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FIRST HINTS ON COLLECTING BUTTERFLIES (BEING £ 



SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER TO THE ARTICLES ON THE 



COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA). 



By L. C. H. Young, b.a„ f.z.s., f.e.s. 



I have never tried to write an article or series of articles before in what is 

 called a " popular " manner, and I am quite aware that these I am now pro- 

 ducing will have many faults from the popular point of view. Two have 

 been pointed out tome by friendly critics of the first part which appeared in 

 the last number of the Journal. 



The first of these I am not at all inclined to admit, vis., that I have given 

 different names to certain insects to those which Indian collectors have been 

 accustomed to for thirty years and more. 



Now these articles are not intended for people who have been collecting 

 butterflies for thirty years, nor even for much shorter periods, but for beginners 

 only. From this point of view, it is only necessary to give one name, and that 

 the right one. In fact, it is imperative not to give more than one, as it would 

 merely confute the reader for whom the article is intended ; and an historical* 

 disquisition, explaining how the latest modern research in the sometimes rather- 

 obscure works of early naturalists leads us to conclude that a particular name 

 has precedence over its synonyms, would be quite out of place, and can be- 

 found elsewhere. All I endeavour to do is to give a nomenclature which is 

 not likely to be upset in our time. 



The second criticism is a more reasonable one. That the series to be of 

 real use to beginners should not merely teach them how to name their collec- 

 tions, but also how to make the collections first ; and, with the permission of 

 the editors, I propose to give very briefly a few hints on collecting. 

 Hints on collecting Butterflies. 



There are two ways of collecting butterflies — one is to catch them, the other- 

 to breed them from the egg or caterpillar. The advantage of the latter is-, 

 that you make sure of getting fresh specimens. On the other hand, very 

 few of us in India have the leisure to do this properly, and most of us- 

 must be content with collecting the perfect insects only. I will deal with this- 

 process first. The first requisite is a net. There are apparently many different 

 kinds of nets on the market ; some evidently made expressly for beginners,, 

 since no one of any experience would ever buy them. The strongest form is. 

 made of thick steel wire with a loop at one end, through which the other end 

 fits this latter being in the form of a screw and fitting into a metal socket at the 

 end of the stick or handle. On the other hand, this form is not very portable, 

 and o-enerally has to be made specially for you. The most practically service- 

 able is made of cane with two joints in it, so that it can be folded up and put 

 in the pocket, if necessary, the ends fitting into a Y, the long arm of which fits 

 on to the handle. The important thing is that the net should be circular. 



The bag should be made of white or green leno, or any other colour, though,. 

 I think, these are the bsst, and are certainly the most easily procurable at short. 



