CHAPTER XII 



GLOW-WORMS, TERMITES AND SHELLS 



Habits and luminosity of glow-worms Their contests with snails Flight 

 and destruction of termites Instincts associated with their distri- 

 bution and preservation Shedding of wings Habits of ant-lions 

 Notes on the dispersal of shells. 



AN insect common in the hills is the glow-worm, 

 Lampyris. They usually frequent the low-lying marshy 

 portions of the valley, but I have found them glowing 

 actively in the cold nights at an altitude of 8000 feet. 

 The female, as is well known, looks like a large con- 

 spicuous larva, while the male is small,active and winged. 

 The glow-worms here reached a length of two and a 

 half inches and shone with a very brilliant light. The 

 banks of the irrigation channels, the edges of the rice 

 fields, or the moist ground beneath a garden hedge 

 were the spots where they were most likely to be 

 found. The Lampyris lies quiet by day, motionless 

 and showing no light. In the evening it grows rest- 

 less ; its lamp begins to burn and it crawls off in 

 search of prey. In addition to its legs, its power of 

 propulsion is greatly aided by the last abdominal 

 segment. This is sometimes used as a lever to push 

 forward the body. It may also act as a hook to 

 support the glow-worm when climbing. From the 

 extremity of this segment the Lampyris can protrude 

 a tuft of slender filaments each terminating in a 

 delicate sucker, These suckers are a further aid to 



218 



