THE INTEREST IN INSECTS 



291 



Some of them, like the ladybugs, re- 

 quire only a short time to go through 

 the different changes, so that there 

 may be two broods in one year ; others 

 (some buck beetles) need from three 

 to four years to reach the mature form. 

 As perfect insects their life is gener- 

 ally short, most of them dying- after 

 they have mated and laid their eggs. 



The season for collecting is from 

 April till November, but certain bee- 

 tles go into winter quarters in their 

 perfect state and lay their eggs in the 

 spring. These can be secured during 

 the winter months. 



The boxes intended to hold the col- 

 lection should be well made, so that 



ounce, wide-mouthed bottle with a few 

 pieces of cyanide of potassium at the 

 bottom, covered with plaster of paris. 

 The bottle is then filled with strips of 

 white paper, to absorb the moisture 

 and to keep the beetles from mutilat- 

 ing one another. The paper must be 

 changed occasionally. The cyanide will 

 be effective for a year. Those who do 

 not care to handle this deadly poison 

 may substitute alcohol. There are 

 only a few beetles (Livus) that will be 

 injured by coming in contact with 

 liquids. 



The net is made of cheese cloth. Fold- 

 ing net frames may be had at sporting 

 goods stores. They are intended for 







*^Bfc» 



ROADSIDES ARE ATTRACTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE COLLECTING PLACES. 



no dust nor insects can find access to 

 them, fourteen by eighteen inches and 

 three inches high (with cover on) and 

 with either wooden or glass tops. The 

 bottom is covered with cork or peat 

 one-fourth inch thick and the whole 

 lined with white paper. A moth ball 

 should be secured in each corner as a 

 protection from insects. The boxes 

 should be kept in a dry place, as mould 

 will destroy a collection as readily as 

 insects. 



The articles required for collecting- 

 are the poison bottle, an umbrella, a 

 net, a small spade and a white cloth. 



The poison bottle is a two or four- 



fish landing nets. It is an easy matter 

 to reduce them to the proper size. For 

 aquatic beetles use a net made of mos- 

 quito netting. It lets the water 

 through easier. For a spade a bar of 

 steel fifteen by one and one-half by 

 one-quarter inches is required. One 

 end is forged into a spade ; two holes 

 are made in the other end and two 

 pieces of wood, one-quarter of an inch 

 thick, screwed on for a handle. This 

 makes a good instrument for breaking 

 ii]) tree stumps and for lifting bark 

 and moss. A piece of white cloth 

 about four feet square is handy in the 

 woods. Fungi and bark may be broken 



