VOL. XIX. LONDON, FEBRUARY, 1887. No. 2 



COLLECTING AT THE ELECTRIC LIGHT, 1886. ]^ ja^ 



BY HENRY S. SAUNDERS, LONDON, ONT. "^^ JSlf*T' 



On the evening of Saturday, May 22nd, 1886, being the first warm 

 evening after the electric light system was started in London, hmidreds of 

 "electric light bugs" (Camptobrochis grandis) and large green Calosomas 

 (Calosovia scrutator) came into the city, and from that time on through- 

 out the summer, and even as late as Nov, 2nd, the lights continued to 

 attract hundreds of insects every warm evening. 



There are some general points I should like to mention before giving 

 the list in detail : — The lights around which all the collecting was done, 

 were in store windows, or just outside of them, and these were in the 

 centre of the city ; the insects were either on the glass, on the woodwork 

 around it, or on the sidewalk, Moths were taken with a bottle as in 

 sugaring ; beetles taken by hand and put into a separate bottle. Cyanide 

 of potassium I found the best poison ; a few drops of chloroform on cot- 

 ton would quiet them more quickly, but was more troublesome, the 

 chloroform having to be frequently renewed, occasionally as often as four 

 or five times during the same evening, and sometimes even then the 

 moths would be found alive the next mornins:. 



My collecting was all done between 10 and 12 p. m. No lights were 

 lit on Sundays, and I was out of the city from July 24 to Aug. g. 



On very cold nights very few insects would come out ; on cool nights 

 a few moths were always to be found, but seldom any beetles ; on warm 

 nights both beetles and moths were plentiful. Beetles were very plentiful 

 only on the warmest evenings. 



Often on wet evenings the Sphingidte would be plentiful when there 

 was scarcely anything else out. 



My record of dates is very incomplete, as I had no idea while collect- 

 ing of publishing them in this way. 



There are about 35 Lepidoptera and 5 Coleoptera that I have not sue- 



