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THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



simple ways by anybody who is handy with tools. Any kind of case which 

 will keep out a fly and keep in a caterpillar will serve, provided it gets plenty 

 of light and air, and there is some arrangement for holding the food plant, 

 and keeping it fresh. A small wooden box, set up on one end, with a sheet 

 of glass in front in place of the lid, with some holes cut out in the top and 

 sides, and pieces of fine perforated zinc or gauze tacked over them as venti- 

 lators, will house your larvae perfectly well. Inside it you should place a 

 smaller and quite shallow box, containing dried moss, or even mould or sand, 

 in the middle of which set a small bottle full of water, in which some sprays 

 of the food plant can be placed. Place this breeding cage somewhere in a 

 good light, but not where the direct sunlight will reach it, or the insects will 

 perish ; and you can watch your insects hatch from the egg, and pass through 

 all their stages up to the perfect butterfly. 



An empty aquarium, or fish-globe, covered with fine muslin, is also a suit- 

 able home ; and even a large pickle bottle will do, although the thick rough 

 glass makes it difficult to view the insects within. 



Home-made rearing cages. 



It is most important to remember that the larvae of butterflies feed on par- 

 ticular plants. There is still a very common notion that every caterpillar eats 

 cabbage leaves, or that any kind of vegetation will serve it for a meal. This 

 is, of course, a great mistake ; and a glance at the List of Species will show 

 the usual plants which the various species feed upon. In rearing butterflies, 

 therefore, it is important to try to provide them with their natural food, or, 

 if that should fail, with the nearest approach to it which can be found. For 

 this reason an entomologist, you see, must be something of a botanist too. 



Catching Moths is a rather different occupation from catching butterflies ; 

 for whilst the latter is done by day, much of the former is done by night. 

 The majority of the moths fly only by night, though, of course, there are 

 exceptions, such as the Foresters, the Clearwings, and others, which may be 

 seen in broad daylight ; and still many more may be captured during the day 

 by beating bushes, herbage, and undergrowth, in which it will be found they 

 are resting or sleeping. 



For the rest, much can be done by collecting their larvae, and rearing them 



