160 THE ENTOMOI.OGIST. 



FRUIT versus SUGAR. 

 By George Barnard. 



It may serve to amuse some of your readers to know how we 

 catch moths on this side of the workl, using fruit instead of 

 sugaring ; so I will give a slight sketch of our proceedings 

 towards the end of January, 1885. We had had heavy rains 

 and hot steaming days, all vegetation was running a mad race, 

 and such fruit as we can grow here was ripening apace. With 

 the hot steaming days came innumerable butterflies, — for years 

 past there has been nothing like it, the Whites and Yellow, 

 Catopsilia, Pieris, and Terias being most prominent. 



Seeing such a profusion of Rhopalocera made one suspect that 

 moths might be equally numerous, so we began our traps in this 

 way. Having gathered half a dozen ripe bananas, we hung them 

 in separate places about the garden. About half an hour after 

 dark we began our rounds, lantern (buUs'-eye) in hand. The 

 first we came to had one large moth, Ophideres fullonica, hanging 

 to it, but, as it was not a good specimen, it was allowed to remain. 

 On the others were sometimes two and even three. The best 

 were selected and captured in this way: — A large prune-bottle, 

 charged with cyanide of potassium, was quietly held under the 

 moth, and, if the fumes were not sufficiently powerful to cause 

 the insect to drop, the cork was brought down and the moth 

 forced into the bottle ; after a few moments it was taken out and 

 pricked with oxalic acid (for which hint I am indebted to the 

 ' Insect Hunter's Companion.') And so we went on, getting 

 another species or so occasionally, notably O. imperator; but the 

 first few evenings being dry and comparatively cool and windy 

 moths did not put in a numerous appearance. But then came a 

 change. A slight rain came on for the next three days, the 

 evenings being misty and warm. At night moths became as 

 numerous as butterflies by day ; and our enthusiasm was excited 

 to the highest pitch, for on each banana three, four, and even six, 

 grand moths were hanging, jostling each other to get at the juice, 

 and on some figs just ripening and burst with the wet were 

 countless moths, a sight to be remembered ; they were actually 

 in clusters, and of many species. Besides those mentioned 

 above were O. materna and O. salaiuinea, two species of Hulodes, 



