COLLECTING AND I'll I'.SKKVI NO INSECTS— BANKS. 



89 



Fig. 137.— A Pyralid moth, Pyralis fa- 

 rinalis: a, Moth; b, caterpillar; c, 

 pupa; d, e, f, details. 



Often one may find eggs attached to leaves, and from these one 

 may rear and observe all the stages of the insect. A better way is 

 to save captured gravid females and place them in a cage, with a 

 probable food plant as an inducement to deposit their eggs. A bot- 

 tomless barrel or nail keg placed over a plant and the top covered 

 with mosquito netting makes a good 

 cage. Various other cages are described 

 in the chapter on rearing. 



The Microlepidoptera, whose caterpil- 

 lars mine or roll leaves, may be easily 

 reared from injured leaves. Many Mi- 

 crolepidoptera are to be found flying at 

 twilight over fields, especially at the 

 edge of woods. A small light net will 

 be useful in securing these. Many oth- 

 ers rest on the bark of trees; these are taken by a small cyanide 

 vial. Formerly most of the microlepidopterists collected these in- 

 sects in pill boxes, killing them with a drop of chloroform on a pin- 

 hole in the box. Now, however, most prefer to collect them in 

 small vials containing chloroform or cyanide. A great majority of 



these small moths are at- 

 tracted to lights, and one 

 may take hundreds of speci- 

 mens and many species in 

 one evening. 



If one can not spread the 

 Micros as soon as dead, they 

 should be pinned (with mi- 

 cro-pins) in a small box, car- 

 ried along for that purpose. 

 After pinning, one should 

 blow the wings lightly from 

 behind, so as to separate the 

 tips of the wings. If one 

 expects to spread the speci- 

 mens upon reaching home, 

 the cork of the small pin- 

 ning box may be moistened; 

 this will keep the Micros 

 from drying out. 



Mr. Kearfott gathers the larvae of the Microlepidoptera in glass 

 vials, 3 J and 5^ inches long. In searching for these larvae one must 

 look out for their work; a crumpled Leaf, a brown spot, or a withered 

 shoot indicates the presence of the caterpillars.. One must not try 



Fig. 138.— A sawfly, Emphytus canadensis: a, Adult; 



b, larva; c, enlarged segment of larva; d, pupa; 



c, cocoox. 



