372 INSECT MISCELLANIES. 



Ring-net. Net-forceps. 



We have taken a great number of insects by means 

 of a pill-box, putting the lid on one side and the bot- 

 tom on the other side of a leaf, and suddenly shutting 

 in both the insect and the part of the leaf it was 

 sitting on. When a small moth, again, or other 

 insect, is resting on a wall, a pane of glass, or the 

 smooth trunk of a tree, we take off the lid of a pill- 

 box, cover the insect with the bottom part, which we 

 move backwards and forwards till the insect takes 

 refuge from the annoyance at the very bottom, when 

 we cover it as quickly as possible with the lid. This 

 is by far the best way of taking small moths, for their 

 delicate plumage is not injured, as it must inevitably be 

 when they are touched even in the most gentle way. 



We purchased last year, in Paris, a pair of insect 

 forceps, which do not seem to be known to our col- 

 lectors, but which we have found exceedingly useful 

 for taking beetles and other insects out of holes where 

 they cannot be otherwise easily reached. The instru- 

 ment is made of steel, and resembles a pair of large 

 scissors. In some, the handle-rings are like those of 

 scissors, on a line with the blades; in others, they are 

 at right angles to these. The pliers used by our col- 

 lectors are much inferior in utility, being too small, 



