128 



nightingale or some other nocturnal bird : Mr. White, 

 indeed, thought that they regularly extinguished their 

 torch between the hours of eleven and twelve. The 

 light with which it is invested, may perhaps occasion- 

 ally prevent its insect enemies from making an attack 

 on it as the wolf, and other ravenous beasts of prey, 

 are deterred from making an approach on travellers at 

 night when encircled by fire. Though, it must be ad- 

 mitted, that many of the species of the lampyris are 

 without wings, and want even elytra the female of 

 the lampyris italica is said to be a winged insect. 



The lampyris noctiluca *, or glow-worm, is sufficiently 

 known as a native of Britain at least the female of this 

 insect, for the winged male is not so commonly re- 

 cognised. The female is of a dull earth brown colour 

 above, and beneath tinged of a somewhat rosy tint, 

 with the two or three last segments of a pale sulphur 

 colour; and from these the light emanates. The 

 larva, pupa, and perfect insect, differ but little from 

 each other, and all of them are luminous : the light, 

 however, is most brilliant in the last stage of the in- 

 sect. According to the observations made by the ex- 

 cellent author of the " Journal of a Naturalist," the 

 glow-worm sometimes becomes, in all likelihood, the 

 bon-bon of the toad. According to him the light of 

 the glow-worm has sensibly diminished after the 14th 

 of July, though deep in the herbage a clear steady light 

 has been observed as late as August and September. 

 It was observed as late on one occasion as the 28th of 

 September, 1826, though very different in its sparkling 

 from that of the summer months. " If the summer 

 light," he observes, " of the glow-worm is displayed as 

 a signal-taper, the appearance of this autumnal light 



* See Plate, fig. 4., male and female. 



