RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



27 



Insect Collecting. 



F. E. GRAY. 



This is a subject about which much has 

 been written, and there are munN' different 

 ideas about the methods used, so that some- 

 thing new may be gained from each writer. 

 I have been aslved man}' times, what poison 

 I used, and how I made my hire for night 

 collecting. M3' experience may develop 

 some points that will be of advantage to 

 others. 



The first thing to be thought of is the 

 poison to be used to kill the specimens. 

 Some have a preference for ether, others 

 for cyanide of potassium. I find that the 

 best chloroform is bj' all odds the safest, 

 cheapest in the end, and produces better 

 results than any other poison. Ether requires 

 a longer time to kill than chloroform, while 

 cj'anide will not answer with many of our 

 delicate-colored insects unless the}' are re- 

 moved from the collecting bottle very shortl}' 

 after being caught, for if left in a minute 

 too long, the powerful poison will act on the 

 delicate coloring matter and either com- 

 pletely destroy it or render it several shades 

 lighter, thus spoiling the insect as a speci- 

 men. And what collector would wish to 

 stop, should he be on the jump for an hour 

 at a time, in a locali'ty where insects are 

 plenty, and no time to pause without the 

 risk of losing some rare specimens, for it 

 takes but a few minutes to spoil a specimen, 

 so quickly does the cyanide eat into the tis- 

 sues of the body and wings. It answers 

 very well on our larger coleoptera, as they 

 are very hard to kill, but even then, care 

 has to be taken, for it is dangerous to han- 

 dle, or even to breathe the fumes, as it is, 

 with one exception, our deadliest poison. I 

 have used chloroform for several years, and 

 it has given me the best of satisfaction, 

 with no danger in the handling. Cyanide 

 stiffens the muscles of insects so that it is 

 very difficult to set up a specimen after be- 

 ing killed, even if it is softened by expos- 

 ure to steam ; while chloroform merely stif- 

 fens them for a few moments, they quickly 

 relax, and can be set up with ease several 

 hours after being killed. I have had some 

 of our most delicately colored moths soaked I 

 with chloroform in a collecting bottle for 

 nearly half a day, and within two minutes I 



after their removal the chloroform would 

 evaporate, and the colors come out as 

 bright and clear as in life, and even after 

 remaining in my cabinet for years, show no 

 change in color, and for this reason 1 am 

 inclined to think that it tends to fix the col- 

 oring matter, instead of hurting it. 



Experience has taught me that few 

 boxes and bottles are necessary, unless for 

 an extended trip of several days. P'or a 

 hunt around the suburbs of the city, I pro- 

 vide myself with a folding net, with a han- 

 dle about four and a half feet long, for lep- 

 idoptera, a large-mouthed bottle holding a 

 half-pint or so, and a smaller one for cole- 

 optera, for in dying, the hard bodies and 

 sharp tarsi of the beetles are apt to injure 

 the wings of moths and butterflies, when 

 put in the same bottle. Then, with a half 

 dozen small boxes of different sizes lined 

 with cotton, and a "digger" (a broad- 

 bladed old chisel) for working around 

 stumps and trees, I am fully equipped. 

 The chloroform I carry in a small vial in a 

 vest pocket. In preparing my collecting 

 bottle, I cut three thicknesses out of cotton 

 batting to fit inside the bottle, and glue 

 lightly around the edges to prevent slipping, 

 and when on the ground I pour ten or more 

 drops of the chloroform on the cotton, re- 

 newing it in about an hour. When I have 

 a number of insects in either bottle, I re- 

 move them to the boxes, and add to the 

 same until they are full, for I find there is 

 less danger of damaging specimens when 

 closely packed than when only two or three 

 are placed in each box. Paper cut for the 

 purpose is a good thing to carry for large, 

 fine specimens. 



For a lure for night collecting, I have 

 found that the best is made with a pint of 

 ale or beer, either fresh or stale, with about 

 a pound and a half of dark brown sugar 

 thoroughly dissolved in it. Many collectors 

 put the lure on the trees in the daytime and 

 then collect from them in the evening ; but 

 I have found that when this is done the 

 ants, those pests of insect society, will gen- 

 erally cover the lure before I am ready for 

 work at night, and in such numbers that it 

 is impossible for a moth to alight. About 

 sunset I lure eighteen or twenty trees, put- 

 ting one or two brushfuls of the lure on 

 each, and then, after waiting fifteen minutes 

 or so, find that it works to a charm. For 



