NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



company with one who has done some coUecting, and plan the course so 

 that diversified country will be traversed. Insects may be found in 

 almost any place, but experience will soon teach the most favorable 

 locahties. At first take everything, thus training eye 

 and muscle, and learning a little of the varied forms 

 of life. The collector will soon find that beetles, bugs 

 and other insects can not be put in the same bottle 

 with certain forms without becoming covered with 

 scales, and if ambitious to secure nice specimens, he 

 will have a special bottle for butterflies and moths. 

 Dragon flies are also best kept in a large bottle by 

 themselves. Large insects injure the smaller ones 

 and it will be found that numbers of water insects 

 can not be put in with others without injury to many 

 of the more delicate terrestrial forms. Hence, the 

 Fig. 7 Ptatoi case bearer necessity of treating collected insects differently, and 



(original). 



the immense number of forms to be studied, will 

 soon compel specialization to a certain extent. That is, all those be- 

 longing to one order, as the butterflies and moths, the beetles, etc., or 

 those attacking a few related plants or occurring in 

 certain localities will be collected in preference to 

 all others, and in this way many valuable facts are 

 ascertained, which would be impossible were general 

 collecting continued indefinitely, and at the same 

 time much pleasure may be derived from the pursuit. 

 The actual method of procedure can hardly be 

 described. In a general way walk rather slowly, 

 pausing to examine a cluster of flowers, to look 

 under stones, to examine the trunk and branches 

 of trees, rotting wood, etc. After a little practice it 

 will be surprising to see how many species on flowers 

 can be taken with nothing but the collecting bottle. 

 Many insects belonging to the bee and wasp family, 

 some very handsome beeties, interesting members 

 of the true bug family and a few flies can be captured 

 in this manner. As some beetles and bugs drop p,o. « cocoon. of appie 

 readily to the ground, the. bottle should be held a B"ee"'»trix (original), 

 little below the insect. Dark colored, rapid running ground beetles may 

 be found under stones and will require quick work to catch them. 

 Trunks and branches of trees repay a careful examination. On the 



