THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 139 



put them away in a tin can with log refuse and sawdust, and found a male 

 ash beetle and a dead pupa in July. This beetle, Xyloryctes satyrus (Fab.), 

 is taken under the roots of ash trees, and falls a victim to its curiosity, for 

 if you begin to dig for them they will come out to see what is going on. 

 I took fifteen from one tree in that way. April and May are generally 

 devoted to searching in logs and dead trees for beetles, when many nymphs 

 can be collected, which can generally be hatched out in a week or two. 

 June and July are the great beating months. I have discarded the beating 

 net for the inverted umbrella, and so will any one who has tried both, as 

 beating the low limbs of trees around the edges of wood will yield tenfold 

 the quantity and variety that bush and weed beating will. Woods protected 

 from cattle and hogs, and full of vines and bushes, are best. Little is got 

 by beating in the interior of woods. Insect life swarms along the edges. 

 Examine the trunks of trees, and where flat stones abound scoop out 

 cavities under them, where Cychrus and various caribs may be trapped ; 

 Cychrus are snail-feeders, and some bait traps with snails strung on strings 

 through the shell. The beans of the honey locust yield Spermophagus 

 Robinice ; the fungus puff-ball, Lycopcrdina ferruginea ; all kinds of fungus 

 swarm with beetles, also Staphilinidae. Pselaphidae are taken on the under 

 side of stones, but mostly by sifting around decayed stumps on to a white 

 cloth. Beat wild plum trees and haws when in blossom. Where beetles 

 are found, by carefully replacing stones and bark more may be taken, as 

 their scent remains. I was glad to take a single specimen of that rare 

 and handsome longicorn, Dryobius sexfasciatus, in one season, but in the 

 summer of 1878 I found five under one piece of bark of beech ; so last 

 season, when I found a small colony under bark on a dead maple, I tied 

 the bark on again, and took seventeen more at different visits. Various 

 beetles are also found on fruit and flowers. In closing, I would advise 

 beginners to put small insects on paper slips or wedges, and not pin them 

 with a No. 2 pin, as it cannot be inserted in cork without plyers, and is 

 very liable to buckle. No. 3 enters cork readily, is not too large for paper 

 slips, and about right for larger specimens. Further, do not use Spauld- 

 ing's glue ; it will turn your wedges brown, as it contains a discoloring 

 acid. Make your own liquid glue — better at one-fourth the cost. Dissolve 

 light colored glue or isinglass in the usual way ; then while hot stir in 

 alcohol, or a light colored, strained vinegar, till it is thin enough, and 

 decant into a bottle. It can then be thinned with a little water, or by 

 warming. 



