Tne Capture, Preparation, and Preservation or Specimens 
ticularly true of the skippers, a group of very vigorou-s and swift¬ 
flying butterflies. The writer prefers, if possible, to clap the net 
over the specimens and then to allow them to rise, and, by insert¬ 
ing the wide-mouthed collecting-jar below, to capture them with¬ 
out touching them at all with the fingers. So far as possible the 
fingers should not be allowed to come in contact with specimens, 
whether in or out of the net, though some persons acquire an ex¬ 
tremely delicate yet firm touch which enables them to handle the 
wings of frail species without removing any of the scales. No¬ 
thing is more unsightly in a collection than specimens that have 
been caught and rubbed by the fingers. 
Baits. — Moths are frequently taken by the method of collecting 
known as “sugaring.” But it may also be employed for butter¬ 
flies. For this purpose a mixture of beer and cheap brown sugar 
may be used. If the beer be stale drippings, so much the better. 
In fact, it is well, if the collector intends to remain in one locality 
for some time, to make a mixture of beer and sugar some hours 
or a day in advance of its application. In semi-tropical countries 
a mixture of beer and sugar is hardly as good as a mixture of 
molasses and water into which a few tablespoonfuls of Jamaica 
rum have been put. A mixture thus prepared seems to'attract 
more effectually than the first prescription. Having provided a 
pail with a quart or two of the mixture, the collector resorts to the 
point where he proposes to carry on his work. With an ordinary 
whitewash brush the mixture is applied to the trunks of trees, 
stumps, fence-rails, and other objects. It is well to apply the 
mixture to a series of trees and posts located on the side of a bit 
of woodland, or along a path through forests, if comparatively 
open and not too dense. The writer has rarely had success in 
sugaring in the depths of forests. His greatest success has al¬ 
ways been on paths and at the edge of woods. Many beetles 
and other insects come to the tempting sweets, and separate jars 
for capturing these should be carried in the pocket. The collector 
never should attempt to kill beetles in the same jar into which he 
is putting butterflies. The hard, horny bodies and spiny legs of 
beetles will make sad havoc with the delicate wings of butterflies. 
Many other baits besides this may be employed to attract in¬ 
sects. Some writers recommend a bait prepared by boiling dried 
apples and mashing them into a pulp, adding a little rum to the 
mixture, and applying this to the bark of trees. In tropical coun- 
32 
