V.—The Lampyridae of Borneo. By Ernest 
Olivier, Correspondent of the Museum d’His- 
toire Naturelle de Paris. 
The Lampyrids are beetles belonging to the family 
Malacodermata, near allies of the Lycids and Telephorids ; 
they are particularly remarkable for the marvellous power 
they possess of emitting a more or less intense light. This 
singular property has from the earliest times attracted 
man’s attention, as witness their common names in every 
country—Glow-Worms, Shine-Worms, Lighting-Bugs, Fire- 
Flies, Vers-Luisants, Mouches de Feu, Lucioles, Lucier- 
nega, Fuogola, Liegthmugh, Gliihwurmers, Leuchtkafers, 
Lampyris. 
There are a great number of species, which are found in 
all parts of the earth, except in extreme Arctic regions. 
These insects are nocturnal or crepuscular in their 
habits, appearing only after sunset; in the day-time they 
stay hidden under mosses, bark of trees, or in decaying 
vegetation. 
The males are always more numerous and more active 
than the females. In flight they produce a phosphorescent 
light at regular intervals; that is to say, the flash which 
they emit only lasts an instant, is extinguished, and re¬ 
appears an instant after, the whole phenomenon occupying 
from half a second to a second. When they have finished 
their movements, they retire to their hiding-place for the 
day and become invisible, or, at least, very hard to find. 
The females, which have wings fully developed, can readily 
fly, but they are heavy bodied and are rarely seen in flight, 
preferring to creep to the tips of blades of grass, upper 
edges of leaves, rocks, &e., where they remain until mated, 
brightly shining, awaiting the approach of the males, who 
run about near them in crowds. 
Sar Mus. Journ., No. 3,1913. 
