6 INTRODUCTION. 



whether each species casts its skin the same number of times ; how 

 long the individuals of each species remain as larva, pupa, or imago ; 

 what species have more than 1 brood in a year, and what constitutes 

 the food of each species, are matters that, in the great majority of 

 instances, remain to be determined. There is therefore a wide fiekl 

 for research in the natural history of this sub-order of insects. 



COLLECTING. 



The perfect insects are chiefly to be found during the summer ; 

 but some (mostly tliose which hybernate) may be taken in autumn, 

 winter, and spring : many species are very local. In summer some 

 inhabit trees, bushes, or herbaceous plants, feeding on their sap or 

 on other insects ; these may be captured by beating the branches 

 over a large net or umbrella, or by sweeping with the sweeping net. 

 Many species are to be found on the ground under the leaves or 

 about the stents of various plants, especially in sandy places, each 

 species being usually attached to a particular kind of plant. A few 

 species live under the bark of dead trees and timber. Some species 

 are attached to the margins of ponds and rivers, and to the sea-shore ; 

 some live in water, or glide along its surface, requiring the water net 

 for their capture. As a general rule the instruments of capture used 

 by the Coleopterist will be those wanted by the Hemipterist. Many 

 species are very active, both with their legs and wings, and must be 

 secured directly they are in the net. After trying several methods 

 of doing this, we have found the following to be the best. Take a 

 glass phial about three inches long and having a wide mouth ; into 

 this put a cork, through the centre of which fit a large quiU, in such 

 a manner that one end of it, cut off straight, projects a little 

 beyond the cork inside the phial, the other end, cut obliquely and 

 fitted with a wooden stopper, projecting 1 J inch on the outsid^. Into 

 the phial put quickly a single young laurel leaf cut previously into 

 line shreds, on the top of these place tightly a piece of unsized paper 

 (that imported with tea is the best) and then fill up the bottle 



