THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 271 



point of the funnel into the latter, and emptying the contents of the larger 

 bottle into the funnel. 



When he comes to use the brush, the collector soon sees that his manipu- 

 lation must be varied according to the habit of the different species. The active 

 high-'strung Isotoma and the nervous Tomocerus must be "flipped" or herded 

 into the bottle with a dry brush, while the non-leaping kinds, such as Neanura 

 and Onychiiirus and stolid genera like Achorutes and Xenylla can be picked up 

 on a moistened brush without any trouble. Whatever others may say, the 

 enthusiast sees no objection to moistening the brush with the lips. The absorp- 

 tion of an odd Collembolan that this practice may sometimes entail is entirely 

 negative in result, as I can testify from several years' experience. 



The insects are brought home alive, and are best killed, as Dr. Folsom 

 advises, by theapplicationof 95 percent, alcohol heated almost to a boiling point. 

 They may be then transferred to 80 per cent, alcohol for preservation. Spring- 

 tails should never be mounted on points, as the}' soon shrivel up. Microscope 

 preparations in Canada balsam, Dr. Folsom says, tend to shrink, and he sug- 

 gests a mixture of glycerine jelly and acetic acid as the most satisfactory medium. 

 An invaluable tool for "setting up" springtails and all other minute insects was 

 discovered by Mr. J. M. Swaine, of the Entomological Branch, Ottawa, in the 

 fine-pointed flexible wire instrument used by dentists to extract nerves, and 

 known technically as a "broach." 



As doubtless many collectors have discovered for themselves, the best 

 w^ork is done when one is alone. Unless your com.panion is equally interested 

 with you in the particular insect you are after, his impatience and desire to 

 mo\e on distract, and his lack of sympathy chills you. I know people who 

 could not watch one hour while a log was being examined with a magnifying 

 glass, and whom even the discovery of a rare Pseudachorutes left quite cold. 



THE BEES OF GOLD HILL, COLORADO. 



BY T. D. A. COCKERELL, BOULDER, COLORADO. 



Gold Hill is a small mining town in the mountains of Boulder County, 

 Colorado, with an altitude of about 8,600 feet. It is rather well known in zoo- 

 logical circles because it was the residence of an indefatigable student of birds 

 and mammxals, Denis Gale. At Ward, a few miles away, Gale discovered the 

 mouse which Merriam named Evotomys galei. On July 13, 1919, my wife and 

 I spent the forenoon collecting bees at Gold Hill, on the dry hill immediately 

 east of the town. Twenty species were obtained, listed below. The fauna is 

 by no means entirely of the boreal type; one species, Andrena priinorum, ex- 

 tends to Southern New Mexico. 



Prosopis varifrons Cresson. Females at Ruhus. 



Colletes kincaidii Ckll. Both sexes abundant at flov/ers of Frasera 

 ( Tessaranthium) . 



Sphecodes eustictus Ckll. Female at Geranium. 



Halictns cooleyi Crawford. Common, visiting Frasera. 



Halictus lerouxii Lepeletier. One male. 



Halictus nigricollis Vachal. One male. Described by Vachal from a male 



December, 191-9 



