294 



APPENDIX B. COLLECTING, PINNING, SETTING. 





killing agent, a little vapour being sufficient. Chloroform should not be used as it 

 turns yellow to red in many cases. 



They are far too large a group to attempt any summary of and they can be caught 

 from early morning to sunset, and in the evening are often easily captured asleep on plants. 



Coleoptera again are far too large to deal with. Every 

 family wants separate collecting. In this group no chance 

 of rearing from the grub should be lost. So little is known 

 and the difficulties are so great that one may look on a 

 reared beetle as something of an achievement and hasten to 

 put the facts on record. This of course does not refer to 

 household plagues which rear themselves far too easily in 

 cheroots, flour, etc. 



Carcases may be mentioned as a good bait, however 

 small they are, and droppings of any kind yield many 

 varieties, as does the bark of old trees. Benzene or cyanide 

 are excellent for killing, and no harm is done by immer- 

 sion in benzene. 



Lepidoptera have fortunately demanded breeding as a 

 necessity of good specimens, hence we know the life 

 histories and caterpillars in many cases. The adventitious 

 aid of " sugaring," and of lights and light traps, enable 

 the moth-hunter to secure many treasures. Chloroform or 

 cyanide is best for killing, not benzene. 



Diptera need a net, or better still, are easily reared 

 when the grubs are gofc. Grubs live in all sorts of places 

 and there is no more widely diffused or more interesting 

 group than this. For variety of habits and habitat, the fly 

 grubs are fully equal to the beetles and beetle grubs, and 

 are more easily reared. The collector will find them every- 

 where, on the wing or as grubs. For killing I prefer a dry 

 tube and a benzened cork. Have a dozen tubes of one size, 

 corked, one containing benzene. Capture your fly, transfer 

 to a clean dry tube, and then holding your thumb over the 

 mouth of the tube transfer the cork of the benzene tube to 

 the tube with the fly in and replace by the clean cork. The 

 fumes of benzene from the cork will then speedily kill the fly. Flies must never be 

 wetted with any liquid whatever. 



Hemiptera can be killed in any fashion 5f they are bigr and hard. Soft ones may 

 need to be preserved in formalin, as all ApMdce (Green-fly), etc. 



A net is hardly needed for most Hemiptera. Plant bugs are rarely very active. 

 Scale insects and mealy wings can only be collected on their food-plants and special 

 attention has to be paid to rearing adults, parasites, etc. Sharp eyes are needed for 

 collecting Hemiptera and not much more. 



The above summary may help the beginner, but will not help the specialist in any 

 order. Every naturalist finds his own methods; lam satisfied with the benzened 

 cork tubes for a killing bottle, a knife, a lens, and a supply of boxes. If I am hunt- 

 ing tfeuroptera or grasshoppers or wasps, I take a net. When a special group is to 

 be studied, I use such special methods as my general experience has taught me suit 



FIG. K. 

 Fly pinned on disc (above"). 



Ichneumon and moth 



pupa case from which it 



emerged, on one pin. 



