-OF THE- 



§voofelp Entomological Jforietg* 



BROOKLYN, JULY 1878. No. 3. 



PRACTICAL HINTS ON C0LLI3CTIN3 ODLTIOFTSU, 



BY H. SCHMELTER. 



How do you capture beetles ? is a question so often addressed 

 to a collector, that 1 do not think it out of place to discuss it at 

 length in our Bulletin. The beginner who is not so fortunate as 

 to be in position 1o pi of it by the experience of an older collec- 

 tor, will surely find some points of interest, and the latter will, I 

 hope, be induced by it, to communicate his individual observations 

 en the habits and hiding-places of coleoptera. 



The proper choice of a locality for collecting is a point of first 

 importance It is true that insects are found everywhere, but 

 like all the rest of the animal world their existence is more or less 

 dependent ou water. 



(Scarcity of water' in a region is synonymous .with scarcity of in- 

 sect life, and the collector can save much time and be spared much 

 discouraging experience by a knowledge of this fact- 

 Beetles are to be found at all seasons of the year. Many species 

 hibernate in mature form, hidden under loose bark, or under moss 

 at the foot of trees, under the dried leaves which cover the 

 ground, or in the earth, under stones, etc. An excellent mode 

 of capturing beetles of smaller size is the sifting of mouldering 

 leaves, which is equally remunerative at all times. The leaves 

 should be taken from hollows in the ground, where they form thick 

 layers, and especially from places near the borders of woods. 



The sieve I use consists of a wire ring of about one foot in dia- 

 meter, to which a bag of coarse muslin of about the same length 

 is tewed, the bottom of which is formed of a piece of brass wire- 

 cloth of about 10 inches diameter, and with about 5 mm. square 

 snaces. 'ihe sifting could be done over a sheet of white muslin 

 or paper, or better, by placing the sieve into a bag of 1£ feet 

 length fastened to a ring equal to that of the sieve. The sifted 



