116 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
worm gliding swiftly along the gravel path. It shed a light 
about a quarter of an inch in breadth, much more brilliant than 
that of the ordinary glow-worm, and left a track of light about 
a foot behind it; as an un-entomological companion said, it 
appeared as if it was ‘‘ breaking bits off its tail;” the fact 
being that it left its phosphoric light on the stones and 
inequalities of the ground as it passed, the spots of light 
nearer to the creature being as bright as itself, and gradually 
fading. About two feet in front of this there appeared to be 
another insect half flying half hopping, and also brilliantly 
phosphoric. At once I threw a pocket-handkerchief over 
each, and took both into the house to examine them. The 
first was a species of centipede of a reddish brown colour, and 
about two inches long, while the second was nothing but an 
ordinary daddy-longlegs (Tipula oleracea), which appeared 
to have been caught by the centipede and to have escaped, 
as one wing was very much damaged and it had lost two or 
three legs, and was of nearly equal brightness with its 
aggressor, which appeared to have the power of leaving its 
light on everything it touched. I never before met with a 
luminous British centipede, and should be glad if you could 
inform me if it is a common occurrence, and also if you think 
that it was attacking such a comparatively large insect as a 
daddy-longlegs for the purpose of preying upon it. 
[I have delayed the publication of this letter for many 
months because I thought the fact recorded was familiar to 
every entomologist; but having received other communica- 
tions to the same purport, accompanied by enquiries as to 
name, &c., I cannot hesitate longer to give what information 
I possess on the subject. The centipede described by my 
correspondent, Mr. Greville, is Geophilus electricus of 
authors; and although often so abundant that it is impossible 
to walk on a gravel path any October evening without crush- 
ing some of them, still so few entomologists have really 
studied its habits with care, that many strange stories have 
got abroad respecting it. It is the “ glow-worm in winter” of 
newspaper paragraphs, and reappears every year in print just 
as autumn is merging into winter, and when the sun of the 
“ enormous gooseberry” has set for the season. Linneus has 
described, under the name of Scolopendra phosphorea, a 
species which appears very closely allied to our English 
. 
