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.