SCIENTIFIC SURVEY. ^33 



nests searched, and the waters be sifted for species not met with 

 at other times of the year. 



For beating bushes, a large strong ring-net should be made, with 

 a stout bag of cotton cloth fifteen inches deep. This is a very ser- 

 viceable net for many purposes. Vials of alcohol, a few quills 

 stopped with cork, and close tin boxes for larvae and the fungi, 

 &c., in which they live, should be provided ; indeed, the collec- 

 tor should never be without a vial and box. Beetles should be 

 collected largely in alcohol, and the colors do not change if pinned 

 soon after being taken. Coleoptera should be placed fig. 21. 

 high up on the pin, (Fig. 21, Gitrculio,) as indeed 

 all insects should. The pin should be stuck through 

 the right elytron so that it shall come out beneath or 

 between the middle and hind pair of legs. Small species 

 should be pinned with No. 19 and 20 pins, which can 

 be afterward mounted on high pins as described for 

 flies. Many coleopterists gum small species, under a tenth of an 

 inch long, upon a small triangular bit of card, placing them cross- 

 wise with a cement of inspissated ox-gall, gum arable and water, 

 or gum mixed with a little sugar. The first mentioned cement is 

 very convenient for mending broken specimens. Specimens thus 

 gummed have some of the best generic characters often concealed, 

 and hence fine pins seem best to mount them upon. 



The specimens should be neatly set, in their natural postures. 

 Some individuals should have their wings expanded to show the 

 neuration. Beetles are best arrayed in boxes lined with cork well 

 smoothed and neatly papered, 12 by 9 inches square, and an inch 

 and a half deep. These boxes can be put under cover. 



Gicindelida}. The Tiger-beetle, has a large head, much broader 

 than the prothorax, very long jaws, like curved scissors, and long 

 slender legs. Their colors are green or darker, with purplish or 

 metallic reflection, marked with light dots and stripes. They abound 

 in sunny paths, and sandy shores of rivers, ponds, and of the ocean, 



ying and running swiftly. Capture them by throwing the bag 

 net quickly over them after they are settled ; when abundant re- 

 main still in one place, waiting for them to settle near you, thus 

 saving time and trouble. If without a net, throw a handful of 

 sand at one, and thus confuse and catch it in its endeavors to 

 escape. The larvae are hideous in aspect : the head is large, with 

 ong aws, the thoracic rings large and broad, and the 9th ring has a 



