The Opelousas courier., 1903-08-22

. @ high in air. sending a def
{E mite message to the engi.
~G~ neer several hundred yards
away; the keeper of a lighthouse on a
dangerous shore; the man who flashes
from ship to ship or from ship to land
/ beam of light, all afford interesting
examples of the adaptation by man of
| remarkable signal language possessed
md employed by many animate that
Are yo~iceless o.. without other means
Of commklnicatiof That this language
will ever be translated or perfectly
understood is very doubEfG,,, but the
tact that it is a language is sufficiently
remarkable to those familiar with it
and who have watched the marvellous
signals flashed across field and pasture
n the lands where the lightgivers
live.
That light is a signal the doubter
can easily determine by taking n Of
the large. beetles so common in the
South and holding it up to an open
window at night, when the signal will
be answered by some free l~ightgiver,
who responds to the call and hovers
about with brilliant illumination. Re-
Gently the writer watched the brilliant
luminous beetles in Texas. AS night
came on and the darkness became more
intense, flashes Of light appeared here
and there, like diamonds against a
black sky, then as meteors flashing
across the field Of vision, followed by
others, until q veritable rain Of fire
appeared as a swarm of lightgivers
1arted in a given direction. 1t occurred
to some n to capture n OF these
Iightgivers, and, as previously de-
scribed, expose it before an open win
dow, as one would hold a lantern. 1t
was not long before the signal was an
swered; another lightgiver from out of
the darkness few toward it, demon
strating beyond question that the in
sect had signaled and had been an
swered.
The nature Of these signals or fash
lights is not well understood, but In
variety, color. and power they are re-
marka BILE. There are over fourteen
different species of Lampyrus which
possess this language Of light, found
in the Southern States, on the Islands
of Cuba, Jamaica and Santo Domingo,
especially the latter, in all their beau
ty. Some appear to give a permanent
light; in others, it is fitful, all phases of
change being observed. In these in
sects the light is situated in the last
segments, and it is SO powerful that
when it Is turned on at full pres
sure" the entire surface appears to be
illumined, a blaze Of light. The lights
differ in color. One beetle flashes q
CLEAN Of rich orange when flying, but
under artificial light it appears to be
yellow. This is not constant, but in
termittent like the flash Of a light
house. In n known as Photuris
versicolor the light is a remarkable
of some lighthouses.
It appears as a minute spot, increas-
ing gradually In volume and beauty,
until 1t bursts forth in all its splendor
to gradually fade away and disappear,
being entirely under the control Of the
insect. This light is a brilliant green,
and that it conveys some meaning is
well shown by experiments, in which
the light was responded to by other
individuals. 1t might be assumed that
the lights are possessed by the male
alone, but such Is not the case, both
sexes having them. In some the light |
emitting organs are larger in the male |
than in the female. Thus in the one
as Photinus the light appears
cover all the lower or ventra1 seq
ments, from the fourth to fifth inclu-
In the n known as Lampyre
light In the female appears to be
while in the male 1t is variable. |
and at its full development a splendid
green light.
The larva or imperfect form Of some
Of these insects is remarkable for its |
n having ~three-one upon the
head, n at the tail, and the third at
The base Of the head and prothorax-so
that from any position the little crea-
5ure could exhibit its signal. There is
also a difference in the time of ex-
suggesting the heliograph
which flashes Its signals. An observer
counted the flashes of Luciola and
'ound that there were thirty-six a min
lite, each flash lasting about o%ne-fourth1
If a second.
The insect collectors OF Vera Cruz un-
ierstand 81 well that the lights are
signals that they employ light to cap
ure the beetles. A burning coal is
'astened to the end of a long stick,
which they wave to and fro, In d shortl
ime attracting the fire flies, which are
'asily caught in a hand net. The larg-
st Of these lightgivers is Pyrophorus,
md those observed by the writer emit
ed a wonderful green light, SO vivid
hat by holding it close to printed mat
er the latter could be read. The sig
lals or lights are yellow spots Just
'ack of the eyes, while another light
Jeans from the first abdominal seq
nent. Even the eggs of this insect are
luminous, emitting a blush light. That
he light has a definite meaning as a
ign language of nature lis shown by
is almost universal presence among a
arge number of animals which cannot
liter sounds. A certain centipede,
ften caught by the writer, has a light
t its head and one at the tail which
lean like emera1ds. The insect is al
nost invisible to the naked eye, yet SO
is the light emitted by several
hat the writer would almost think
nat the grass where they lie was aire.