INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLLECTING INSECTS. 161 



nally, many minute species will appear on throwins^ witli tlie hand 

 water on the damp mud of the banks of streams and lakes. 



The most suitable times for collecting Coleoptera are the spring and 

 autumn ; during the great heats of July and August they diminish 

 greatly in numbers ; the search for them should begin as soon as the 

 frost is out of the ground ; at such times water beetles and those 

 found in ants' nests, under bark, and under stones, are numerous. 



COLLECTING INSTRUxMENTS. 



The collector of Coleoptera will require three nets : a large one, 

 fourteen inches in dia-meter, made of thick white muslin, of strong 

 construction, suitable for beating the bushes or for taking specimens 

 on the wing, provided with a handle not more than fourteen or 

 eighteen inches long; a smaller one, ten or twelve inches in diameter, 

 also of strong construction, with a bag of millinet, suitable for raking 

 up material from the bottom of ponds, streams, &c. ; and a third, with 

 a long handle, provided with a bag of gauze for catching cicindelre, 

 (the actively flying species seen in roads.) These nets are suitable 

 for the collection of all inserts, and their form and construction have 

 been described under the directions given regarding other orders. 



A very convenient bag may be made for beating bushes, &c., out 

 of a bar hinged at two places, so as to form an isosceles triangle ; 

 the long legs serve as handles, and the bag of muslin may be fastened 

 to the short leg and the bases of the long ones. An umbrella frame 

 covered with v/hite muslin also answers an excellent purpose. 



Much may be done in the collection of minute Coleoptera by passing 

 the material washed up by the waves of a lake or stream, or the earth 

 of an ant's nest, through a sieve having not very fine meshes ; the 

 material passing through is received on a sheet of paper or a hand- 

 kerchief, gently pressed, and then watched carefully for a few moments; 

 the insects may be detected by the moving of particles, and can then 

 be easily secured. 



METHOD OF PRESERVING SPECIMENS. 



A. For Transportation. 



Coleoptera obtained on journeys, where economy of time and space 

 is of importance, should be always placed in strong alcohol. The 

 bottles to receive them should be small, not more than eight ounce 

 bottles for large species, and one ounce or smaller for the minute 

 ones. Wlien the bottles are filled with specimens, the liquid should 

 be poured off and re])laced by strong alcohol; thus the specimens will 

 be rendered firm and can be preserved indefinitely. Tlie colors do not 

 change. 



If bottles are in danger of being broken, the specimens, after re- 

 maining for a day or two in alcohol, may be taken out, partially 

 dried by exposure to the air, but not so as to be brittle, and then 

 paci^-sd in layers in small boxes between soft paper ; the boxes should 

 then be carfully closed with gum paper or paste, so as to exclude all 

 enemies. 



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