33 



l)oth divisions of the capsule, it would thoroughly line one all with silk, after 

 cutting an aperture for escape, and ensconce itself, as might reasonably be 

 supposed, for its winter's sleep. But no ; the neatly lined cell was only a tem- 

 porary abode, which, during the inclemency of mid-winter, was to be deserted 

 for an entirely different one. Where, in the state of nature. I have not yet been 

 able to discover. In my rearing jars it perished, year after year, to my inex- 

 pressible disappointment, until finally I wintered a number out of doors in a 

 small wire cloth box closed with a cork. From this collection I at last obtained 

 the moth — a beautiful Conchylis — from a larva that had bored into and trans- 

 formed w^ithin the cork. But for two or three years I had only the single 

 specimen, and next to the aggravation of utter failure I rank the possession of 

 an unknown unique. It may be new, and if sent to a specialist he will generally 

 feel somewhat aggrieved if you reserve the right of description and furthei* 

 impose upon him the duty of returning the specimen. Then there is the danger 

 of its destruction, either in the mail or express, to be braved, and yet, so long as one 

 does not know the species, or be assured that it is new, one never can take full 

 satisfaction in having bred it. 



Last year I had the satisfaction of obtaining nearly a dozen imagines of the 

 Conchylis in question by providing a number of bits of pith and cork in which 

 the larvae bored after their desertion of the capsules where they had fed. 



Whenever I can make satisfactory arrangements for keeping track of them, 

 I winter my Micro-larvae and pupae out of doors. Such species as bore the pith 

 of stems are very easily cared for, and leaf miners and webbers I enclose on the 

 surface of the ground, in some sheltered situation, under wire sieves or covers, 

 bringing them in in the spring in order to have the little moths emerge where they 

 can more easily be chloroformed or transferred to the cyanide bottle. 



I must confess that I have never had signal success in rearing such species 

 of the Tenihredinidce as transform under ground. I have in mind more 

 than half a dozen species — the larvae of which are most interesting — of which I 

 have so far failed to obtain the imagines, in spite of my utmost care. 



The leaf and root-feeding beetles have always developed satisfactorily for 

 me, but the Oeram.bycidce, which feed on growing wood, have given me much 

 trouble, and, in many cases, failed me utterly. 



Orthoptera require but little care, as also do leaf-feeding Hemiptera, but the 

 Cannibal species of both these orders are more difficult to cater to, and often 

 refuse a diet that one would think would be irresistible. This is especially true 

 of the carnivorous bugs which I have found require large space and ample 

 provision to preserve them from fraternal rapacity. 



With the aquatic orders I have had but little opportunity for experiment, 

 but think they must f arnish many very interesting subjects. 



I believe that costly insectaries are being constructed by many entomologists, 

 and no doubt will afford room for much thorough study of forms and habits. 

 But such costly appliances are not absolutely necessary, and sometimes make 

 observations more difficult than when the conveniences are more primitive. 



A secure enclosure, fresh food, fresh air and clean water in the bottles are 

 almost the only requisites in rearing the herbivorous species, and the more 

 constantly the cage or jar is under observation the more thoroughly of course 

 are the history and habits of the species revealed to us. When I wish to know 

 all about a species, I keep the cage or jar on one corner of my desk and watch 

 its occupant in the intervals of other work. 



3 (en.) 



