[47] COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS RILEY. 



of the log and upon the particular kind of wood. If the decay is very much ad- 

 vanced neither the loose bark nor the interior of the log will harbor many Coleop- 

 tera excepting a multitude of Passalus cornutus and its larva?. If the decay is less 

 advanced, but if such log is exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, it will be far 

 less productive than a log in a shady situation. The investigation of the bark of a 

 favorably situated log in the right stage of decay does not need any special instruc- 

 tion, but the decayed wood itself should be pried off with a chisel or trowel, put in 

 the seive and sifted oil the collecting cloth. This is the best way of obtaining the 

 numerous species of rare Micro-coleoptera of various families that inhabit such 

 places. A " red rotten " oak or beech log is more favorable for this mode of col- 

 lecting than a " white rotten" of the same or other kinds of trees. 



Collecting in dying or dead Trees. Dying or dead trees almost always harbor a large 

 number of Coleoptera and offer an excellent collecting opportunity until the wood 

 becomes thoroughly dry, which usually takes place in large trees two or three years 

 after the death of the tree, and in less time with smaller ones. The bark of such 

 trees is the best collecting place for Cucujidre, Colydiidse, Scolytidie, Histerida?, etc., 

 and it will be found that the shady side of the tree is more profitable than the side 

 exposed to the sun. The numerous Buprestidae, Elateridse, Ptinidse, Cerauibycidae, 

 Melaudryida?, etc., which breed in the wood can be obtained only with difficulty. 

 Some specimens may be cut out from their holes by a skillful use of the knife or 

 hatchet; others (especially the Buprestidae) may be found resting on or crawling 

 over the trunk in the bright sunshine, while the more nocturnal species may be 

 found on the tree toward evening or after dark, when, of course, a lantern must 

 be used. A large proportion of the species living in the trunks of dead trees also 

 breed in the dead branches of otherwise healthy trees from which they can be beaten 

 into the umbrella, or where the use of the knife is more practicable than in the large 

 trunks. The trunks of freshly felled trees attract numbers of Cerambycida? and 

 Buprestidse and have to be carefully looked over, while the drying foliage of such 

 trees affords an excellent opportunity for the use of the umbrella. 



Seating liring Trees, Shrubs, and Fines. The success of beating into the um- 

 brella branches of living trees and shrubs depends on the particular kind of tree 

 or shrub, on the condition and situation of these, and largely also upon the season. 

 Pine trees are very productive from early in the spring to early in the summer, but 

 much less so in midsummer and later on. Young Oak trees or Oak shrubs are much 

 more preferred by the leaf-eating Coleoptera peculiar to this tree than the older 

 trees. The Beech, which, next to the Oak, is the best tree for wood-boring species, 

 harbors but few leaf-eating species. The leaves of the Chestnut are also generally 

 not attacked by Coleoptera; still a surprising number of species can be beaten from 

 this tree when it is in blossom. There is not a single species of Coleoptera known to 

 live in the wood or to feed on the leaves of the Holly (Ilex glabra) ; still it will pay 

 the Coleopterist to beat this tree when it is in bloom. Trees, shrubs, and vines in 

 the interior of unbroken forest districts are, as a rule, unproductive, Avhile the edges 

 of the woods, narrow strips of hedges, and especially solitary trees are excellent 

 collecting places. In the Rocky Mountains, especially in the more southern sec- 

 tions, long stretches of mountain slopes are occasionally perfectly bare of vegetation 

 with the exception of a few solitary, sickly-looking, and dwarfed trees, but every 

 oue of these is a veritable gold mine to the Coleopterist with his umbrella. 



Sweeping. The use of the beating net continues profitable from spring till fall, a 

 different set of species appearing with each season. Low and swampy meadows, 

 meadows on the slopes of mountains or surrounded by woods, low underbrush, and 

 herbage in smaller patches of woods are very good beating grounds. Dry and sandy 

 meadows are less productive, but harbor usually a different set of species on account 

 of the difference in the flora. Pastures and meadows much frequented by cattle and 

 horses are much less productive, and where a large number of sheep are kept there 

 is usually no chance for using the beating net, since neither grass nor specimens are 



