THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



81 



NOTES FROM THE CORNELL INSECTARY. 



I# SOME RESULTS OF A TRAP LANTERN EXPERIMENT. 



BY M. V. SLINGERLAND, CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, N. Y. 



May i, 1889, the Entomological Department of the Cornell Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station set six trap lanterns, at considerable distances 

 apart, on the University farm for the purpose of determining their value 

 as an insecticide. Each trap consisted simply of a common lantern set 

 in a pan of water whose surface had a thin film of kerosene upon it to 

 facilitate the destruction of the insects caught. The lanterns were kept 

 burning every night until Oct. 15, 1889, or until no more insects were 

 attracted. The captured insects were taken from the pans every morn- 

 ing and placed in alcohol, those from each lantern being kept separate. 

 So many outside influences, as other lights, the smallness of the area 

 covered, etc., entered into the case, that practically no results were 

 obtained from the different locations of the lanterns in the number of 

 specimens caught by each lantern in any of the species thus far studied. 

 Therefore, in the tables which follow, the total catch for each day from 

 all the lanterns is placed under that date. 



An immense amount of material was taken, representing nearly every 

 order of insects ; the moths, however, included a majority of the speci- 

 mens. But comparatively little of the material has yet been studied. 

 Several species cf Cut Worm Moths, the Apple-tree Tent Caterpillar 

 Moth, and all the species of the May Beetles taken in the lanterns have 

 been determined by the writer. As all of these are of economic import- 

 ance, the following tables showing the number of specimens of each 

 species taken each day will be of economic interest as showing the period 

 of flight, when most numerous, the relative commonness of the different 

 species, and many other questions of importance, as we shall see. 



Table I. — Clisiocampa america?ia taken at Trap Lanterns in 1889 : — 



June 17 



18 



" 20 



" 21 



" 22 



" 25 



" 26 



27 



" 28 



29 



" 30 



