HxiRDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



121 



COLLECTING AND PEESEEVING. 



No. V— BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



By Dr. Kxaggs. 



HE collector of 

 Lepictopt er a 

 ^ho aspires to 

 success must 

 lead the book of 

 nature as lie 

 runs. If he have 

 not the wit to 

 to account each 

 little fact which may come un- 

 der his observation, neither he 

 nor science will be the better 

 for his collecting. He should, 

 whenever he makes a capture, 

 I'now the reason ichy, or he will 

 never make a successful hunter. 

 He should be ever on the alert, 

 his motto, nunq^iiam clormio. 



Some collect for profit, 

 others for pastime ; but the aim 

 of our readers, I take it, is not only to acquire a 

 collection of really good specimens, but also at the 

 same time to improve their minds ; and the best way 

 of effecting this purpose is to hunt the perfect 

 insect, not so much for itself as for the sake of the 

 golden eggs, which, with proper care and attention, 

 wi!l in due course yield the most satisfactory results 

 in tl'.e shape of bred specimens. 



This being the case, and space being limited, it 

 seems best to simply touch upon the preliminary 

 stages of insect existence, pointing out as we go 

 those methods of collecting and preserving which 

 experience has shown to be the most successful. 



There can be no doubt but that egg- hunting is a 

 very profitable occupation, and far more remunera- 

 tive than mo&t people dream of, particularly as a 

 means of acquiring the Sphinges, Bombyces, and 

 Pseudo-bombyces. Eggs, speaking generally, are 

 to be found on the plants to which the various 

 species are attached; and a knowledge of the time 

 during which the species remains ia the esg state, 

 Mo. 90. 



as well as the appearance of the eggs as deposited 

 in nature, should if possible be acquired previous to 

 proceeding to hunt. The most practical way of as- 

 certaining the food and time is to watch the parent 

 insect in the act of depositing her ova ; but when 

 the plant has been thus discovered, the best way is 

 to capture her, and induce her to lay at our homo. 

 Vriien eggs are inconspicnous, of small dimensions, 

 or aitfully concealed, the use of a magnify ing-glass 

 is invaluable. 



Eggs may be preserved by plunging them in boil- 

 ing water or piercing them with a very fine needle, 

 or they may have their contents squeezed out and 

 be refilled by means of a fine blowpipe, with some 

 coagulable tinted fluid ; but the shells themselves, 

 after the escape of the larva?, form, when mounted, 

 beautiful objects for the microscope. 



The three most successful plans of obtaining cater- 

 pillars are searching, beating, and sweeping. The 

 first requires good eyesight and a certain amount of 

 preparatory knowledge ; the others are a sort of 

 happy-go-lucky way of collecting, useful enough and 

 profitable in their way, but affording a very limited 

 scope for the exercise of the wits. In searching for 

 larva?, the chief thing is to observe the indications 

 of their presence. A mutilated leaf, a roughened 

 bark, a tumid twig, a sickly plant, an unexpanded 

 bud, an abortive flower, or a windfall fruit, should 

 at once set us thirking as to the cause; or, agair, 

 the webs, the silken threads, the burrowings and 

 trails, or the cast-off skins of larva;, may first call 

 our attention to tlieir proximity. Of course, larvse 

 may be found on almost all plants, as well as in the 

 bark, stems, or wood of many; but the collector 

 should fortify himself with a knowledge of what 

 each plant is likely lo produce, and hunt accord- 

 ingly; for though indiscriminate collecting may 

 sometimes be successful, it does not tend to improve 

 the intellectual powers. 



Beating is the more applicable method of working 

 trees and bushes. It is carried out by jarring the 



