they crawled over the herbage their lamps at times 
were lost to view, whilst suddenly others appeared with their 
effulgent light ; a brilliant, fairy-like scene. We brought several 
home and kept them for a few days, but their light gradually 
diminished, and we turned them out on a bank near to Cummers- 
dale, but we never saw them again. 
Speaking of luminous insects brings to mind a strange occurrence. 
A number of years ago, when on the borders of Wedholm flow, a 
flickering light, now here, now there, appeared about two feet from 
the ground, which a native, who was with me, called the “ Will o’ 
the wisp,” and scientists say it is caused by certain gases; but I 
noticed this erratic light, and it went dead against the wind. I 
struck at it twice with my insect net, but missed, and I could not 
follow it, as it was quite dark ; if I had, most likely I should have 
got soused overhead in some peat pot. These flows are nasty 
places to travel over even in daylight, and then only in dry seasons. 
Since then I have seen the same peculiar light on two separate 
occasions, one on Solway Flow, and the other on the White Moss. 
I do not think it is a gas, as naturally it could not go against the 
wind, and the only luminous flying insect that I know of in this 
country is the male Glow-worm, but whose light is very insignificant 
just like two pin points, and it could not be the female, as she is 
wingless. I am still under the impression that the light proceeded 
from some insect of the genus 77/w/a, in a diseased state, because 
some years ago, while studying the anatomy of this species under 
. the microscope, we had a number in confinement, and a sort of 
_ fungoid growth attacked them, which, in the dark, had a bright, 
luminous appearance, — 
Naturalists see many strange sights when day-dawn is breaking. 
_ The numerous mammals returning from their predatory journeys ; 
_ and it has been our lot to view the Fox slinking to his earth from 
