43 



Mr. J. C. Moulton, of Sarawak, when looking through some 

 cabinet drawers of longicorns, remarked as though it were 

 a well known fact that the spots on the elytra of certain 

 species of Batocera were luminous ; he hopes to make more 

 exact observations on this point. His own observations 

 referred to B. calanus, Parry. 

 Species of the genus Pamsns have been recorded as giving out a 

 light from the antennae, but Westwood in his monograph on 

 this genus considered that this was probably light merely 

 reflected from the highly polished surface of the joints of 

 these peculiar organs. My friend Mr. K. G. Gairdner, 

 writing from Siam, states what has already been well known, 

 that they make a crepitating noise''', but says nothing of any 

 light. 

 Reiche reports that the volatile discharge emitted by Brachinus 



is luminous at night. 



Nebria brevicollift and Oci/pus oleiis have also been reported to be 



luminous, but this was almost certainly due to the accidental 



adherence of some luminous matter to them. 



Yet another insect well known on account of its supposed 



luminous properties is the "Lantern Fly." It is one of the bugs, 



Rhynchota, and belongs to the homopterous division of this order. 



The first account that we have of this singular insect is given by 



a certain Nehemiah Grew, in his Catalogue of the Museum of the 



Royal Society, 1681. He says of it " that which beside the figure 



of the Head is most wonderful in this Insect is the shining property 



of the same part, whereby it looks in the night like a little 



Lanthorne. So that two or three of these fastened to a stick, or 



otherwise conveniently disposed off, will give sutticient light to those 



that travail or walk in the night." This account is accompanied 



by a very passable figure of the insect. 



The most circumstantial account of the luminous properties of 

 this insect is due to Madame Merian, who described them from 

 Surinam about 200 years ago. She tells us that some Indians 

 having brought her one day some of these insects, she shut them 

 up in a large box, not knowing that they were luminous in the 

 dark. During the night she heard a noise, and, getting out of bed 

 to discover the cause of it, found that it proceeded from this box. 

 Opening it, she was so astonished at seeing the apparently flaming 

 insects that she dropped the box and allowed the insects to escape 

 into the room. 



Now this lady was a most enthusiastic naturalist ; from her 

 childhood she had been exceedingly fond of botany and entomology, 

 drawing the various species that she found. She had travelled 

 extensively in Europe in search of subjects for her pen and pencil, 

 and when fifty-two years of age went to South America in search of 



* This is caused by a discharge from anal glands as in the ' bombardier ' 

 beetle and other Carabidte. 



