CATCHING BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 87 



A little experience will show you that the atmospheric con- 

 ditions form a very important consideration. The dark and warm 

 nights are the most productive. Very little luck is to be anticipated 

 when the full moon is throwing down her silvery rays from a clear 

 sky ; nor will you see many while a cold east or north-east wind is 

 blowing. Under these conditions many moths prefer to keep in the 

 sheltered nooks where they slept away the sunny hours of the day. 

 They love a warm and moist air such as calls forth the odours of 

 the fragrant blossoms that provide their sweets, and show no dislike 

 to a fine drizzling rain that you yourself would prefer to avoid. A 

 pelting shower will generally keep them under cover, but they 

 delight in the fresh and moist air that imme- 

 diately succeeds the passing storm. 



If you reside on the outskirts of a town an 

 occasional tour of inspection of street lamps 

 may add a few specimens to your collection, and 

 some entomologists attach so much importance 

 to the value of these luminaries that they provide 

 themselves with a special net for the removal of 

 moths from the glass and rails (fig. 50). The 

 straight side marked a is applied to the panes 

 of glass when flutterers or settlers are to be 

 taken, and the bend on the opposite side is to 

 secure those that rest on the rail. Such a frame FIG. 50. FRAME 



is easily made by bending a piece of stout wire OF NET FOR COL ' 

 ,1 -in -i j_i i T > i LECTING INSECTS 



to the required shape, and then soldering it to a T ^ 



ferrule to receive a long stick. The net itself WINDOWS.^ 

 should not be deep. 



Many different forms of traps are now made for catching 

 moths, and these are deservedly coming rapidly into favour. They 

 are generally constructed on a ' catch-'em-alive-oh ' principle, and 

 have the advantage that, after having been set, they may be left alone 

 all night without any watching, and give an ambitious collector the 

 opportunity of taking insects in his garden and searching in the 

 open field both at the same time. 



One of these traps may be constructed as follows at the cost 

 of only a few pence over the price of a small paraffin lamp. Put 

 together a square box, the sides about two feet and the front open, 

 or procure a suitable one from your grocer. Place a paraffin lamp 

 with a bright tin reflector at the back of this, and make a hole in 

 the top just over the chimney to allow the heated air to pass out 



