ROSS: HOW TO COLLECT AND PRESERVE INSECTS 3 



variety of insects may be collected and with better results if a 

 few more items are added to the list. Here is an outfit that will 

 be found very satisfactory in the field. 



1. A strong beating net for general sweeping and an addi- 

 tional light net to be used for moths and butterflies. 



2. Killing bottles, several small and one or two large. 



3. A pair of flexible forceps, 10 to 12 centimeters (about 

 4 to 5 inches) long, with slender prongs. 



4. One or two camel's-hair brushes for picking up minute 

 insects. 



5. A few vials or small bottles containing fluid preservative. 



6. Folded papers for butterflies. 



7. A few small tins or boxes lined with cellucotton. 

 These items may be purchased from commercial supply 



houses such as those listed on page 59. Many items, however, 

 may be made by the collector at nominal cost. Forceps, brushes, 

 bottles, chemicals, wire, and fabric must be purchased, but nets, 

 killing bottles, and accessories may readily be made from easily 

 obtained basic materials. 



Nets 



Construction. — Nets may easily be made at home. The neces- 

 sary parts are a handle, a hoop or ring attached to it, and a cloth 

 bag hung from the ring, figs. 1 and 2. The handle should be strong 

 and fairly light. At the net end, fig. la, a groove is cut down each 

 side to receive the hoop. These grooves are as deep as the thick- 

 ness of the wire used in the hoop; one is 3 inches long and the 

 other 21/2 inches; and each ends in a hole through the handle 

 at right angles to the length. The ring, fig. lb, is made of steel 

 wire, preferably three-eighths inch piano wire, which if bent by 

 rough usage springs back into shape and will stand a great deal 

 of hard wear. The wire is shaped, as the figure shows, to form 

 a ring with two straight arms which at the tips are bent at right 

 angles toward each other. The arms and hooks thus formed 

 must be exactly long enough to fit along the grooves and into the 

 holes in the handle. After the wire has been fitted to the handle 

 and the bag or net attached, the joint may either be wrapped 

 tightly with wire, fig. lc, or bound by a metal cylinder or ferrule 

 slipped up over the arms of the ring, fig. Id. 



The bag, about twice as long as the diameter of the ring, 

 should be tapered at the bottom. It is made from four pieces of 



