BUTTERFLIES, SPHINGES, AND MOTHS. 213 



THE HOOP NET. 



This hoop net consists of a strong brass wire 

 hoop, from nine inches to a foot in diameter, with a 

 socket for receiving the end of a walking stick or 

 rod, which the lepidopterist should always carry 

 along with him. Some are made with a screw, for 

 greater security. To this ring is attached a bag 

 of net, gauze, or muslin, about a foot in depth. 

 The French collectors/' say Messrs Kirby and 

 Spens, * " use a net of this kind, in which the 

 hoop is formed of two semicircular pieces of iron or 

 brass wire, hooked together at one end, and at the 

 other made to lap over the corresponding piece, and 

 pierced to receive the screw at the end of your 

 stick. When not employed they double the hoop, 

 and conceal it under the rest ; they fix to it a mus- 

 lin bag of two feet long. This net is made to serve 

 various purposes. With it they catch Lepidoptera, 

 and other flying insects ; and an adroit collector, by 

 giving it a certain twist, completely closes the mouth, 



* Introduction to Entomology, iv. p. 516. 



