ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 4Q7 



yuccae and which it seemed to be very particular and fastidious 

 in choosing. I noticed it always selected a small and young- 

 plant that grew apart by itself from the larger groups or clumps 

 of yuccae. 



I may add, I continued to hunt and capture specimens until 

 it became too dark to see them, but long after I had returned 

 to camp I could hear them humming around me, proving, 

 beyond doubt, they are as much nocturnal as diurnal in their 

 habits. 



I first discovered strekeri on May 27, 1899, but it was evident 

 they had been out some time prior to that date, the first lot taken 

 being all more or less battered and worn, but the second time I 

 visited the spot, which was a week later, a fresh crop of perfect 

 specimens was then just out. I continued the visits weekly till 

 first week in July ; by that time all had disappeared. I found 

 it difficult to secure perfect specimens after netting them, as 

 once in the net they made a tremendous fight for liberty. In 

 bottling them in the ordinary way while in the net, the method 

 applied to all the Hesperidae, I found useless, as by the time 

 the cyanide had taken effect the specimen was worthless. After 

 experimenting with a number of things for quick killing, I found 

 the most effectual and the method giving the best results, was 

 to have in readiness a small glass syringe charged with sul- 

 phuric ether. By cornering the specimen as quickly as pos- 

 sible the syringe could be used, which instantly gave the speci- 

 men its quietus ; a strongly charged cyanide bottle did the rest. 



It w r as by accident I came across A. streckcri, the first speci- 

 men I secured had been run over by a buggy and was a 9 , it 

 had evidently straj-ed away from its haunts, for it was five 

 miles away from where I afterwards found them in quantities, 

 and only at the one spot. After sending it on to Dr. Skinner 

 for identification, he wrote me, " I had struck a mighty good 

 thing, and that very few collectors had streckcri in their col- 

 lections, and only one 9 was in any collection." 



Such a statement practically proves that A. streckcri is noc- 

 turnal, at least the females are. I never took or saw a male in 

 the evening, and no one I presume ever thought of looking for 

 the species in the evening, hence this accounts for the fact that 



