Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-01-31
Sent0ut
ACan f0r|400
Firef|ieS
Wanted: 10 gross of lightning bugs.
VIII pay cash at rate Of &c ca. Bugs
must be alive. and very fiery. Box
628-B az, La Prensa, Buenos Aires.

rHIs adj which appeared in Argentine
paper several weeks ago, caused considerable
ment and some amusement among American visitors
To South America What earth they reasoned would
anyone want with 44O live and blinking lightning bugs?
Was it prank joke some mysterious code OF AXIS
spies?
have told the ignorant Yanqui reader that ageold
custom of milady's feminine vanity If you please,
coming back into its That is the long forgotten style
OF putting lightning bugs for adoment into the coffures
of the beautiful and fashionable who live in the
continent to the south of
Yes, the "lucienaga' again is in vogue in
cities below Caribbean Seattle same FREELY which
lighted the tresses proud Spanish
those lumined The haIr1os
Of bellies of the jungle long before Columbus
his little caraves from Cadiz
scarcity of diamonds, due TO premium prices
helped resurrect the uceraga decoration tresse
trick which produces living bug fire more brilliant than
the diamond itself to feed the vanity Of the wearer.
The advertisement in the Buenos Aires newspaper
the signal for young boys and girls of the Argentine
TO stay up late at night to catch the nickel
each in order to swell their small earnings
After ALL 1440 firefies would bring someone roughly
II pesos than most youngsters make in
months of delivering newspapers
tive of routes-
of LAO bugs the purchaser had many offered
finally cut the price to two cents each Even In the
lightning bug business the law of supply demand
regulates the tariff and after ALL the glowing
a pershable commodity
What the youngsters possibly the buyer and the
final might known was that they were
following in the footsteps of savages done the
thing for several centuries ladies of Lima
copied the custom century from the uechua Indian
girls and the phospnorcscent little In their
hair when they attended the any other important
social function
Like everything else lightning bugs get tired after
while, and their brliance fades In this
ever to enven the prisoner is
for the lady to rub dainty hands cruelty the eyes of
the bug to make its briiance return a practice
would assuredy be forbidden in the United
the Society for the Prevention Cruelty to Animals would
step IN with njunctons to stop it, even though insects
definitely not animals This make little differ
ence however because Nordic sensibiites undoubtedly
would be shocked.
Just cruel rubbing and torturng the ewes Of the
bugs is the manner in which they imprisoned in the
couture Each bug in this process securely to
single hair and moose is knoted around body by hair
dressers with much they apply artificial eve
lashes to make the real longer.
At first the bug wrgges violently az its delicate
strength will permit then suddenly that struggle
is futile and tries to die Mady however keeps bug
alive by her continuous rubbing of its eyes and the
pathetic martyr to feminine vanity instncvely reacts
with luminous violence until the party the ball the
opera is over and longer needed to attract attention
the dying bug is brushed off for strangest
superstitions about the lightning bug that the
cannot escape being little creatures start
blinking come-on signals in her hair
The American soldier kinder to the lightning
bug than the Lima bellies When American troops
Cuba and Puerto Rico in 1898 them on finding
candles and kerosene actually unobtanahle
some sections, simply mashed up OF firefes
ketchup bottles held the luminous bottles writing
paper and used the torch" penning home This
has been done also by many explorers have found
themselves short of lamps in wilderEesses the
world
and more than lovely Brazilian girl has appeared in
public with literally hundreds insects In her hair
This is especially effective in absolute darkness
movie theatres when the lights are out The head OF such
bug wearer has been known to distract from the
entertainment the that annoyed patrons have
shouted Take off your bugs"