KILLING SPECIAL INSECTS 27 



considerably, but not to a point. Some insects are best caught 

 when they are on the wing; others should be allowed to alight. A 

 quick pass is made with the net, forcing the butterfly or moth, or 

 grasshopper, as the case may be, to the bottom, and a turn of the 

 wrist folds the net upon itself, preventing the captive from escap- 

 ing. In sweeping for grass or clover insects, the net is passed back 

 and forth as one walks along, striking the tops of the plants, and 

 by its continued and rapid motion the captured specimens are 

 kept safely in the bottom of the net until the collector stops, when 

 a rapid turn doubles the net and holds all the contained insects 

 securely. In beating brush or shrubbery a "beating net," made of 

 stout cloth, is used. 



FIG. 34. A convenient collecting net. 



Killing Special Insects. The writer sometimes lulls stinging 

 insects to unconsciousness by placing the point of the net in the 

 bottle, and holding the cork over the mouth for a minute, when 

 the bee or wasp can be taken out safely, and dropped into the 

 killing bottle to complete the operation. Butterflies and moths 

 should not be permitted to flutter about in a cyanide bottle, thus 

 denuding the wings of their beautiful scales. They may be pinched 

 between thumb and finger while still in the net (Fig. 35), or a drop 

 of chloroform may be placed on the thorax and abdomen, and then 

 the insects transferred to the cyanide bottle. Plant lice are best 

 killed by dropping into vials of alcohol. 



