52 LIVING LIGHTS. 



appears yellow. It is not so deeply tinted as the abdominal 

 light of Pyrophorus noctilucus, and is intermittent. 



Photuris versicolor is noticeable by its frequent resting on 

 a twig or leaf in the woods, when it will gradually increase 

 the intensity of its light till it glows like a torch ; then it 

 gradually fades to a spark, and becomes quite extinct. It 

 thus remains unseen for some time ; but in about a minute, 

 or it may be two, it will begin to appear, and gradually 

 increase to its former blaze; then fade again, strongly 

 reminding the beholder of the revolving light at sea. The 

 light of this species is of a brilliant green hue. Gosse says 

 he has seen a passing Pyg. xanthophotis, attracted by the 

 glow of a stationary Phot, versicolor, fly upward and play 

 around it ; when the intermingling of the green and orange 

 rays had a charming effect. 



The smaller species have, some a yellow, and some a green, 

 light. Pyg. xanthophotis, when held in the fingers, will fre- 

 quently illuminate a segment of the abdomen, over which 

 the light plays fitfully, sometimes momentarily clouded, more 

 or less, but generally saturated, as it were, with most brilliant 

 effulgence. This species occasionally comes in at open win- 

 dows at night, but much more rarely than the Photuris versi- 

 color and the smaller kinds, a dozen or more of which may be 

 seen almost every night, crawling up the walls, or flitting 

 around the room and beneath the ceiling, of these Jamaica 

 homes. 



One of our commonest forms in the eastern United States 

 is Photuris pennsylvanicus. It is about one-half of an inch in 

 length, has a general yellowish color, with a few stripes or 

 lines of brown or black. Both sexes have wings and quite 

 long elytra. 



