LANTERN-FLIES.
When Sir Charles Lyell visited this country some years ago, he
expressed much interest in the sea-serpent question; and one of his
first inquiries, when introduced to a certain gentleman, was, “Have you
heard any thing about the sea-serpent?” The reply was, “Unfortunately I
have seen it.”
If Mme. Merian were alive, and a similar question should be propounded
to her regarding the luminosity of the South-American lantern-fly, she
could with propriety make a like response. She makes a definite and
distinct statement concerning the phosphorescence of the _Fulgora
lanternaria_, yet to-day it is declared non-luminous by nearly all
scientists.
It is not our intention to champion the cause of this enthusiastic
naturalist; but to some it would seem that the direct evidence of a
single observer of good repute should have some weight against an
indefinite number who merely failed to corroborate the observation.
In the chapter on luminous plants, an almost similar instance is
given, where for years the direct statement of the daughter of Linnæus
regarding the luminosity of a plant was doubted by scientific men,
until finally a well-known botanist confirmed it. To some it would seem
possible that the _Fulgora_ emits light only at certain times,
and under peculiar conditions; be this as it may, scientific opinion
is entirely against its luminosity, and the light in the figure of
_Fulgora lanternaria_ (Plate XII.) is introduced merely to show
its supposed appearance according to the description of Mme. Merian and
her supporters. The question is so interesting, and so typical of many
that arise, that we introduce the opinions of the various authorities
upon the subject.
The two most interesting species come from China and South
America,--_Fulgora candelaria_ from the former, and _F. lanternaria_
from the latter. The Asiatic species is the smallest, measuring about
two inches in length, and noticeable for the peculiar horn-like
projection on the head, supposed to be the luminous organ. Its colors
are rich and attractive; the head and proboscis, as we may call it,
being a fine reddish brown, apparently dotted here and there with white
specks. The thorax is a deep yellow hue; the body, black above, and
yellow beneath. The wings are still more striking,--the upper pair
dark, with many green reticulations, that divide the entire surface
into many minute squares, yellow spots being scattered here and there;
the under wings are orange with black tips.
The _Fulgora lanternaria_ of South America is nearly three inches
and a half in length from the tip of the head to the extremity of the
tail, and about five inches and a half broad with its wings expanded.
The body is of a lengthened oval shape, sub-cylindric, and divided
into several rings or segments; while the head is distinguished by a
singular prolongation, which sometimes equals the rest of the body in
size. The general color is yellow, variegated with many brown stripes
and spots. The wings are large and powerful; the lower pair ornamented
with a large eye-spot, well shown in the accompanying figure; the iris
or border being red, while the centre is half red and half white,
rendering it a very conspicuous object. The remarkable extension of the
head--or lantern, as it has been called--is pale yellow, ornamented
with longitudinal red stripes. In this projection the luminous property
of the lantern-fly is said to exist.
In Mme. Merian’s work on the insects of Surinam, she says, “The Indians
once brought me, before I knew that they shone at night, a number of
these lantern-flies, which I shut up in a large wooden box. In the
night they made such a noise that I awoke in a fright, and ordered a
light to be brought, not knowing from whence the noise proceeded. As
soon as we found that it came from the box, we opened it, but were
still much more alarmed, and let it fall to the ground in a fright,
_at seeing a flame of fire_ come out of it; and as many animals as
came out, so many flames of fire appeared. When we found this to be the
case, we recovered from our fright, and again collected the insects,
highly admiring their splendid appearance.”
Such a statement naturally attracted attention; and, from its
publication until the present, collectors have endeavored to
substantiate it. Count Hoffmansegg states that his insect collector
Sieber, who was a practical entomologist of thirty years’ experience,
took many specimens of _F. lanternaria_ in Brazil, but never saw one
emit light. The Marquis Spinola, in the annals of the “Entomological
Society of France,” vol. xiii., contends for the luminosity of the
entire tribe. On the other hand, M. Richard succeeded in raising
a species of _Fulgora_, but failed to observe the light; while M.
Westmael assures us that a friend of his observed the luminosity.
John C. Branner, Ph.D., states that when in South America he was often
informed that it was luminous, but never could find any one who had
personally seen the light. Snr. Luiz A. A. de Carvalho, jun., of Rio
de Janeiro, who had fine specimens in his cabinet, assured him that he
knew of no evidence whatever that they produced light. In the article
on phosphorescence in the last edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica,
Mr. William E. Hoyle, F.R.S., of the “Challenger” expedition,
apparently accepts the _Fulgora_ as a light-giver; as he says, “Whilst
the lantern-flies, _Fulgoridæ_, carry their light at the extremity
of a long, curved proboscis.” Professor P. Martin Duncan writes, “It
is doubtful if the _Fulgora_, so often described in books as the
lantern-fly, has a scarlet light, if any at all.”
The _Fulgora_ is not remarkable for its supposed light alone; as in
Brazil, where it is called _Gitiranaboia_, etc., it is considered
by some natives to be extremely deadly. Mr. John C. Branner, of the
Indiana University, investigated the subject, and found that the
natives believed that the long proboscis was the poisonous organ; and
that when this struck any animal, no matter how large or powerful,
the latter immediately dropped dead. Even a distinguished Brazilian
engineer assured Mr. Branner of the truth of the stories, saying that
monkeys were often seen to fall dead from trees along the Amazon,
killed by the deadly _Gitiranaboia_; and a local paper reported
the fact that these insects were destroying cattle in the southern
provinces. At Parà, Mr. Branner was assured that a child died in
great agony after being stung by one. It is needless to say that the
lantern-fly is perfectly harmless, and its poisonous properties as
mythical as modern science deems its light.
Concerning the Chinese and African species, there is the same conflict
of opinion. Dr. Phipson, an eminent authority on phosphorescence,
evidently accepts them as luminous; as, in referring to the proboscis,
he says, “It is from these appendages, the sides of which are
transparent, that the phosphoric light appears;” and in mentioning
_Fulgora candelaria_, he says, without giving his authority, “It is
said, also, that the trunk of a tree covered with numerous individuals
of _F. candelaria_, some in movement, others in repose, presents a very
grand spectacle, impossible to describe, but which may be witnessed
sometimes in China.” Dr. Donovan, in his “Insects of India,” figures
the _Fulgora pyrrhorynchus_; and Phipson states, “It is said to emit
a light of a fine purple color. Donovan evidently had some reason for
believing that they emitted light, as he represents them in the act.”
In “Packard’s Guide,” there occurs the following reference to the light
of an East-African _Fulgora_: “Mr. Caleb Cooke of Salem, who resided
several years in Zanzibar, Africa, told me that the lantern-fly is said
by the natives to be luminous. They state that the long snout lights
up in the night, and in describing it say, its head is like a lamp
(_keetchwa kand-tah_).” According to William Baird, Esq., there is an
edict in China against young ladies keeping lantern-flies. Altogether,
the question is quite in keeping with the mystery that surrounds the
entire subject of animal phosphorescence.
One of the classes into which the insects are divided is termed
_Myriopoda_, from the fact that the individuals which compose it are
supplied with a seemingly endless number of locomotive organs. The
centipedes and millepedes, “hundred” and “thousand legs,” are the
names by which they are most commonly known. The body is long and
cylindrical in the genus _Geophilus_, being made up of from thirty to
two hundred segments, each bearing a pair of short feet. In the Eastern
States _Lithobius Americanus_, Wood., is perhaps the most familiar
form, and often found under old logs.
Some of the centipedes are very poisonous. Such a one is _Scolopendra
heros_, Girard., the poison being stored in two enormous fangs. In
Southern California I have found extremely large specimens of this
genus. In the East Indies _Scolopendra gigantea_, Linn., attains
a length of nine inches, and is a most repulsive appearing creature,
and so dreaded that the most extravagant stories are told as to its
power. A native informed me, who evidently believed his statement, that
a man died near him from having one merely walk over him. The bite is
undoubtedly poisonous, as is that of many of our common spiders; but I
never could find an authentic case where it had resulted fatally.
As hideous as they are in certain parts of South America, a huge
species, which attains a length of a foot, is eaten; the native
children, according to Humboldt, tearing off the heads, and devouring
the remainder with evident enjoyment.
There are about eight hundred species of _Myriapods_, and among them is
one, the _Geophilus electricus_ of Europe, that is positively luminous;
though Phipson, referring to them as _Scolopendræ_, gives two luminous
species, _S. electrica_, Linn., of Europe, and _S. phosphorea_ of
Asia. Specimens of the former, observed in fields at night, have been
compared to minute pieces of red-hot coal, so vivid was the light.
Probably the finest spectacle of the luminosity of these insects was
observed by M. Audouin, at Choissy-le-Roi, near Paris. Noticing a
light upon the ground in a chiccory field, he ordered his man to
turn up the earth, when the scene that followed is described as truly
magnificent. The soil appeared as if it had been sprinkled with molten
gold, the display being intensified if the insects were trodden upon or
rubbed; in the latter case, streaks of light appeared, as if a bit of
phosphorus had been placed upon the hands, the light being distinctly
visible for twenty seconds.
The _Geophilus electricus_ (Plate XIII., Fig. 2) is a small,
inconspicuous insect, about an inch and a half in length, and one
tenth of an inch in diameter. Like others of its kind, it lives in
holes in the ground, and, when discovered, makes off rapidly by the
use of its one hundred and forty legs. The interesting fact that the
luminous secretion could be separated from the insect was originally
noticed by Macartney seventy years ago, who found that the fluid, as
he terms it, could be communicated by the centipede to every portion
of its integument. This author also claims that the insect is only
luminous after exposure to the sun,--a peculiarity that is found in
certain minerals described in a later chapter. The most remarkable
exhibition of the luminosity of these insects has been recorded by Mr.
B. E. Brodhurst, who saw it first twenty paces away, so vivid was its
display. The light looked like moonlight, so bright was it through
the trees. “It was a dark night, warm and sultry. Taking a letter, I
could read it. It resembled an electric light, and proceeded from two
centipedes and their trails. The light illuminated the entire body of
the animal, and seemed to increase its diameter three times. It flashed
along both sides of the creature in sections, there being about six
from head to tail between which the light played. The light behaved
precisely like the electric light; moving, as it were, perpetually in
two streams, one on each side, and yet lighting up the whole body. The
trail extended one and a half feet from each centipede over the grass
and gravel walk, and it had the appearance of illuminated mucus. On
securing one of the creatures for examination, I found, on touching it,
the light was instantly extinguished.” This observer says that this
phenomenon was frequently seen by others about his place.
Mr. Brodhurst continues, “Professor Flower identified the centipede
as _Geophilus subterraneus_. The published descriptions of the
luminous properties of British centipedes differ considerably from
what I observed in this instance; the latter attributing light to the
creatures only when disturbed. I was never able to induce my centipede
to shine while in captivity.”