THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 187 



As the Rev. Dr. Fyles mentioned in the April popular article, many 

 caterpillars hibernate under pieces of board, flat stones, etc., in fields and 

 open places in woods. Along the grassy sides of railroad tracks there are 



usually numbers of strips of bark, 

 broken pieces of plank, etc., and if 

 these are examined, many noctuid and 

 arctiid larvae can be found. At 

 Ottawa, in early May, we place pieces 

 ^, of plank, bark, etc., along roadsides 

 Fig. 27.— A noctuia caterpillar. and in opeu spots in woods. These 



make excellent traps for larvae which have hibernated and which, after 

 feeding during the night crawl under such shelters to hide during the day. 

 The traps are visited every day or so, and a great many specimens are 

 found. Larvae collected in this way should be kept separately in some 

 kind of small jar or tin box. Ordinary small glass jelly jars are very use- 

 ful for this purpose. The object of keeping each caterpillar by itself is 

 to be sure of its identity when the moth emerges. If a number are put 

 into the same small jar, some will likely be eaten by the others, especially 

 if there is not plenty of food in the jar. Some earth should be put in the 

 bottom of each jar for those larvae which pupate in the ground. Fresh 

 food should be given every day and care taken to keep the jars clean. 

 When the caterpillars are found, full notes should be taken on their length, 

 appearance and habits. There is a vast lack of definite knowledge on the 

 early stages of many of our common caterpillars, so it is important to take 

 complete notes. 



If at all possible, at least one specimen of each kind should be pre- 

 served for future reference and study. This is best done by inflation^ and 

 specimens thus prepared are more valuable than those put in liquids. 

 Proper apparatus may be purchased from dealers in entomological supplies, 

 such as : an oven, in which to dry the empty skins while being infiated ; a 

 spirit lamp to furnish heat.; some glass tubes drawn out to different sizes 

 at one end ; some clips made of watch spring and held to the glass tubes 

 by means of a band cut from rubber tubing ; a double rubber bulb with 

 about three feet of tubing attached ; and a pair of fine curved forceps. 

 The process, briefly, is to (i) kill the caterpillar in a cyanide bottle ; (2) 

 place it on a piece of blotting paper, cover it with a strip of the same paper, 

 and gently press out all the body contents through the anal orifice, using the 

 pair of fine forceps ; (3) slip the anal segment over one of the glass 



