Biological Papers. Ill 



quire instruction in regard to the mounting and preservation of 

 specimens ; otherwise the subject need not be mentioned here. Di- 

 rections for mounting, also for preparing a collecting outfit, are usu- 

 ally contained in elementary guides to the study of insects, and a 

 book of this kind should be in the hands of every person interested 

 in insect life. 



Several methods, as already referred to, are employed in the col- 

 lecting of insects at night, 'one of which is the simple and ever 

 reliable practice of sweeping by means of the net, so commonly fol- 

 lowed by day. This method has previously been recommended, 

 particularly for action on moonlight, chilly or windy nights, though 

 the captures will mainly be the smaller kinds of insects, such as 

 minute flies of the order Diptera, parasites of the order Hymenop- 

 tera, and tiny moths of the order Lepidoptera, all of which, never- 

 theless, deserve attention and careful mounting. Among these little 

 creatures new species are probable. The curious fact has often 

 been observed that after sunset myriads of these little insects can 

 be swept from grass or weeds which in the hot sunshine of the day 

 seemed almost destitute of insect life. A few minutes of sweeping 

 is generally sufficient for gathering enough material to keep the 

 collector busy for hours with the mounting. Usually at twilight 

 or later the grass becomes wet with dew ; consequently net and 

 specimens get sticky with moisture ; but if the poison bottle is lined 

 inside with blotting-paper, a plan which it is advisable to follow at 

 any time, and not too many specimens put in together, there is 

 little danger of injury to them. As a further precaution, strips of 

 soft paper, such as newspaper, can also be placed loosely in the 

 bottle, to absorb moisture and prevent specimens from shifting and 

 rubbing each other or adhering into masses too large for safety 

 while the bottle is carried. 



One blessing, perhaps, for which we ought to be thankful, is 

 that only certain small groups of night insects are musical ; if 

 all kinds of insects were as noisy as some examples of the Orthop- 

 tera, there is no telling whether a person, unless he was deaf, 

 would be able to sleep in the summer-time. A year ago last sum- 

 mer the following appeared in a local paper : 



"katydid sang all night. 

 "The neighbors in the 700 block on Tennessee street have been 

 greatly annoyed for the past week by a katydid. It would sing all 

 night long, and sang so loud that some thought it must be a tree- 

 toad. All attempts to shake it from the tree proved useless. It 

 was caught last night, and could be termed a giant katydid. It 



