FARMERS BULLETIN 600- 



handling the specimens. For collecting insects from the branches 

 and leaves of trees, an inverted umbrella is the most useful implement. 

 Hold it at arms length under the tree and jar the limb with a heav}' 

 stick. A sudden shock will dislodge many beetles and (^ther insects 

 that one would not have noticed upon the tree. 



Cans or bottles sunk in the ground so that the top is even with the 

 top of the soil and baited with meat, a dead mouse, rotten apples, 

 etc., will be visited by various insects. Boards or pieces of bark left 

 on the ground near the edges of woods and meadows will serve as 

 shelters for a variety of insects, and if visited occasionaEy one will find 



many interesting speci- 

 mens . Always turn b ack 

 stones, logs, or boards 

 after examining them so 

 that they Avill continiie 

 to attract insects. 



Many insects occur 

 among dead leaves and 

 moss. These may be 

 sifted out on a white 

 l)aper or cloth by the 

 use of a sieve similar to 

 an ash sieve but with a 

 finer mesh. On collect- 

 ing trips one should take 

 along some empty pill 

 boxes or larger tm boxes 

 for caterpillars and other 

 larva3. 



One must always be 

 careful in taking insects 

 from a net not to crush 

 them nor rub the scales 

 Always handle specimens 



t 



Fig. 3.— roison bottles. 



from the wings of butterflies and moths 

 as little as possible. 



THE KILLING BOTTLE. 



After the insect is caught it is necessary to kill it with as little 

 pain to the creature as possible and without damaging the speci- 

 men. Insects are so different from human beings and their sensa- 

 tions appreciated through much less perfect organs and their brains 

 of such a very inferior nature that it is improbable they feel much 

 pain through death. Many insects can have their legs and other 

 parts broken from them without incapacitating them in any way, 

 and many kinds have parasites living within them and feeding on 



