82 February, 



sta}" out late; in early spring they will not appear in this country as 

 a rule {i. c, with the exception of Hive and Humble Bees), before 

 about lu a.m., nor will they be found, with the exception of a few 

 stragglers, much after 3 p.m. In high summer they are sometimes 

 about as early as 8 a.m. and stay out till 5 or 6 or sometimes even 

 later. For collecting purposes the morning hours and mid-day^ in 

 spring are by far the best ; in hot summer the morning and later 

 afternoon {i. e., after 3 p.m.). The hours from 12 to 3 in very hot 

 weather 1 have generally found most unproductive. It is probable 

 that most of our solitary spring bees attain the imago state and are 

 ready to emerge in the late autumn or early winter of the preceding 

 year, as on several occasions specimens have been dug up in this state 

 at these seasons. They therefore only await suitable weather to 

 appear ; it is, however, rarely that any are met with at large before 

 the middle of March. Hymenopterists have, therelbre, the whole of 

 the winter to arrange and study their captures and need not trouble 

 themselves to re-commence collecting till the weather becomes inviting. 

 Of course, ardent collectors can dig in banks in winter or collect 

 perforated bramble stems during their walks, on which I shall have 

 more to say later on, otherwise it may be taken for granted that if 

 the weather is unpleasant by cold or damp, it is not worth while to 

 go out collecting. 



The apparatus necessary is very simple — a wide mouthed bottle 

 with a tube through the cork, such as those used for Coleoptera, and a 

 net are the only needful impedimenta. The bottle should have a lump 

 of cyanide at the bottom, well wedged down with blotting paper, 

 over which a piece of white note paper may be placed with advantage, 

 the object being to prevent the possibility of any dampness getting 

 to the insects ; it is well, therefore, to arrange the white paper so 

 that it comes well up the sides of the bottle in the form of an 

 inverted cone, taking care to widen out the apex of the cone so as to 

 allow plenty of room for the specimens. It is wonderful how many 

 such a bottle will hold, and also what apparently large insects will go 

 down the tube ; humble bees, for instance, which, on account of their 

 hairy coats, often look much too large, will be found to go down easily 

 when invited to do so. Some entomologists prefer to wrap up the 

 cyanide in paper and to fill the rest of the bottle with loosely crumpled 

 pieces of tissue paper, the object being to prevent the specimens from 

 dying in a heap and possibly damaging each other. If the use of 

 cyanide be objected to, bruised laurel leaves will answer the purpose, 

 the only difficulty being to keep the bottle dry, and dryness is an 



