94 



BULLETIN 67, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Fig. 145.— A wa- 

 ter BOATMAN, 

 NOTONECTA 

 IRRORATA. 



Many Heteroptera hibernate in the adult condition under the loose 

 bark of dead trees, on the ground under fallen leaves, or under pieces 

 of wood in fields. By searching in such places late in the autumn or 

 early in spring one may obtain many varieties. 



For the large family of Capsidse (fig. 21) June is the best season. 

 Sweeping herbage, meadows, and the foliage of trees will bring many 

 of these fragile insects into the net. 



The best times of the year to collect aquatic 

 Hemiptera (figs. 145, 146), Mr. Bueno says, are the 

 spring and autumn. Mr. Bueno uses a couple of water 

 nets, cyanide bottles of several sizes, tin boxes for 

 living specimens, and a pair of rubber boots. These 

 insects should not be collected in alcohol, except for 

 anatomical purposes, and should be mounted as soon as 

 possible. The water-bugs can be easily kept in aquaria, 

 but since many are predaceous one can keep only a 

 few in each vessel. 



HEMIPTERA-HOMOPTERA. 



The Homoptera may be obtained b} T sweeping herbage or beating 

 trees. Many of them are mounted on points, but some may be pinned 

 witli micro-pins as double mounts. Some species occur commonly in 

 a short-winged or brachypterous condition; one should look care- 

 fully in the proper situations for the macropterous or long-winged 

 specimens. It is well to have one or two specimens of each species 

 with the wings spread, as these organs are sometimes 

 colored and the dorsum of the abdomen has bright 

 markings. The plant-lice (fig. 26) may be collected 

 in alcohol, but are better brought home in tin boxes 

 and mounted in balsam on slides. It is well to 

 take note of their colors before killing them. It 

 is necessary to obtain the various forms and stages, 

 so that the same plant should be visited at different 

 dates; some species migrate to other plants in the 

 latter part of the season, so that one will have to 

 search around to find this alternate food plant. 



The scale insects (fig. 149) should be collected with 

 a bit of twig or leaf on which they occur and pinned 

 in the collection. A better way is to put them in flat pasteboard 

 boxes of a size to fit well in rows in the cabinet, and then a label 

 pasted on the upper edge of each box indicating its contents. 

 Mr. Sanders has prepared the following account of his method of 

 mounting scale insects on slides: 



The greatest care in manipulation is necessary to secure a good 

 mount of a scale insect. Various simple and complex methods have 

 been used by students of Coccidre, but the media most generally 

 used for mounting are glycerin jelly and Canada balsam. After a 



FIG. 14(1.— A WA- 

 TER-BUG, Nepa 

 APICULATA. 



