14 NEW ZEALAND ENTOMOLOGY. 



collector may generally rely on getting a rich harvest. 

 The insects can usually be slipped directly from the flowers 

 into the killing bottle. 



This is much better than netting them, although occasion- 

 ally one will escape during the process. When dead the 

 specimens should be placed in a small tin box which has 

 been filled with cotton-wool, packed very lightly. In this 

 way a large number of moths may be carried a long dis- 

 tance with perfect safety, and the extremely inconvenient 

 process of pinning them in the field obviated. If Jahncke's 

 patent boxes are employed it is quite unnecessary to kill 

 the moths in the field. They can be boxed directly from 

 the blossoms and taken home alive without suffering any 

 injur)'. 



Lepidoptera, and in fact all insects, are attracted by light, 

 and in some situations the collector will find that he may 

 frequently obtain good species by merely opening his 

 sitting-room window and waiting for the insects to arrive. 

 Much of course depends on the situation of the collector's 

 residence and the nature of the night, which should be dark 

 and warm. I have occasionally tried taking a lamp into the 

 forest to attract insects, but have not met with much success. 

 In swampy and fiat situations, no doubt, attracting by light 

 would be very effective, especially if a powerful lamp was 

 employed, in an exposed situation, with a sheet behind it, 

 supported between two poles. This method has been 

 followed with great success by many English entomologists 

 in the fens, but has not yet been tried in the New Zealand 

 swamps, where it would probably be the means of bringing 

 many new and interesting species to " light." 



With regard to collecting members of the three remaining 

 Orders but little need be said. Neuroptera can be treated 

 in the same way as Lepidoptera, but they should be set on 

 flat boards. The treatment of the Orthoptera will resemble 

 that of the Coleoptera, but the larger species will require 



