)L1 E0T1 VQ AND REARING TNSBi TS 



pebbles and other objects in grassy spot al thei 



of plants. In many pla specially in alpine tracts, as 



we have found on the summit of Mt. Washington and in 

 Labrador, one has to lie down and look carefully among the 

 shoii herbage and in the moss for Coleoptera. 

 The most advantageous places for collecting are gardi 



and farms, the borders of w Is, and the banks of streams 



and ponds. The d. ■<•]>, dense forests, and open, treeless 

 tracts are less prolific in insect life. In winter and early 

 spring the moss on the trunks of trees, when carefully 

 shaken over a newspaper or white cloth, reveals many 



hectics and 1 1 \ meiioptera. In the late summer and 

 autumn, toadstools and various fungi and rotten fruits at- 

 tract many insects; and in early spring, when the sap is 

 running, we have taken rare ii from the stump 



freshly cut hard-wood trees. Wollaston says: " head ani- 

 mals, partially dried bon well ;i- the skins of moles 

 and other vermin which are ordinarily hung up in fields. 

 are magnificent traps for Coleoptera; and if any of these 

 he placed around orchards and inclosu res nearat home, and 

 be examined every morning, various species of Nit id 

 s hidm, and other insects of similar habits, are certain to 

 b( enticed and captured. 



•■ Planks and chippings of wood may be likewise employed 

 as successful agents in alluring a vast number of spe 

 which mighl otherwise escape our notice: and if these be 

 laid down in grassy places, and carefully inverted every now 

 and then with, as little violence as possible, many in- 

 will be found adhering beneath them, especially after dewj 

 nights and in showery weather. Nor must we omit to i 

 the importance of examining the under - 

 the vicinity of ants' nests, in which position, during the 

 Bpring and summer months, many of the ran - r native 



Coleoptera may be occasionally procured." 1 nti- 



tious matter always contains many int< i ''ins in 



various stages oi growth. 



The trunks of fallen and decaying trees offer a rich 



