The New International Encyclopædia/Railway Beetle

RAILWAY BEETLE. A curious beetle of the family Malacodermidæ and probably of the tribe Phengodini, the female of which is worm-like or larviform, and which is said to give out a strong red light from the two extremities and a green light from numerous points along the sides of the body, giving it the appearance of a miniature railway train. These beetles occur not infrequently in parts of South America, and the name originated apparently in Paraguay. In the United States very rare representatives of the genera Phengodes and Zarhipis have similar larviform luminous females. Compare Luminosity of Animals.