DIRECTIONS FOE COLLECTING INSECTS 1/ 



All the mature specimens found should be taken, since 

 this will furnish an opportunity of exchanging with others, 

 not only of the same class, but with collectors at a distance. 



If snail shells are desired the smaller forms will be found 

 in the leaves or in the mosses down close to the rocks. 



(3) Open Places. — This includes prairies and places 

 where the woods are not thick. Such places usually have 

 flowers and other vegetation so that specimens, such as 

 grasshoppers, butterflies, bees, and some forms of beetles 

 are abundant. 



The flowers attract the butterflies, bees and sometimes 

 the beetles. For catching them the net is convenient, but 

 care must be taken that the butterflies are not allowed to 

 flutter in the net for fear of spoiling their wings. The 

 best method of killing moths and butterflies is by dropping 

 gasoline over the ventral side of the thorax and abdomen. 



The grasshoppers are found hopping or flying over the 

 grass, but some of the smaller forms must be looked for 

 in the leaves or on the fence, the color of which they imitate. 

 Occasionally boring insects are found in dry clay banks on 

 the sides of the roads or streams. It may be mentioned 

 here that some of the most beautiful beetles are found on 

 or near the bodies of dead animals. 



(4) Ponds and Streams. — These are explored with the 

 net and are very rich in animal forms. The beetles which 

 swim through and on top of the water, the bugs which glide 

 over and dart through it, and the larvae of dragon flies which 

 crawl on the bottom of the pond, are found at all times 

 during the collecting season in great numbers. In the 

 spring, fresh-water shrimps, and the eggs of frogs, toads 

 and salamanders are often found. In addition to these, 



STU. IN ZOOL. — 2 



