The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 



ticularly true of the skippers, a group of very vigorou-s and swift- 

 flying butterflies. The writer prefers, if possible, to clap the net 

 over the specimens and then to allow them to rise, and, by insert- 

 ing the wide-mouthed collecting-jar below, to capture them with- 

 out touching them at all with the fingers. So far as possible the 

 fingers should not be allowed to come in contact with specimens, 

 whether in or out of the net, though some persons acquire an ex- 

 tremely delicate yet firm touch which enables them to handle the 

 wings of frail species without removing any of the scales. No- 

 thing is more unsightly in a collection than specimens that have 

 been caught and rubbed by the fingers. 



Baits. — Moths are frequently taken by the method of collecting 

 known as "sugaring." But it may also be employed for butter- 

 flies. For this purpose a mixture of beer and cheap brown sugar 

 may be used. If the beer be stale drippings, so much the better. 

 In fact, it is well, if the collector intends to remain in one locality 

 for some time, to make a mixture of beer and sugar some hours 

 or a day in advance of its application. In semi-tropical countries 

 a mixture of beer and sugar is hardly as good as a mixture of 

 molasses and water into which a few tablespoonfuls of Jamaica 

 rum have been put. A mixture thus prepared seems to attract 

 more effectually than the first prescription. Having provided a 

 pail with a quart or two of the mixture, the collector resorts to the 

 point where he proposes to carry on his work. With an ordinary 

 whitewash brush the mixture is applied to the trunks of trees, 

 stumps, fence-rails, and other objects. It is well to apply the 

 mixture to a series of trees and posts located on the side of a bit 

 of woodland, or along a path through forests, if comparatively 

 open and not too dense. The writer has rarely had success in 

 sugaring in the depths of forests. His greatest success has al- 

 ways been on paths and at the edge of woods. Many beetles 

 and other insects come to the tempting sweets, and separate jars 

 for capturing these should be carried in the pocket. The collector 

 never should attempt to kill beetles in the same jar into which he 

 is putting butterflies. The hard, horny bodies and spiny legs of 

 beetles will make sad havoc with the delicate wings of butterflies. 



Many other baits besides this may be employed to attract in- 

 sects. Some writers recommend a bait prepared by boiling dried 

 apples and mashing them into a pulp, adding a little rum to the 

 mixture, and applying this to the bark of trees. In tropical coun- 



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