Evening star., 1932-07-30
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES f. TRACEWELL.

Four garden insects add to the inter-
est of the yard at this time of year.
Fireflies take first place, not only as
annual novelties, but also for their
sheer picturesque effect.
Although they are familiar to every
one, these bits of luminosity are COM
monty disregarded
Many a man or woman who enjoys
the garden fails to find anything OF
which dance over the lawn Just at dusk.
and for hours afterward.
It is just another case, evidently. OF
the common being overlooked. or left
to the merry interest Of those wiser OBJ
servers, the children.
On certain evenings, however. the
fireflies compel attention, owing to
their numbers and the peculiar bril-
lance of their flashings.
Their habit of making lights out OF
themselves Is a curious provision of
Nature. 1t is said that if mankind
could do as well, he could save mill
lions of dollars annually in electricity
which goes up as heat, rather than
light.
Firef1ies ordinarily begin to light up
before dark, like little boys who cannot
wait for true darkness on the evening
of July f. but must set off their spark
lers and the like while it is yet light.
And it is true that, as far as the
human observer is concerned. there is
period just as darkness comes on
wherein the living fireworks of these
curious "fiies" are best observed.
Then the insects themselves may be
seen as they fit in dipping flight across
the yard, displaying their lights to their
loves. and having high old time in a
quiet, insect way.
A FREELY might call its lady love its
eight of love- more truthfully than
any other creature, for the lights OF
these beetles are believed to facilitate
their love trysts. Both males and fe-
male have the power of emitting these
flashes of light.
Hence, as the observer looks out over
the darkening lawn and sees the tiny
flashes of real light, now here. now
there, he may rightly feel that he Is
viewing one of Natures first play
grounds.
Utterly aside from these biological
aspects, however, the firefiies make
sheer lighting display, which is always
interesting, owing to the inability OF the
observer to predict just where the next
light will show.
stinct might evolve a pretty game with
firef1ies, after dividing a lawn into
sectors, roughly named East, West
North and South.
The idea of this game would be to
predict off-hand. and of course in ad-
vance, the sector in which the next
FREELY would do his stuff"
A showing of several beetles at one
time would be settled, necessarily, by
rules drawn up in advance, so that
there need not be any wrangling on
that score.
If money changed hands instantly
as the lights flashed, much amuse-
ment would be added, to say nothing
of confusion, which always adds tC
such things.
In the meantime, the fireflies, al
innocent of this queer human sport
would be flying hither and yon, light
Ing up with that glow which is at
once the wonder and despair of scien-
lists.
1t is said that in certain South
American countries a large number OF
fireflieS are confined in a cage, and
this set up on the porch in the eve
ming as a luminous point of interest.
American children do something oi
the same sort by catching them and
inserting them into empty fruit jars
A better cage might be made of old
wire screening. with a door opening at
the back.
These luminous beetles are entirely
harmless to the garden; In fact, dc
some good, perhaps, and are among
the few insects which the average
human being is willing to regard as
clean.
A second easily overlooked guest OF
the garden at this time of year is any