944 I'EOCEEDIKGS OF TUE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 



are self-acting. The former have been nsed with great success in Ceylon 

 especially and are generally composed of an acetylene lamp surrounded 

 by a mosquito-net framework to prevent the insects flying into the 

 lamp, the back of the framework covered with white cloth to act as a 

 reflector, and the whole apparatus packing into a box for convenience 

 of transport. A lamp of this type can be taken and set up in any con- 

 venient place, such as the edge of a clearing overlooking a good expanse 

 of jungle, the operator standing by and picking off the required insects 

 as they fly in to the light. As in the case of sugaring, dull, cloudy 

 still, warm, sultry nights are usually the best, and comparatively little 

 comes in on cold, windy, or bright nights, although nights of heavy rain 

 are often very productive. Very few insects are attracted on bright 

 moonlight nights, as a rule, and the period from about the fourth to 

 tenth days after a full moon is usually the best. 



Self-acting light-traps may be put up and left out all night, the catch 

 being examined next morning. They are so arranged that insects can 

 fly in to the light but are unable to find their way out again. One 

 drawback to their use in India lies in the number of large insects 

 (beetles, grasshoppers, etc.). which may be attracted and do damage 

 to the more delicate sj)ecimens, and also to the prevalence of geckos ; 

 it is therefore necessary to adopt some means of killing all entrants 

 into the trap. A self-acting light-trap jnay be made out of an old 

 packing case of any suitable size, but about 2 feet 6 inches in height 

 answers best. The construction is .shown in Plate 146, fig. 3, which shows 

 a section thi'ough the trap. AB, CD, CE are pieces of glass fitting 

 right across the box and are fixed by narrow strips of wood nailed to 

 the sides. FG is a wooden partition with a hole (JK) 6 inches square 

 cut out of it opposite the flame of the lamii, this hole being closed with 

 a pane of glass fixed behind it with putty or nails. The lamp is an 

 ordinary wall-lamp provided with a reflector. The chimney passes 

 ins'de a tin tube (T) which in its turn passes through the top of the 

 box ; where th's tube passes through, the top of the box must be well 

 puttied, or wet will get through and crack the chimney. The lamp 

 is put in and removed through a door at the back. In the bottom of 

 the fi-ont of the box is a drawer which contains a shallow dish filled 

 with potassium cyanide and covered with muslin. The glass sheet 

 AB overlaps the sheet CD, and insects climbing up CD towards the 

 opening are diverted by the glass strip CE and fall into the drawer. 

 To work this trap, it is placed in a favourable position, the lamp lighted 

 and left overnight. 



Sinohimj may be used for disturbing inserts from thick herbage 

 whence they are often diflicult to dislodge by beating, the smoke being 



