ROSS: HOW TO COLLECT AND PRESERVE INSECTS 17 



funnel is loaded, place it in the rack, put the bottle of preservative 

 under it, and apply the heat. 



By substituting a different kind of collecting bottle at the 

 bottom of the funnel, you may obtain live material for rearing. 

 The exact changes necessary to obtain live material will depend 

 upon your ingenuity and the type of material you desire. 



Equipment for Collecting Aquatic Insects 



Night Collecting for Adult Insects. — Collecting at lights on 

 warm, cloudy nights, or warm nights without moonlight, gives 

 best results. Two simple methods are as follows. 



Drive your car to a spot overlooking a stream or lake and 

 turn on the bright lights. Into a shallow pan, such as a pie pan, 

 pour enough alcohol to cover the bottom with from one-eighth 

 to one-fourth inch of fluid. Hold the pan directly under a head- 

 light. If aquatic insects are on the wing, they will come to the 

 light and eventually drop in the fluid, which traps them. With 

 a small piece of wet cardboard, you can scrape the entire insect 

 contents of the pan into a small bottle of alcohol, which should 

 then be labeled, date, name of collector, and location being given. 



Lights in signs and store windows (especially blue neon 

 signs) near fresh water attract large numbers of aquatic insects. 

 You may capture them easily by dipping your index finger in 

 alcohol, "scooping up" the insect rapidly but gently on the wet 

 surface, and then dipping it in the bottle. An aspirator, or sucker, 

 also can be used with success. 



Day Collecting for Adult Insects. — During the day, aquatic 

 insects frequently rest on or under bridges, window ledges, and 

 similar places, and show a preference for the denser trees in 

 shaded situations. They are especially numerous in those spots 

 where the heavily leaved branches hang low over the water and 

 form humid, protected areas in the heat of the day. Here sweep- 

 ing with a stout and fairly wide-mouthed net is very effective. 

 Aquatic insects may often be picked off stones in such places, 

 especially early in the season. 



Collecting for Larvae. — Practically every stream or lake har- 

 bors aquatic insect larvae, which may be taken by various 

 methods, some simple and others requiring specialized and com- 

 plicated apparatus. For general collecting, the following hints 

 may be of value. 



1. Look under logs and stones. Search out crevices in them ; 



