362 SUPPLEMENT 



pieces, conical and pointed, between which a third is seen 

 which appears to be hollow. All these parts re- enter into 

 a sort of case, which in its turn is enclosed within the 

 belly. The hollow part must be the conduit of the 

 eggs, of which a tolerably great number are found in 

 these females. They are very small, oval, whitish, and 

 shining. 



The larvae of these insects in general are but little known, 

 but they are svipposed, for the most part, to live in wood, 

 Degeer has described the larvae of one species, and though his 

 description is more full than that given in the text, we deem 

 it unnecessary to enter upon it here. 



We must, however, mention two species of elater, which, 

 like the lampyris, possess the faculty of shining, but which 

 by this faculty should not be excluded from the genus to 

 which they evidently appertain in all their other characters. 

 The first (Elater noctilucus) is found in America, and par- 

 ticularly in Jamaica and St. Domingo. According to the 

 testimony of various writers, this insect emits light, either in 

 obscure places or during the night, as long as it lives, from 

 two yellow spots on the corslet, which are then transparent. 

 The light which it sheds is so strong and brilliant, that it 

 enables one to read the finest writing, especially when eight 

 or ten of these insects are placed in a vessel of glass. Brown 

 says that all the internal parts of the insect are luminous, but 

 that the light can only escape by the two yellow spots of the 

 corslet. To convince himself of this, he separated a little 

 the rings of the belly one from the other, and the light was 

 then seen through the membrane which connects the rings 

 together. During the day these insects remain in a state of 

 repose, and are, as it were, in a state of lethargy. They are 

 but seldom to be found at this time. It is during the night 

 that they put themselves in motion. They are easily to be 

 caught by the light of a flambeau, which they will follow 



