HOW TO MAKE A COLLECTION, 31 
For a collector to capture one hundred species of butterflies in a 
day in some parts of Mexico, Columbia or Brazil is not an unheard-of 
thing ; but here we have to be contented with a much smaller variety, 
and to take ten or twelve kinds in good condition is a good day’s col- 
lecting. 
WHEN BUTTERFLIES ARE MOST ABUNDANT. 
June, and the latter part of August and the first of September 
are the best times of the year for collecting in the United States, 
although many kinds are to be taken at other times. 
Between the latter part of June and the first of August there 
is generally a dearth of specimens, except of the different kinds of 
Argynnis, Which are most abundant about the middle of July. This 
does not apply to the mountain districts, as excellent collecting may 
be had in the vicinity of Mt. Washington, N. H., the Berkshire Hills, 
Mass., the Adirondacks, N. Y., Blue Ridge, Va., and the Ozark 
Mountains, Ark. in July, where a dozen species of butterflies will be 
found in their prime at that season. The reason for this searcity of 
butterflies when one might expect to find them most numerous is 
that the first brood has all hatched and gone, and the second is at 
that time still growing in the larval state. A collector may go out 
with his net at such a time and be well-nigh disgusted at the poverty 
of a locality which at former seasons has yielded him a fair harvest 
for his labors. How dull and uninteresting are the fields of grass 
and clover where not even a common yellow Colias or a white Pieris 
flits across the landscape to gladden his eyes. Plenty of moths may 
be had at this season, but the butterflies are scarce. 
I am often asked by persons interested, How long does a butter- 
fly live?” My answer is: “Some species only a few days, or a week 
or two at the most: some hibernate and live in a dormant state sev- 
eral months, but their life of activity is very short; a butterfly is at 
its best only two or three days.” 
