Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-05
FIREFLIEs FROM CUBA,
experimenting With the Light That They
Give, the Cheapest in the World.

o. NE and chemists and physicists have sought
in vain to explain its origin. On each side Of
spot and these fash at intervals, SO that the
Cubans put dozen of the insects in q cage to-
gether and 80 obtain continuous illumination
bright enough to read by. This
light ia accompanied by no perceptible
heat and is seemingly produced with
almost no expenditure of energy. How great
an improvement it represents upon all known
artificial lights can be imagined when it is
stated that in cand,elight, lamplight or gas
light the waste is more than IS per cent. In
other words, if they could be SO obtained as
not to throw anything away, they would give
nearly 100 times the illumination which they
do afford Even the electric light is mostly
waste.
A specimen Of the Hercules beetle'is ex-
posed as a curiosity in a shop window on 10th
street. 1t comes from Africa and is exactly six
inches i'll length. The head and horns alone
measure four inches and resemble huge black
crab claw. Though seemingly pair OF very
formidable nippers, with sharp teeth for biting,
these horns are in reality merley for ornament.
They are made Of chitine, one OF the most en-
during substances in the world, which in many
fossllized insects Is found to have outlasted the
ages smaller cousin OF this crea-
ture, known as the 'Ehlnoceros beetle,
is about two inches long and is plentifully
found in many parts Of the south. 1t is chiefly
celebrated for its offensive smell. which has at
times rendered Raleigh, n. c., and other towns
almost uninhabitable, necessitating action by
the health authorities. The animal lives in
decaying logs and stumps, feeding upon rot
ting wood.
There are many kinds Of beetles in the
United States which good for the pur-
pose OF clustering as the Spanish fly, belonging
to the same family with it. One species in and
about Washington preys destructively upon the
petals OF chrysanthemums and asters, but
has the redeeming habit of devouring grass
hoppers eggs. In southern Europe the can
tharldes insects are gathered by shaking
them at night upon sheets from trees on which
they had gone to roost i'll focks. Then they
are exposed in sleeves to the vapor of boiling
vinegar. after which they are dried in the sun
and are ready for sale in the drug shops. The
flesh of all .'bllster beetles contains peculiar
chemical compound called ''csntharidin,"
which burns the skin.
There are many mysterious things about
beetles, said Prof. Howard of the Department
of Agriculture to STAR writer. ''Ihose of
Brazil are famed for their brilliant metallic
hues, yet no one has been able to lind out what
makes these colOrs. Some are of gold, others
of silver, yet others of blue enamel seemingly
and SO on throug b an endless variety of tints
One variety is called the diamond
beetle" because it is covered with
minute points which reflect the
light. Their use for jewelry is familiar.
They are employed for trimming dresses and
sometimes particularly fine one is kept
Of the wearer, attached by slender chain.
The sacred scarab or beetle of Egyptwas the
tumble bug which forms bits of manure into
ball for laying its eggs in. Two individuals,
male and female, always roll the ball together,
and they do this merely for the purpose of con-
yeying it to a safe place and hdinglt. This in
sect was regarded as a symbol OF the Creator
among the Hindoos, from whom the idea
passed into Egypt The ball was imagined to
represent the world, because it was round, and
was supposed to be rolled from sunrise to sun
set. Even at this day Egyptian women who de-
sire children eat the beetles for that end.
There are many gigantic insects of which no
specimens seen In this latitude. In the
tropics such creatures grow much bigger. and
there is hardly group OF them known to the
naturalist which does not have giant representa-
tives In the torridzo ne. doubtless the warmth
Of those regions, which produces luxuriance in
vegetable life, has similarly favorable effects
upon certain branches Of the animal Kingdom.
AZ all events, snakes In general aAd various
species Of bugs in particular seem to profit. by
it.
in the tropics are found many kinds OF
great hairy spiders. some of which have a
spread of legs that will cover a tea plate. One
OF these unpleasant creatures will sometimes
weigh as much as half pound Thoy are
all called ''tarantulas" although the real tarun-
tula is an insect only found in southern Europe,
where 30 many superstitiOns respecting it pre-
vail. Most Of the big spiders Of the new world
are of the sort which build nests with
trap doors, lining a hole dug in the ground
with silk, fitting it with a door so
artfully made. az to hinge, beveled edge and
spring. that it is almost impossible to detect
the fact that there Is an opening. and In some
cases actually planting seeds ON this dainty
portal apparently for the purpose of conceal
ing it with growing plants. Some of the
have been known to capture good-sized fishes,
lying in wait for them at the border of
stream.
In South America there are giant grasshop-
pers with bodies five inches long and a wing
spread Of ten inches. Owing to the fact that
they are not very numerous these formidable
insects do not do much damage. Nearly every
one has seen the curious walking sticks so
called which resemble twigs SO closely that il
is difficult to realize that they are living ami
mails Members Of this family in the tropics
grow to u length Of eleven inches There are
tropical cockroaches four inches long, with
antenns to correspond, which readily become
domesticated in houses. tropical moth
called the atlas moth has a wing-spread of
one foot 1t is gray in color and flies by night
There are most beautiful butterflies in the
Malay Archipelago of an exquisite blue and
other irridescent hues, which measure nine
inches from wing tip to wing tip. In South
America there is a beetle even bigger than the
Hercules beetle. 1t is over a foot long, legs
and all, though Its body is not 80 heavy"
From Washington south the .'doodlebuR" II
notorious. 1t is the larva Of a beetle-a erub
with long jawr, which makes its home in a
little hole. fastening itself at the mouth with
two spines on its back. There it lies in wait for
ants and other small insects to tumble in. when
it gobbles them up. Boys when they find one
OF these burrows poke a straw in singing a
ryhme that begins 'doodlebug, doodlebug."
upon which the doodlebug grabs the straw and
is pulled out There is another curious kind OF
beetle known as the grave digger" A number
Of individuals will gather about dead mouse
on the ground and dig the earth from beneath
it until the cavity is big enough to conceal il.
after which they cover the animal carefully
over and use the decaying body to lay their
eggs in
A Lady's Visit to the italian Queen.
From Modern Society.