IG ^S: 







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PSYCHE. 



ORGAN OF THE CAMBRIDGE ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB 



EDITED BY B. PICKMAN MANN. 

 Vol. L] Cambridge, Mass., August, 1875. [No. 16. 



Notes on Luminous Larv© of Elateridae. 



On the 30th of June, 1873, 1 received from Dr. G. F. Waters, 

 of Newton Centre, Mass., four luminous larvas of Coleoptera 

 accompanied by a note informing me that he had found similar 

 larva? in Newton, in June, for the past eight years. These lar- 

 va; appeared in daylight of a yellowish color. Dr. Waters said 

 further in his note, " Mr. F. F. Bush, of Weston, brought me 

 some from near his residence once, which were quite dark brown 

 to black on the unlight parts. I hear that they have been seen 

 also in Milton. I know of no other locality where they are to 

 be found. Mr. Bush said they are to be ' found in great abun- 

 dance on all dark nights.' I have always found them under or 

 near pine trees, and Mr. Bush's locality is so situated. . 

 These were climbing grass and holding high their lights, as 

 though looking for their loves. I have never been able to keep 

 them alive more than five or six days." Subsequently Dr. 

 Waters wrote: "Saturday evening [5 July], I took cars to 

 Auburndale, and then walked two or three miles into Weston. 

 I arrived at the locality just at dusk, and passed it without 

 seeing anything but fire-flies ; on returning I met some boys 

 in a wagon, who had given me directions and then followed as 

 soon as they could ' hitch up.' Knowing where they had been 

 previously found, they, in following me, got two very large and 

 full and gave them to me. Last evening [6 July] I went out 

 for a walk and took my known locality and collected nine, mostly 

 small." On the 9th of July I received from Dr. Waters ten of 

 these larvae, one of which was dead. On the evening of the 

 same day I made a diligent search under the pine trees of 

 "Norton's Woods," near the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 

 Cambridge, but found none. On the night of the 16th of July, 



