Marvels of the Universe 



79 



The Glov 



IH. Main, F.E.S. 

 EGGS OF THE GLOW-WORM. 



■^vorm's eggs, here shown eight times larger than the 

 natural size, are luminous lilte the parent. 



in 1873, entitled " A Catechism of Zoology," 

 written bj- the Rev. J. F. Blake, M.A., etc., 

 contains some useful particulars about the 

 Polycystins, in the form of question and 

 answer : 



" Describe the Polycjstina ? 



" They form beautiful, siliceous shells, 

 covered \%'ith large openings, out of which 

 their straight pseudopodia are put, and often 

 having spines and other ornaments. 



" \Miy are they so called ? 



" Because many of them have two or more 

 shells, one inside another. 



" How are they distinguished from the 

 Foraminifera ? 



" Their shells are siliceous and not calcareous. Their openings, or foramina, are larger and their 

 pseudopodia are straight and thick, instead of being thin and interlacing." 



We give one more quotation from Haeckel, which is the wish of all lovers of Nature. It is the 

 final sentence in the preface to his great work on the Radiolaria : 



" May it be the means of inducing many naturalists to study more deeply this inexhaustible 

 kingdom of microscopic life, whose endless variety of wonder- 

 ful forms justifies the ' Natura in minimis maxima. 



THE GLOW-WORM AND ITS LIGHT 



BY EDW.ARD STEP, F.L.S. 



The word " worm " is one of the most abused terms in our 

 language. With our forefathers, snakes were worms, and they 

 appear to have apphed the word also to any creeping thing 

 that was long and more or less cylindrical. Thus, among 

 caterpillars we have " silk-worm," " palmer-worm," and 

 similar designations. The Glow-worm is neither a caterpillar, 

 a serpent, nor a worm, properly so-called, but a beetle. It 

 is true that the female, which alone has any considerable 

 power in her glow-light, has little resemblance to the majority 

 of beetles, she being withoiit the pair of wings and the horny 

 wing-covers that are the predominant badge of the beetle 

 tribe. 



It is certain that few of those who have half-admiringly, 

 half-fearfully, watched the weird greenish light showing 

 among the herbage of the hedge-bank on summer evenings, 

 have been bold enough to take up the little light-bearer and 

 examine it. Even of those who have done so, the percentage 

 is very small who have ever seen the Glow-beetle, to give the 

 male a distinctive name. Yet, in those districts where the 

 female, or her light, is frequently seen, it is not difficult to 

 make acquaintance with the male. An open window and a 

 light inside is the only preparation needed. Mr. Glow-worm 



l'lu,lo l.u] [II. Main, F.IS.S. 



GLOW-WORM GRUB. 



The grub or larva which issues from the 

 Glow-vt'orm's eggs is here shown about four 

 times larger tfan the actual size. It also 

 ^ives off light. 



