XVI. On a Frohahle Exjplanation of an Unverified 
Ohservation relative to the Family Fulgorida3. 
By William Lucas Distant, F.E.S. 
[Read May 1st, 1895.] 
In the early years of the last century Madame Maria 
Sibilla Merian, in her large folio work, " Metamorphosis 
Insectorum Surinamensium/^ described in a very lucid 
and definite manner an observation she had made on 
the luminous properties of the large Surinam Lantern-fly, 
which has been generally known in entomological science 
as Fulgora laternaria.^ The Indians had brought her 
several of these insects, which by daylight exhibited no 
extraordinary appearance, and which she had enclosed 
in a box until she should have an opportunity of drawing 
them. In the middle of the night the confined insects 
made such a noise as to awake her, and on opening the 
box, to her great astonishment the inside seemed to be 
in a blaze, which caused her in fright to drop the same, 
when she was no less surprised to see each of the 
escaped insects apparently on fire. She added that the 
light emitted from one of these insects was sufficiently 
bright to enable her to read a newspaper. 
All we know of Madame Merian proves her to be a 
disinterested and truthful observer, and yet scarcely any 
other entomological record has been so consistently 
controverted by such an amount of negative evidence 
contributed by excellent authorities. Inhabitants of 
Cayenne have denied that the insect possesses luminous 
properties,t as did also M. Richard, who reared the 
species. J Count Hofi'mansegg, on the authority of his 
* I here use this well-known name, but the species does not 
really belong to the genus Fulgora, as I have shown, with a synopsis 
of the described species, in my contribution on Homoptera to 
Godinan and Salvin's " Biologia Centrali Americana," a publication 
to which I cannot now refer while writing in the Transvaal. 
t " Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle." 
J " Encyclopedie." art. Fulgora." 
TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1895. — PART IV, (dEC.) 28 
