Mr. W. S. AJacLeay's Notes on Caproniys. 273 



by the light of beetles, although I consider the latter species of sport- 

 manship the most possible of the two. The Cucuyo is certainly an inte- 

 resting insect, but it seems doomed to give rise to wonderful stories. It has 

 never, for instance, fallen to my lot to see those Havana evening parties 

 mentioned in a late number of the Zoological Journal by my friend Mr. 

 Curtis, where " terrestrial stars shine forth with all their beauty from 

 " amongst the ringlets of the ladies." A negro girl will, when walking 

 the streets at night, sometimes stick one or two of these insects in her 

 ebon breast or woolly head ; but I must assure my friend who proposes 

 to import them for ladies dresses, that as an ornament these insects will 

 never answer, because their light is only beautiful when it is too dark 

 for the features of the fair wearers of them to be seen ; and moreover, 

 because at a time when the ladies features can be seen, I question much, 

 whether they would conceive themselves much decorated by a beetle 

 that has nothing handsome about it except its two spots of green light.* 

 As Mr. Curtis seems to have had his curiosity excited by these insects, 

 I beg to refer him to Oviedo where he will find many curious particulars 

 stated concerning them. 



I shall now return to the more immediate purport of this paper, 

 namely, the genus Capromys of Desmarest. I believe there are four 

 species in the island of Cuba, all known by the inhabitants under the 

 generic name of Utia. Oviedo writes the word Hiitla. Three of these 

 species appear to be confounded at this time by the Spaniards, under the 

 general appellation of Utla Congo, and the fourth is known by the name 

 of Utla Carabali, names evidently taken from the Negro Nations. 



The whole of the species of the genus rest during the day tranquil, 

 but watchful, in the thickest part of the foliage, near the trunk, or large 

 branches of the tree. In this situation it is that they are discovered by 

 the negroes, who are remarkably partial to them as food. So well do 

 they lie concealed, that I confess it is in general difficult for me to perceive 

 them even when pointed out. I have, however, often shot them, since 



* Washington Irving in his life of Columbus, vol. I. 270, repeats this ab- 

 surd story of the ladies of the Havana being dressed on gala occasions with live 

 beetles. However, I can assure him that they would think it as extraordinary 

 so to ornament themselves as the New York belles. 



