ScrapPr Net. The scraper net is the 

 most practical piece of equipment ever de- 

 vised for digging and scraping the bottom 

 of ponds and streams. Material can be 

 dragged up and piled on the bank where 

 the collector merely wails for the specimens 

 to disentangle themselves and then be cap- 

 tured as they crawl away. The Scraper Net 

 illustrated here (Fig. 8) was designed by 

 Dr. J. G. Needham. It is built to with- 

 stand the toughest kinds of usage with a 

 frame and reinforcement of heavy galvan- 

 ized iron and the sides and bottom of £" 

 mesh galvanized wire screening. The fer- 

 rule is provided with a thumb screw so 

 that any size handle may be used. 



Fig. 8. Scraper net. 



Apron Net. The Apron Net (Fig. 9), 

 also designed by Dr. Needham, is especial- 

 ly constructed for collecting in water weeds. 

 It is covered with a coarse-mesh top which 

 keeps out debris and aquatic plants but 

 allows aquatic insects to enter. The back 

 portion of the top is hinged and covered 

 with a finer meshed screen to prevent es- 

 cape of insects as the net is pushed thru 

 the water. The pointed nose permits push- 

 ing the net thru dense growth of aquatic 

 plants. The cover is easily flipped back 

 and the captured insects can be selected 

 with forceps or fingers and dropped into 

 75% alcohol. 



Seme. A seine made of fine strong wire 

 netting and fastened along its edges to two 

 wooden handles is a light useful piece of 

 collecting apparatus. A good seine may 

 be made from the adjustable window 

 screens that may be purchased at any hard- 

 ware or ten-cent store. Pull the two halves 

 of the screen apart, knock off the wooden 

 strip forming the side, leaving the two 

 short strips at the ends to serve as handles 



Fig. 9. Apron net. 



for your seine. In collecting insects from 

 fast flowing streams the seine is held against 

 the current with the top slanting down 

 stream and its bottom tight to the floor of 

 the stream. If stones are lifted or disturbed 

 or the bottom violently dug up by an as- 

 sistant, insects will be carried by the cur- 

 rent directly into the seine where the speci- 

 mens may be picked off. 



Tangles and Hooks. By using a handle 

 with a hook on the end or a piece of barbed 

 wire one can pull out dense masses of 

 Chara and other weeds from ponds and 

 ditches. An ordinary potato hook is excel- 

 lent for this purpose. After pulling the 

 aquatic plants to the shore, spread them 

 out on the bank and many water insects 

 can be collected as they crawl out. 



Where to Look for Aquatic Insects. In 

 shallow water, stones and logs should be 

 turned over and leaf tufts pulled apart. 



Searching beneath boards and other cov- 

 er near the margins of ponds and streams 

 reveal many ground beetles and semi- 

 aquatic forms. 



Look for insects floating to shore on the 

 windward side of a pond or lake after a 

 warm night. Also follow the shore line of 

 lakes and ponds and examine the debris 

 early in the morning before the gulls and 

 crows do their entomological collecting. 



