COLLECTING MOTHS. 35 
on the condition of the atmosphere; for on some nights the scent 
does not seem to travel well, and on others it must go for miles, jude- 
ing by the number of specimens that follow it up. It is a fine sight 
and one worth losing half a night’s sleep, to see these great moths, 
from two to a dozen at a time, circling about the trees or alighting 
on the grass, all eager to pay homage to the gentle lady in the net. 
She generally remains quiet or gives her wings a gentle tremulous 
motion, presumably to attract her dilatory lover, whom she has good 
reason to suspect has deserted her for some other fair virgin. 
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One particular evening when we were boys, my brother and I 
stayed up nearly all night capturing the moths that came to one 
captive female, Telea polyphemus. My mother came out about mid- 
night to tell us that we must stop and go to bed; but she became so 
interested that she not only gave her consent to our remaining at the 
work, but actually got her net and joined in the excitement. We 
took something over two hundred perfect specimens of the males 
that night. It is a splendid way to capture large and fine specimens 
for the cabinet, and also to get series showing variety of coloring. 
To see Actias luna, that lovely pea-green gem of the night, 
assemble in numbers, is an experience not soon forgotten. The 
female of this species should be taken to the edge of a forest con- 
taining walnut or birch trees and placed in position before dark. 
One must keep a constant watch over the prisoner, as birds and bats 
think of entomological specimens only as savory morsels for a meal, 
and will not scruple to tear the net open to get at the prize, as I have 
known them to do on several occasions much to my disgust. 
But to go on with the methods for collecting: Take a lantern, a 
net and a poison jar. with a box or a small satchel and plenty of 
papers. If the night is favorable and the female in the right condi- 
tion to give off the scent, a very interesting time may be expected. 
The moths are so light colored that they look almost white in the 
light of the lantern, and as they flutter down from the trees to 
where the female is held captive one will almost hold his breath for 
fear of frightening them. They are not wild, however, and do not 
seem to notice the collector and his net and lantern. 
Cats and skunks take advantage of such chances of procuring a 
meal, and I remember once having left out all night a female moth 
in a net, and looking out in the morning to see my lawn strewn with 
the wings of hundreds of moths which the cats had killed and eaten. 
