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Show 352 INSECTA. dead. Several, thuR situated, curve their abdomen underneath. They comprise the genus LAMPYRIS, Lin. Antennre closely approximated at base, the head either exposed d prolonged anten· or1 y m· t l1 e manner o f a snout, or for the greaatne r part, or entirely, concealed under the thorax; eyes of the males large and globular; mouth small. Such at·e the characters of a first divi. sian of this tribe, which we will subdivide into those in which nei. ther sex is phosphorescent, and those iu which the females at least are possessed of that faculty. Both sexes of the former are provided with wings, have their head exposed, and frequently narrower and extended anteriorly, or in the form of a snout, and the thorax widen. ed posteriorly with pointed lateral angles. The two or three uJti. mate annuli of their abdomen are destitute of that pale yellowish or whitish tint, that is always found on this part of the body in the true Lampyrides, and which announces their phosphorescence. The ely· tra, in several, widen behind, and are sometimes strongly dilated and rounded posteriorly, in the females particularly. They are densely punctured, and frequently reticulated. LYous, Fab. Oliv.-Cantharis, Lin. We restrict this subgenus to those species of Fabricius, in which the snout is as long as the portion of the head that precedes it, or longer, and the antennre are serrated. The elytra are most commonly dilated, either laterally, or at their posterior extremity, the tlfo sexes differing greatly in this respect, particularly of certain species peculiar to Africa( 1 ). Other species of the same author, but with very short snouts, and whose compressed antennre, sometimes simple, and at others ser· rated or pectinated, have their third joint longer than the preceding one, and in which the intermediate joints of the tarsi have the form of a reversed heart, compose a second subgenus, the DIOTYOPTERA, Lat. In some of the woods in the vicinity of Paris, on the flowers of the Yarrow, and of other plants, we frequently observe the Lycus sanguineus; Lampyris sanguinea, L.; Panz., Faun. In· sect. Germ. XLI, 9. About three lines in length; black; sides ( 1) The Lye. latissimus, ruatratus, proboscideus, &.c., of Fabricius. For the other species, see Schamherr, Synon. Ins., I, pars III, App., where several are described and figured. COLEOPTJ<:l~A. 353 of the thor~x and the. elytra blood-red; elytr~ silky and slightly striated. 1 he larva hves under the bark of the Oak. It is u: near, flattened, and black, the last ring red, resem~ling a plate with two kinds of horns, cylindrical, and, as it were, annulated or articulated, and arcuated inwards. It has six small feet. Lycus rninulus, Fa b.; Panz., Faut?. Insect. Germ., XLI, 2. Smaller; all black, the extremity of the elytra excepted, which is red, and the end of the antennre, which is reddish. Also found in Fr~nce, but in forests of the mountain Fir( 1 ). 0MALrsus, Geoff. Oliv. Fab. No apparent snout; joints of the antennre almost cylind.rical, slightly reduced at base, and the second and third much shorter than the following ones; penultim;:tte joint of t.he tarsi alone in the form of a reversed heart; the others elongated and cylindrical; elytra tolerably solid and firm. 0. suturalis, Fa b.; Oliv., Col. II, 24, 1, 2. Rather more than two lines in length, black, elytra blood-red, the suture excepted. Found in the woods in the vicinity of Paris, and in the forest of Saint-Germain particularly, on the Oaks, in spring(2). The other Lampyrides of our first division are distinguished from the p~eceding ones, not only by the want of a snout, by their head, which, in the males almost entirely occupied by the eyes, is entirely orfor the greater part concealed under a semicircular or square thorax, but also by a very remarkable character, either common to both sexes, or peculiar to the females, that of being phosphorescent, whence the names of glow-worms, fire-flies, &c., given to these Insects. Their body is exu."emely soft, the abdomen partic~larly, which has the appearance of being plaited. The luminous matter occupies the inferior part of the last two or three annuli, which differ in colour from the rest, and are usually yellowish or whitish. The light they diffuse is more or less vivid, and greenish or whitish, like that ~f the different kinds of phosphorus. It seems that they can vary Its action at pleasure, a fact particularly observable wht!n they are s~izcd or held in the hand. They live a long time in vacuum and in dtfferent gases, the nitrous acid, muriatic and sulphurous gases excepted, in which they soon expire. Placed in hydrogen gas, they, 5~1~e.times at least, detonate. They continue to live after the exCiSion ,of this luminous portion of tpeir abdomen, and the' P.art thus ~l) The Lye. reticulatus, bicolor, serraticornis, fasciattt8, aurora, &c. · 2) See En eye. Method., article Omalise. Vo1 .. III.-2 u· |
