PEOCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 945 



puffed into the herbage with the mouth (tobacco smoke) or a bee-smoker 

 or a smudge being used. Large numbers of small insects are often 

 to be collected in this way. 



Beating bushes or herbage with a stick will dislodge munerous insects 

 which may be caught as they fly put or when settled again. The beating 

 or shaking of trees, bushes, flowers, etc., over an inverted umbrella, 

 piece of white cloth or large sheet of paper, will also result in the dropping 

 of large numbers of miscellaneous insects, which can be picked out as 

 required; or the whole mass can be placed in a tight bag for subse- 

 quent examination at leisure. 



Flowers, moss, termites' fumjus-combs, etc.. may similarly be collected 

 in a tight bag and turned out for subsequent examination over a clean 

 «heet of paper or cloth. Termitoxenia may thus be collected from the 

 fungus-combs, and especially the " nursery combs " of mound-building 

 termites. 



The time of day, when collecting is done, will determine to a large 

 extent the material collected in the case of many groups and, con- 

 versely, if it is intended to collect particular groups, it is important to 

 select the appropriate time of day for their collection. 



The early part of the forenoon, when the sun begins to warm the 

 air, is the feeding-time of many butterflies, such as Ornithoptera and 

 strong-flying Papihonids, which then descend to feed on such flowers 

 as Lantana, but later on in the day fly high up or at such a pace that 

 capture becomes very diflSicult. 



The morning is also the best time to catch dragon-flies, partly because 

 their intestines are then less likely to be replete with insect prey, since 

 specimens taken with empty alimentary canals are more likely to keep 

 their colours than examples which are full of insect prey, and partly 

 because many dragon-flies are to be found in mimbers near water in 

 the morning but in the afternoon seem to disperse and are often not 

 to be found in places where earlier in the day they were 

 abundant. 



The early evening is the best time for the collection of Microlepi- 

 doptera which may then be beaten out of bushes and herbage or taken 

 on the wing. 



Twilight brings forth a few butterflies [e.g., Melanitis) most Sphingids 

 and Mel ol outbids. Sphingids and the ciu^ious nightflying bee [Xyloco'pa 

 rufescens) may then be caught attracted to flowers, and Melolonthids 

 may be found feeding or clustered on leaves or may be attracted to a 

 white sheet. 



i2 



