218 Lives of Lantern Bearers [SECOND WEEK 



moon shines brightly, or whether an overcast sky cloaks 

 the blackest of nights, the fireflies blaze their sinuous 

 path through life. These little yellow and black beetles, 

 which illumine our way like a cloud of tiny meteors, have 

 indeed a wonderful power, for the light which they pro- 

 duce within their own bodies is a cold glow, totally differ- 

 ent from any fire of human agency. 



In some species there seems to be a most romantic 

 reason for their brilliance. Down among the grass blades 

 are lowly, wingless creatures the female fireflies, which, 

 as twilight falls, leave their earthen burrows in the turf 

 and, crawling slowly to the summit of some plant, they 

 display the tiny lanterns which Nature has kindled within 

 their bodies. 



Far overhead shoot the strong-winged males, searching 

 for their minute insect food, weaving glowing lines over 

 all the shadowy landscape, and apparently heedless of all 

 beneath them. Yet when the dim little beacon, hung out 

 with the hopefulness of instinct upon the grass blade, is 

 seen, all else is forgotten and the beetle descends to pay 

 court to the poor, worm-like creature, so unlike him in 

 appearance, but whose little illumination is her badge of 

 nobility. The gallant suitor is as devoted as if the object 

 of his affection were clad in all the gay colours of a butter- 

 fly; and he is fortunate if, when he has reached the signal 

 among the grasses, he does not find a half-dozen firefly 

 rivals before him. 



When insects seek their mates by day, their charac- 

 teristic colours or forms may be confused with surrounding 

 objects; or those which by night are able in that mar- 



