170 



PSYCHE, 



[Fehruiiry— AI;iixh 1S89. 



oughlv with the luminosity of lampyridae. 

 says the eggs can be luminous only on account 

 of some external substance which they derived 

 from their mother, or on account of light- 

 giving power of the young larvae within 

 them. Again, Laboulbene and H. Lucas 

 have published (Bull, entom. Soc. entom. de 

 France, 12 Sept. 18SS, p. 133-134) the fact 

 that the eggs of Lampyris uoctiliica, as well 

 as its larva, are luminous, and Laboulbene 

 states that the luminosity lasted about a 

 week. 



G: Dtmmock. 



Phosphorescence of myriopods.^M. J. 



Gazagnaire has lately studied the phosphor- 

 escence oi Orya barbnrica, ?ir\ Algerian species 

 of ffeopkiltdae, and finds that it is caused by 

 a viscid secretion from the pores on the ven- 

 tral side of the whole length of the body. 

 This is contrary to the view of Dr. R. Du- 

 bois, who supposed the phosphorescence to 

 have its origin in the epithelial cells of the 

 digestive tract. M. Gazagnaire has further 

 found that the phosphorescence does not oc- 

 cur at all times, but that its appearance is 

 during the time that the genital organs of 

 the geophilidae are in a state of activity. 



G: Dimmock. 



The meconium of butterflies : — M. 

 Theodore Goossens communicated a notice 

 to the Socidte entomologique de France, 11 

 April 188S, on the above subject. We trans- 

 late the notice in full from the Bulletin ento- 

 mologique of that Society. 



'Tf the rearing of larvae affords gratifica- 

 tion in studying, as far as possible, their 

 habits, it sometimes gives one bitter disap- 

 pointments. Sometimes all the caterpillars, 

 almost full-grown, die at once without a trace 

 of diarrhoea or of fungi, that is to say of 

 other causes than flacherie or muscardine. 

 After having sought in vain the cause of the 

 trouble, one forgets it until a similar acci- 

 dent happens." 



"Chance taught me one of the unknown 



causes of this mortality. For several years 

 I have reared different caterpillars in colored 

 boxes for the purpose of determining the in- 

 fluences of refrangibility upon lepidoptera. 

 The blue being, among the simple colors, the 

 one that favored best their development, I 

 had placed some pupae of Vanessa prorsa in 

 a blue box. There were already in this box 

 some half grown caterpillais of Fidonia 

 atomaria, but they were in a tube and the 

 tube had a cork stopper. A Vanessa prorsa 

 emerged, expanded itself, and, ready to take 

 to flight, discharged the meconium which it 

 had accumulated during the pupal state. 

 This meconium fell upon the stopper of the 

 tube and immediately the twenty caterpillars 

 were dead. It was difficult to ascribe such a 

 power to the meconium. A second Vanessa 

 again furnishing this liquid, I took some of 

 it on a brush, and put it in another box where 

 there were some caterpillars of no value to 

 me. In a short time they likewise died : but 

 other caterpillars touched with drj' meconium 

 lived as usual. 



"It seems then, that it is the vapor of this 

 substance, composed mostly of uric acid, that 

 has the property of killing caterpillars, and 

 that when we rear caterpillars in the same ves- 

 sel in which chrysalids are already formed, we 

 subject ourselves to the same accident with- 

 out suspecting the true cause." 



G: Ditnmock. 



Household pests. — The editor of Good 

 kousekeeping received a considerable number 

 of letters in competition for the prizes men- 

 tioned on p. 59, of this volume of Psyche, 

 and the decision as to the merits of the vari- 

 ous remedies proposed was left to Dr. C : V. 

 Riley. The numero of Good housekeeping 

 for 27 Oct. 18S8, gives Dr. Riley's letter in 

 reference to the remedies proposed, and 

 quotes not only the letters of the prize-win- 

 ners, but all those mentioned by Dr. Riley 

 as meritorious. This collection of letters is 

 an excellent symposium on remedies for 

 household insects. G: Dimmock. 



