146 LANTERN-FLY. 



in a fright, at seeing a flame of fire come out of it; 

 and as many animals as came out, so many flames 

 of fire appeared. When we found this to be the 

 case, we recovered from our fright, and again 

 collected the insects, highly admiring their splendid 

 appearance." 



Dr. Darwin, in a note to some lines relative to 

 luminous insects, in his beautiful poem the Loves 

 of the Plants, makes Madam Merian affirm that 

 she drew and finished her figure of the insect by 

 its own light. On examination however, I cannot 

 find the least authority for this declaration on the 

 part of Madam Merian, who relates only what is 

 above stated, with the observation that the light 

 of one of the insects is sufficient to read a common 

 news-paper by. It may be proper to add, that this 

 celebrated lady falls into a mistake in supposing 

 that a species of Cicada, which she represents on 

 the same plate with the Lantern-Fly, was its larva; 

 and that it gradually was transformed into the 

 Fulgora. This information indeed she merely 

 gives as the popular report, but at the same time 

 takes the liberty of representing the insect in its 

 supposed half-complete state, with the head of the 

 Fulgora, and the wings and body of the Cicada. 



I cannot conclude the description of this species 

 without giving due praise to the exquisite repre- 

 sentation of Roe'sel, who has engraved it both with 

 its wings closed and expanded. Degeer observes 

 that the beautiful colours with which Roesel's 

 figures are adorned were not perceptible either in 

 the specimens examined by himself, or in those 



