256 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



THL "ART" OF COLLECTING CATOCALA. 



BY H. SCHWARZ, St. Louis, Mo. 



I suppose almost every collector of Lepidoptera has more or 

 less made the acquaintance of collecting Catocala, and found it 

 to be a most vexing task, owing to the difficulties involved in 

 the undertaking. 



I have tried various methods. One is that of spearing them 

 with a bow and arrow, only that 1 used the weapon on a small 

 scale. It is made of a Mallow twig about eight inches long and 

 three- fourths of an inch in diameter. This is hollowed out 

 and a stick to fit the inside (one inch longer than the hollow 

 one) is supplied. Three needles are then inserted into one end 

 of the stick in a triangular form and so that their pointed ends 

 are outward. A stout wire about three inches long is then fas- 

 tened about three and one-half inches from one end of the hollow 

 piece in such a manner that about one inch of wire will extend 

 from each side of the wood. A medium-sized rubber is then 

 fastened one end to each of the extending wires so that it will 

 lay over the hollow piece without being expanded. Xow insert 

 the stick (the one holding the needles) into the hollow one and 

 your gun is ready for action. This instrument has a great 

 drawback, owing to the experience needed to operate it. A 

 novice AAdll invariably either damage the specimen, so as to 

 render it unfit for the cabinet, or miss his would-be captive 

 altogether ; probably the latter. 



Another method is " the cyanide bottle." This is very 

 simple, but more profitable than the preceding. The speci- 

 men must be approached with extreme care and the bottle 

 placed over it with great dexterity. The last but most satis- 

 factory method is collecting with the net. A little practice 

 will enable the collector to secure his prize almost every time 

 a hit is made ; at least such was my experience. 



As it may also be of interest to beginners in the " art" of 

 collecting Catocala to know how this is done to the best ad- 

 vantage, I will here give a description. During the months 

 of June, July and August the Catocala-hunter of this section 

 will find his game in dark, moist places, heavily timbered 

 with oak, elm and other rough-barked trees. Owing to the 

 similar coloration of the forewings (primaries) iu the genus 



