CORRESPONDENCE COURSE IN ENTOMOLOGY, 



Conducted Under the Auspices of the Agassiz Association. 



Lesson VI. Sugaring for Moths. 



IMPORTANCE OF SUGARING. 



I do not believe I would have ever become greatly interested in Entomology 

 if I had not learned the fascination and financial profit of sugaring for moths. 

 It was the first lesson my father taught me, and in giving personal instruction to 

 summer pupils I make it the first lesson of the course. Whenever my corre- 

 spondents tire of entomological work I know without ever being told that 

 they have failed to practice sugaring. When pupils report at the close of the 

 season that they have only a few hundred specimens to offer for sale one can 

 read between the lines that they did not successfully sugar. My average catch 

 during July and August of last year was 200 moths each night. Aside from 

 the profit in perfect specimens obtained, there is the harvest of eggs from the 

 damaged and worthless females which cannot be sold. I would contract to 

 furnish 50,000 moth eggs during those two months of any year, if I could find 

 a purchaser who would purchase so many at one cent apiece. It is little trouble 

 to secure eggs from moths. I make the bold assertion that sugaring is the most 

 remunerative part of the collector's work. It is quite true that comparatively 

 few of the entomologists attach great importance to this branch of the work, 

 but that is exactly why the field is so prolific. If a given territory has not been 

 sugared it is almost certain to yield varieties which are new to science. Sugar- 

 ing has discovered a score of new varieties of moths at Truckee, and I have 

 no doubt similar results would be obtained in other localities. 



AS GREAT SPORT AS HUNTING OR FISHING. 



In keen enjoyment and true sport sugaring equals either hunting or fishing. 

 One is thrilled with excitement at almost every step taken in the darkness amid 

 the rustling bushes and trees along the river's bank. The flashes of light and 

 the dense shadows which your lamp awakens in the foliage, the boulders, the 

 stumps and fallen logs, or in the deep gorge and along the side of the high 

 cliffs are apt to make one timid and fearsome at first. There are bound to be 

 little surprises and half-adventures, such as the sudden whir of a bird's wings 

 or the crackling of a dead branch under the foot of some animal, and the 

 gloom and solitude tend to make these harmless episodes almost tragic. People 

 are not generally given to wandering around alone at night with a lamp and 

 cyanide bottle, and the feel of the night air and the lonesomeness give plenty 

 of "color" to your journey. It is barely possible that the gruesomeness and 

 fancied danger has something to do with keeping people from enthusing over 

 sugaring, but with a little experience these things add zest and spice to the 

 fun. It is royal fun, and the supreme moment is when you approach a tree 

 that is fairly covered with gloriously beautiful moths. They are ready to dis- 

 appear at the slightest warning. They do not as a rule light upon the mixture 

 but are found sipping at its edges where they can fly away the moment they 

 sense danger. You must approach stealthily, and must work swiftly and 

 dextrously. The least noise, a slight blunder, a little haste or an instant's 

 hesitation and the prize specimens will be sailing safely above your head. When 



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