60 LIVING LIGHTS. 



About the garden, hundreds of the insects were confined 

 in delicate glass globes, which without emitting much light, 

 added to the charm and novelty of the surroundings. 



In Vera Cruz these beetles are so commonly used as toilet 

 ornaments that they form an important article of trade ; 

 and the natives make a business of catching them, and in a 

 way that would seem to show that the lights of insects are 

 their means of recognition. The fire-fly hunters provide 

 themselves witt long sticks, upon the end of which is fas- 

 tened a burning coal. This waved in the air attracts the 

 light-givers, and they are entrapped in a net. They are then 

 placed in a box covered with a wire netting, bathed twice 

 a day in tepid water, and at night fed with sugar-cane. 



The insects utilized in this curious manner are fire-flies, — 

 distinguished from the lightning-bugs by the steady glare 

 they produce. And that the lights of these Elaters, as they 

 are scientifically called, is intense, and of practical value in 

 other ways, we may realize from the statement of Professor 

 Jaeger, who says, " I feel particularly grateful to these little 

 insects, because, during my excursions in St. Domingo, they 

 were frequently the means of saving my life. Often has dark 

 night surrounded me in the midst of a desert forest, or on 

 the mountains, when the little animals were my only guide ; 

 and by their welcome light I have discovered a path for my 

 horse, which has led me safely on my journey." If a number 

 are confined in a glass, they emit sufiicient light to read by. 



It is in the genus Pyrophorus that we find the most 

 remarkable light-givers ; the different species being found 

 principally in tropical America. In Plate XI. Pyrophorus 

 noctilucus, a form common in the West Indies and Brazil, is 

 shown. It ranges from 1.50 to 1.75 inches in length; is a 



