[45] 



COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS RILEY. 



especially toward evening. On favorable days the number of specimens and 

 species that can thus be found is astonishingly great, and this is one of the few 

 occasions when the Coleopterist can advantageously use a light butterfly net. The 

 flying beetles preferably alight and rest on the top of wooden fences (especially 

 newly made ones), on the railings of bridges, etc., where they can be easily seen and 

 secured, or they are attracted in great numbers by the white-painted surface of 

 buildings. This flying season lasts in the latitude of Washington from the end of 

 April to the middle of June, but favorable days are not of frequent occuri-ence, since 

 a peculiar combination of atmospheric conditions appears to be necessary to induce 

 the Coleoptera to fly about in great numbers. 



Beach collecting. — Along the shores of the ocean and the Great Lakes untold 

 numbers of Coleoptera and other insects fall at this season into the water, and, if the 

 tides, the currents, and the winds be favorable, they are washed ashore by the waves 

 on the sandy beaches, where they often form windrows several inches in height and 

 width. If the collector is happy enough to be at the right place on the right day 

 he has then the opportunity to pick up hundreds of rare species within a very short 

 time and without any trouble. Many of the specimens thus washed ashore are dead 

 a,nd decayed, but the majority are alive and in excellent condition. This "beach 

 collecting" affords also an excellent opportunity for the Hymenopterist and Hemip- 

 terist to secure large numbers of rare species, but favorable days are also here of 

 rare occurrence. 



Attracting iy Lights. — On the beaches, day and night flying insects can thus be cap- 

 tured. Away from the beach night-flying Coleoptera can best be collected at the 

 electric lights of our cities; but, as in the Lepidoptera, not all night-flying species 

 are attracted by the light. Gas and other lights also attract Coleoptera, and the 

 various "light traps" that have been devised and described can advantageovisly be 

 Tised for collecting these insects. 



Traps. — The method of " sugaring," so important to the Lepidopterist, is by far less 

 favorable for collecting Coleoptera. Still, certain rare Carabidse, Elateridse, and 

 CerambycidiB are attracted by this bait, and the Coleopterist 

 should not entirely ignore this mode of collecting. There are 

 a few other methods of trapping certain Coleoptera. By laying 

 out dead mammals, birds, fishes, snakes, etc., on suitable places 

 and so that they are protected from dogs, rats, etc., the carrion- 

 feeding Coleoptera can be found in great abundance, but a cleaner 

 and less disagreeable method of obtaining them is to bury in 

 the ground tin cans or glass jars so that the top is even with 

 the surrounding ground and to bait them with pieces of meat, 

 fried fish, boiled eggs, etc. Many Curculionidte, Scolytidse, and 

 numerous other wood-inhabiting species can be successfully 

 trapped in the following way : A number of branches, preferably 

 of only one kind of tree, are cut and tied up into bundles of con- 

 venient size. The bundles are then laid on the ground in a 

 shady place or firmly fastened on trunks of trees. When the 

 cut branches begin to get dry they will attract many of these 

 Coleoptera, which can then be readily collected by shaking the 

 bundles out over the collecting cloth. 



Freshets. — Freshets usually take place in springtime in most of 

 our rivers and creeks, and furnish the means of obtaining a mul- 

 titude of Coleoptera, among which there will be many species which can not, or 

 only accidentally, be found otherwise. These freshets, sweeping over the low banks 

 or inundating wide stretches of low land, carry with them all insects that have been 

 «aught by the inundation. Intermingled with, and usually clinging to, the various 

 floating debris, these insects are eventually washed ashore by the current at various 

 points and the Coleopterist should not miss this rare opportunity, but go out to the 



I'iG. 65.— An Elatericl 

 (Fyrophorus noctilu- 

 cus). (From Pack- 

 ard.) 



