96 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



are rarely seen. The past season our attention was called to 

 two pale yellowish, rather slender, curled larvae about an inch 

 and a quarter long and resembling in a general way, the more 

 familiar larvae of the snapping beetles, though easily distin- 

 guished therefrom by their luminosity. These larvae, kindly 

 identified by Mr H. G. Barber through the courtesy of Dr 

 Howard, proved to be half grown individuals of the northern 

 form ofPhengodes plumosa Oliv. They were taken 

 by Mr Joseph E. Brown in Fairfield co., Connecticut. This 

 species undoubtedly occurs in New York State. Similar lumin- 

 ous larvae were found in some numbers about Newton Centre, 

 Mass. in June 1873 ^^^ have subsequently been observed from 

 time to time and for the most part were supposed to belong 

 to the genus Melanactes or Asaphes. 



The full grown larva is about an inch and half long and 

 may be at once recognized in the dark at least, by the bright 

 light shining from the spiracles and visible through the mem- 

 branes connecting the dififerent segments of the body. A larger 

 species, P h e n g o d e s 1 a t i c o 1 1 i s Lee. has a larva 2^ 

 inches long which, according to Prof. G. F. Atkinson, pro- 

 duces a brilliant, bluish white light visible both through the 

 spiracles and the membranes connecting the body segments. 

 The male of this form is comparatively insignificant, being only 

 about ^34 of an inch in length. An interesting fact in connec- 

 tion with these insects is that this grublike, luminous form re- 

 mains in this condition when mature, being simply a. wingless, 

 larviform female. These peculiar insects occur in the ground 

 and have been observed about the roots of grasses and under 

 hedges. They come from their retreats at night, at which 

 time they are most likely to be seen. 



A museum pest (Anthrenus verbasci Linn.) . It 

 is well known that this small beetle, easily distinguished from 

 the larger, more brightly colored, red, white and black carpet 

 beetle, Anthrenus scrophulariae Linn, by its dull 

 yellowish and gray, irregular markings, feeds upon a consid- 

 erable variety of dry animal and vegetable substances. Two 

 ears of corn infested by this insect were received April 4, 1902 

 and placed in a two-quart Mason jar and kept tightly closed. 

 There was no moisture aside from that in the somewhat dried 

 corn. Breeding has continued uninterruptedly to June 1910, a 

 period of over eight years. At the end of this time the bottom of 



