76 



BULLETIN 67, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Fig. lis.— A Meloid beetle, 

 Epicauta marginata. 



Winter collecting. — There are more species of Coleoptera 

 hibernating in the imago state a than in any other order, and winter 

 collecting is therefore most profitable in many respects. For instance, 

 great swampy tracts which are inaccessible in the summer season 

 harbor an abundance of rare Coleoptera, which 

 either can not be found in summer time or are 

 found at that season with the greatest difficulty. 

 At the approach of winter, however, all or most 

 of these species will leave the swamp and seek 

 drier ground, where they hibernate under old 

 leaves, under bark of trees, or in rotten stumps 

 near the edge of the swamp. Such places will, 

 therefore, give a rich harvest to the coleopterist 

 late in the fall, during warm spells in midwinter, 

 and in very early spring. If the temperature is 

 below the freezing point, or if the ground is frozen 

 hard, no winter collecting should be attempted, 

 first, on account of sanitary considerations, and also because the 

 Coleoptera then retreat more deeply into the ground and can not be 

 found so easily as when the ground is free from frost. Other good 

 collecting places inwinter are the accumulated old leaves along the 

 edges of forests or under 

 the shrubbery along water 

 courses, thick layers of 

 moss, and the loose bark 

 of dead or dying trees, 

 and, finally, also under the 

 bark of certain living trees, 

 e. g. , pines, sycamore, shell- 

 bark hickory. Digging in 

 the ground at the base of 

 large trees or rocks also 

 yields good returns. The 

 only inst ruments necessary 

 for wint er collecting are the 

 sieve, the chisel, and the 

 trowel. 



Spring collecting. — 

 With the first days of 

 spring, collecting becomes 

 a little more varied. The methods used for winter collecting can still 

 be continued with good success. Certain spring flowers, notably 



a There are a few species of Coleoptera known in Europe which belong to the true 

 "winter insects, "i.e., such as appear in the imago state only during winter time, but 

 whether or not we have such species in our own fauna has not yet been ascertained. 



Fig. 119.— A weevil, Sphenophorus obscueus: a, Beetle; 

 6, head; c, larva; d, pupa. 



