NOTES AND QUERIES. 



211 



MOLLUSCA. 

 Carnivorous Propensities of a Slug. — On my visiting (June 11th) 

 some traps I had set for Mice, I found a Bank-Vole caught, and 

 feeding on ifc was a large Slug (Limax Havus). It had already devoured 

 a considerable portion of the Vole, having made a round hole about the 

 size of a shilling. This was a surprise to me, as I had no idea Slugs 

 were carnivorous, and had always regarded them as purely vegetarians. 

 — Gordon Dalgliesh (Brook, Witley, Surrey). 



INSEGTA. 



A Remarkable Luminous Insect from Brazil. — The female beetles 

 of the group Phengodini — a group nearly related to our ordinary Glow- 

 worms — are exceptionally interesting, not only on account of their 

 remarkable luminosity, but also from the fact that they retain in adult 

 life all the external features of the larva. Whether the specimen figured 

 here is really a mature female or only a well-grown 

 larva cannot at present be determined. This 

 specimen, by the kindness of Mr. J. Kempthorne, 

 who brought it alive from Manaos, in Brazil, has 

 been recently added to the National Collection, 

 where hitherto the group was represented only by 

 male specimens. It is very nearly 1^ in. long, 

 sparsely covered with hairs, especially at the sides, 

 the general colour pale yellow, slightly brownish 

 on the dorsal segments, with the head and last seg- 

 ment reddish brown ; the eyes, antenna?, and 

 mandibles black. The head and the front part of 

 the first thoracic ring glow on all sides with a red 

 light, like that of a live coal, the light appearing 

 to be concentrated in two centres, one in the head, 

 the other in the thorax. Each succeeding segment, 

 except the last, has a pair of lights, which, in 

 marked contrast with those of the head and prothorax, are of a dis- 

 tinctly green colour, resembling in miniature the green signal-lights 

 used on railways. The possession of lights of two different colours 

 appears to be confined to South American species of the group ; at 

 least, I have not been able to find any reference to the red light in the 

 head in any of the accounts given of North American species. One of 

 the South American forms has been described as having a red light at 

 each end of the body, and a row of green lights along each side. The 

 males are slightly luminous, the luminosity being confined to one or 

 more of the ventral plates of the abdomen. — C. J. Gahan (Brit. Mus.). 



