HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



169 



LEPIDOPTERISTS' WORK FOR AUGUST. 



By W. FINCH, Jun. 



Y first duty this 

 month must be to 

 thank those of my 

 readers who have 

 • so kindly written 

 to me, expressing 

 approbation of my 

 former papers. To 

 such I would say 

 that they must 

 please to be content 

 with this acknow- 

 ledgment, as I could 

 not possibly under- 

 take to answer each 

 one of so many 

 separately by post. 

 This month the 

 lepidopterist will be 

 able, and indeed 

 obliged, to use all 

 means and appliances noted heretofore for the capture 

 of specimens. Care must be taken to keep the col- 

 lecting-box damp this hot weather, or the specimens 

 will require " relaxing " by the time home is reached. 

 This is a splendid time for the capture of butterflies ; 

 bright, hot sunshine, after showers and light rains, 

 bringing out the fragrance of the flowers. In the 

 clover and lucerne fields myriads of insects of all 

 orders will, as a rule, be found. Nothing, however, 

 is worse than clover and lucerne for retaining the 

 wet. Care must therefore be taken not to get a 

 deathly chill whilst chasing insects in these latter 

 fields. In case of excessive thirst, the leaves of the 

 common sorrel will be found very refreshing if chewed. 

 Many ova may now be found, especially those of 

 butterflies. The opportunity for securing them should 

 not be lost, for very few will be found in the succeed- 

 ing months of the year. Where the food-plant of a 

 species is abundant, and the insects are known to 

 frequent that locality, conspicuous sprays of the food- 

 plant may be gathered and conveyed home to be 

 examined at leisure and with the aid of a magnifying 

 No. 260. — August 1886. 



glass ; some eggs are so small as to make this plan 

 absolutely necessary to procure them. 



Whilst on this subject, I wish to call the attention 

 of my readers to an interesting fact in connection 

 with the pairing of insects. Those which will not 

 pair under any circumstances indoors will frequently 

 do so immediately on being placed in the open air. 

 Try this plan with an obstinate pair of insects, and 

 the result will astonish you. 



Larvae will be found in plenty by day and night, 

 modes of capture as previously recorded. Some 

 larva; — notably D. vinula and A. iris — are very 

 persistent in clinging to their food-plant ; these will 

 require a long-continued shaking before they can be 

 dislodged. In event of larvae being picked off the 

 food-plants, be careful not to handle the larvae them- 

 selves ; always break or cut off the twig or leaf on 

 which they are reposing. Never handle larvae on any 

 account ; in giving fresh food always place it beside 

 the old, when they will quickly transfer themselves 

 to the fresh, and the old stuff maybe readily removed. 

 Many larvae taken this month will be noticed to feed 

 slowly and in a very deliberate manner. If kept, 

 these will prove to be hybernating larvae. It is often 

 difficult so to preserve the conditions of nature 

 throughout the winter as to keep these larvae in 

 health. They frequently die, refusing all food in a 

 most obstinate manner. Of these larvae I will merely 

 mention those of the fox-moth (B. rubi), which are 

 exceedingly handsome and well worth preserving. I 

 have found them in great numbers on the Lincolnshire 

 coast, close to the sea, feeding on brambles, etc. 

 Yet, strange to say, I have never yet seen the cocoon 

 or perfect insect there. If any of my readers possess 

 a refrigerator they will be able to keep these larvae 

 throughout the winter by placing them therein ; 

 they hybernate "full fed," and spin up almost 

 immediately upon emergence from the lethargic state. 

 Judging from those I have kept, however, I should 

 say that they are the favourite victims of the various 

 Ichneumons. 



With regard to these latter insects, they should be 

 carefully preserved, and placed side by side with the 



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