85 
Lepidopteron to attribute it. We have at Guanajuato (Santa Rosa mountains) ex- 
actly similar cocoons on the Madreno. These are the nests of Lucheira socialis Westw., 
as I have been able to assure myself. I have only one specimen of this butterfly, of 
which I have been able to breed neither larva nor pupa; but in the month of Decem- 
ber many of these cocoons are brought to Guanajuato as curiosities only, tor they 
serve no useful purpose, though it is possible to write perfectly well on their surface. 
I have felt impelled to give you these details, in order to clear up the obscure point of 
the question. 
A STRANGE STORY. 
Under the caption ‘ Millions of Fire-flies,” the Philadelphia Times 
publishes a strange story, which we reproduce herewith in its entirety. 
Equally startling accounts are of constant occurrence in our daily 
papers, some of them true and many otherwise. Of the former, several 
have received mention in INSECT LIFE, notably in vol. II (p. 477), 
where several cases are cited of insects occurring in such Swarms as to 
cause temporary stoppage of whole railway trains. 
The so-called ‘ fire-flies” are not true flies, but beetles of the family 
Lampyride. They are not known to migrate, andsuch a swarm as here | 
reported and the consequent illumination seem hardly credible. To 
cause such an illumination not millions but billions of the beetles would 
be required. Yet the congregation of these insects in such exceptional 
numbers is not impossible, and we would be glad of any verification of 
this report from any of the readers of INSECT LIFE: 
DUNBAR, August 12. 
This town was a night or two ago treated to a most remarkable and beautiful 
spectacle. Shortly after dusk the people were surprised and puzzled to behold what 
appeared to be a cloud of light come sweeping up from the woods lying back of the 
town, but on reaching the streets it was seen that the light was occasioned by an 
immense swarm of fire-flies. This swarm, numbering millions, dispersed itself 
through the village, illuminating everything with a light more golden than that of 
day, and warmer than the moon’s cold beams. 
People recognized each other without difficulty, and the print of a newspaper 
was to be read with ease. The houses were filled with the darting, flashing insects, 
which seemed to be panic-stricken from some mysterious cause. Lamps were extin- 
guished by the swarms, and carpets ruined by them as they were crushed by the foot, 
while delicate plants and flower beds were destroyed by the weight of the clustering 
flies. 
It took several hours for the swarm to pass through the town, but it slowly disap- 
peared in the direction of the river, lighting the fields as it went, alarming the 
country people as it approached and arousing the cattle and poultry, which seemed 
to mistake it for dawn. Nothing being seen of it next day, and no report of its 
being seen elsewhere having been received, it is believed that it gradually dispersed 
itself over the marshes. Where theinsects came from is also a matter of conjecture, 
as well as the reason of the sudden invasion. On the morning after their visit they 
were found in drifts under the hedges and fences, and against the sides of the 
houses, while quantities of provisions left exposed were destroyed by their presence. 
WAS HE CRAZED BY MOSQUITOES OR BY HEAT? 
In the last issue of INSECT LIFE (vol. III, p. 487) a case was cited of 
a boy having become insane from destroying caterpillars.. The North 
