256 ENTOMOLOGICAL, NEWS. [KoV 



THE "ART" OF COLLECTING CATOCALA. 



By H. Schwaez, St. Louis, Mo. 



I suppose almost every collector of Lepidoptera has more or 

 less made the acquaintance of collecting Catocala, and found it 

 to be a most vexing task, owing to the difficulties involved in 

 the undertaking. 



I have tried various methods. One is that of spearing them 

 with a bow and arrow, only that I used the weapon on a small 

 scale. It is made of a willow twig about eight inches long and 

 three- fourths of an inch in diameter. This is hollowed out 

 and a stick to fit the inside (one inch longer than the hollow 

 one) IS supplied. Three needles are then inserted into one end 

 of the stick in a triangular form and so that their pointed ends 

 are outward. A stout wire abput three inches long is then fas- 

 tened about three and one-half inches from one end of the hollow 

 piece in such a manner that about one inch of wire will extend 

 from each side of the wood . A medium-sized rubber is then 

 fastened— one end to each of the extending wires — so that it will 

 lay over the hollow piece without being expanded. T^ow insert 

 the stick (the one holding the needles) into the hollow one and 

 your gun is ready for action. This instrument has a great 

 drawback, owing to the experience needed to operate it. A 

 novice will invariably either damage the specimen, so as to 

 render it unfit for the cabinet, or miss his would-be captive 

 altogether ; probably the latter. 



Another method is '^the cyanide bottle." This is very 

 simple, but more profitable than the preceding. The speci- 

 men must be approached with extreme care and the bottle 

 placed over it with great dexterity. The last but most satis- 

 factory method is collecting with the net. A little practice 

 will enable the collector to secure his prize almost every time 

 a hit is made ; at least such was my experience. 



As it may also be of interest to beginners in the '^ art" of 

 collecting Catocala to know how this is done to the best ad- 

 vantage, I will here give a description. During the months 

 of June, July and August the Ca^ocaZa-hunter of this section 

 will find his game in dark, moist places, heavily timbered 

 with oak, elm and other rough-barked trees. Owing to the 

 similar coloration of the forewings (primaries) in the genus 



