85 



Lepidopteron to attribute it. We have at Guanajuato (Santa Rosa mountains) ex- 

 actly similar cocoons on the Madrono. These are the nests of Eucheira socialis Westw., 

 as I have been able to assure myself. I have only one specimen of this butterfly, of 

 which I have been able to breed neither larva nor pupa; but in the month of Decem- 

 ber many of these cocoons are brought to Guanajuato as curiosities only, tor they 

 serve no useful purpose, though it irf possible to write perfectly well ou their surface. 

 I have felt impelled to give you these details, in order to clear up the obscure point of 

 the question. 



A STRANGE STORY. 



Under the caption " Millions of Fire-flies," the Philadelphia Times 

 publishes a strange story, which we reproduce herewith in its entirety. 

 Equally startling accounts are of constant occurrence in our daily 

 papers, some of them true and many otherwise. Of the former, several 

 have received mention in Insect Life, notably in vol. iii (p. 477), 

 where several cases are cited of insects occurring in such swarms as to 

 cause temporary stoppage of whole railway trains. 



The so-called " fire-flies" are not true flies, but beetles of the family 

 Lampyrida?. They are not known to migrate, and such a swarm as here 

 reported and the consequent illumination seem hardly credible. To 

 cause such an illumination not millions but billions of the beetles would 

 be required. Yet the congregation of these insects in such exceptional 

 numbers is not impossible, and we would be glad of any verification of 

 this report from any of the readers of Insect Life : 



Dunbar, August 12. 



This town was a night or two ago treated to a most remarkable and beautiful 

 spectacle. Shortly after dusk the people were surprised and puzzled to behold what 

 appeared to be a cloud of light come sweeping up from the woods lying back of the 

 town, but on reaching the streets it was seen that the light was occasioned by an 

 immense swarm of fire-flies. This swarm, numbering millions, dispersed itself 

 through the village, illuminating everything with a light more golden than that of 

 day, and warmer than the moon's cold beams. 



People recognized each other without difficulty, and the print of a newspaper 

 was to be read with ease. The houses were filled with the darting, flashing insects, 

 which seemed to be panic-stricken from some mysterious cause. Lamps were extin- 

 guished by the swarms, and carpets ruined by them as they were crushed by the foot, 

 while delicate plants and flower beds were destroyed by the weight of the clustering 

 flies. 



It took several hours for the swarm to pass through the town, but it slowly disap- 

 peared in the direction of the river, lighting the fields as it went, alarming the 

 country people as it approached and arousing the cattle and poultry, which seemed 

 to mistake it for dawn. Nothing being seen of it next day, and no report of its 

 being seen elsewhere having been received, it is believed that it gradually dispersed 

 itself over the marshes. Where the insects came from is also a matter of conjecture, 

 as well as the reason of the sudden invasion. On the morning after their visit they 

 were found in drifts under the hedges and fences, and against the sides of the 

 houses, while quantities of provisions left exposed were destroyed by their presence. 



WAS HE CRAZED BY MOSQUITOES OR BY HEAT ? 



In the last issue of Insect Life (vol. iii, p. 487) a case was cited of 

 a boy having become insane from destroying caterpillars. The North 



