ENTOMOLOGICAL CONmiBUTIONS— HACKEE. 107 



when the weather is settled, there is an autumn burst of life which consists chiefly 

 of the second brood of the same species which appeared in the spring, although 

 generally speaking they are not so numerous as the first brood. 



When the Leptospermuni flowers are beginning to open one can pick off 

 any desired insect with the net without any difficulty; later on it is not so easy, as 

 it is impossible to catch one without getting a dozen other insects at the same 

 time, and sometimes the desired specimen escapes in the confusion. The plan 

 which T adopt is to pass (luickly among the flowering bushes, sweeping the insects 

 off with the net before they have time to become alarmed. When the mas.s of 

 insects, petals, leaves, &c., at the bottom of the net have accumulated into a good- 

 sized ball, I put it together with part of the net into a wide-mouthed killing bottle 

 for a few minutes; it can then be safely turned out into the killing bottle and 

 another "sweep" made. By this means numbers of minute bees and wasps are 

 captured which would otherwise be overlooked. 



Another good method of collecting Hymenoptera, and one which proves 

 very successful when the conditions are favourable, is to take note of all the dams 

 and waterholes in the district to be collected over, and then visit them in 

 November or December. About that time they will be nearly dry and the mud 

 around the edges will be visited by many tine wasps and bees. Some of the \vasps 

 go to obtain nnid for cell-making; some predatory species go to capture other 

 insects; while the bees go to satisfy their thirst and also to obtain water for their 

 larvfe. Every beekeeper knows what a large quantity of water the bees require in 

 the spring when brood-rearing is going on. The wild beers under similar ciicum- 

 stances also consume a quantity of water. 



An vniusual method is the following, which is copied verbatim Crom my 

 note-book: — "On November 18th I hap])ened to be collecting in the neighbour- 

 hood of Sunnybank. It wa.s one of the hottest days experienced this sea.son, and 

 in addition a hot wind was blowing. No insects were to be seen on the Vving. and 

 my prospect of obtaining anything on such a day seemed small. While passing a 

 large eucalypt which was in flower I noticed a few large Diptera on the side which 

 was sheltered from the hot wind, and on closer examination found scores of 

 insects belonging to nearly all the orders, the Hymenoptera and Diptera predomi- 

 nating. There were also a fair number of Hemiptera, while Coleoptera were in 

 great numbers under pieces of loose bark and in every crack and cranny. The 

 remainder of the day was spent in examining similar tree-trunks, the res\dt being 

 a record for one day's collecting. In Hymenoptera alone fifteen si^eeies of bees 

 and forty-seven species of wasps were taken on the sheltered sides of these trees. ' ' 

 Evidently the insects had been attracted to the flowers earlier in the day ; but the 

 inten.se heat, together with the hot wind, drove them to the trunks for shelter. 



A final word of advice is to collect flower-fi-equeuting species in the 

 morning. The flowers yield their nectar freely in the forenoon. In the heat of 



