CAPTURING MOTHS BY "ASSEMBLING." 305 



thereby forming the rudimentary outline of a hollow sphere, 

 over which it is an easy matter to stretch and tie a piece of 

 leno. When required for use the female may be put in, either 

 loose or clinging to a twig of the length of the diameter of the 

 globe, and the leno tied afterwards. 



"The theory of the peculiar action of the female upon the 

 senses of the males is usually considered to be due to a subtle 

 scent which emanates from her, and is wafted on the breeze to 

 distant parts ; and it is believed that by means of this scented 

 track the males are enabled to discover the whereabouts of the 

 object of their search. And that this would appear to be the 

 true solution, no one who has witnessed the grand spectacle of 

 the ' Kentish Glories ' or the ' Emperor ' moths coming up 

 against the wind can, I should say, for a moment doubt. 



" To be attractive the female must be in that condition which 

 is known by the fraternity as ' calling,' that is, she should be 

 slightly convulsed with tremor, and the last segment of the 

 body should be denuded of fur. Then, if the weather be pro- 

 pitious — bright for such males as fly in the sunshine, warm at 

 dusk for those whose hour of flight commences with the shades 

 of evening — and if also the wind be blowing steadily from a 

 favourable quarter, such as west, south, or a gentle south-west, 

 we may reasonably hope for success. 



" But the young collector must remember that it does not by 

 any means follow that because he captures a female, say an 

 ' Oak eggar,' on the wing in the evening, he has detected the 

 time of flight of the males. In fact, it very frequently 

 happens that the males fly in the daytime and the females 

 in the evening. 



"In the case of species which inhabit open parts of the 

 country, such as moors, mosses, commons, chases, fens, and fields, 

 we should take care that no obstacle is in the way to prevent the 

 current of air from carrying the scent freely over the locality. 

 On the other hand, if it be the inmates of a wood or copse which 

 we are desirous of attracting, we must either select a ride down 

 which the wind finds its way, or else we shall have to allow the 

 breeze to convey the scent from some part of the surrounding 

 country to the outskirts of the wood. 



" As a rule, it is quite sufficient for our ends to lay the baited 



