Biological Papers. 115 



out, "What are catching?" "Insects! What do you catch them 

 for?" "What do you do with the bugs?" and similar questions; 

 while another observer, perhaps, interposes a rude joke. Or a num- 

 ber of boys will suddenly oiler their services and pick up every in- 

 sect that can be found, since many fall on the ground — moths 

 which flutter until their wings are battered or torn beyond recog- 

 nition, and the commonest kinds of beetles— all of which are 

 promptly presented to the collector with a shout, " Here, mister ! 

 here's a bug !" until he is either distracted with importunities and 

 worthless specimens or forced to move to another location and 

 avoid such associates. Two or more persons collecting together 

 with the same interest afford companionship which gives a mutual 

 feeling of relief from arousing undesirable notice which one per- 

 son would bear alone, but such company is not always possible. 



Only net and bottles are needed in visiting lights on the streets. 

 Electric lights are usually hung quite high, though not as high 

 above side streets as on business streets. Rather than carry a long, 

 unwieldly pole as a handle to my net for reaching lights, it is my 

 custom to let the light down as low as desired by releasing the 

 tackle, after the manner of a trimmer ; hence, am enabled to reach 

 the hovering insects with my net on an ordinary length of handle. 

 When done with the light, it is raised to usual position. Care 

 should be exercised to keep one or more bottles exclusively for 

 killing moths, which when dead should be turned into a separate 

 bottle for storage ; then the collecting bottles can be used for fresh 

 captures, and as the live moths are not allowed to flutter in with 

 the dead specimens, one danger of injury by denuding of wings is 

 avoided. 



Sometimes fine specimens may be found on the ground where 

 they alight or fall. The season for favorable collecting at electric 

 lights begins in Lawrence in the first week of May and it may be 

 said to last for fully six months. Whenever a brisk breeze is blow- 

 ing, insects fly towards the lights on the side facing the wind ; as, 

 for instance, if the wind is south, the insects hover in a trail on the 

 north side. The best place for finding insects in greatest numbers 

 at electric lights in Lawrence was found on the river bridge (over 

 the Kansas river), particularly at the south approach, which is 

 somewhat higher than the north end, but whether this slight dif- 

 ference should account for the greater amount of insects appearing 

 at the south end cannot be stated. Here the aquatic neuropteroid 

 forms, such as May-flies and caddice-flies, became most numerous 

 in July and August. The former are very frail insects and cannot 



