The rmm mnuim: 



A Penny Weekly Magazine of Natural History. 



No. 120. 



FEBRUAEY 25th, 1882. 



Vol. 8. 



PUNCTUALITY. 



AMONG the many virtues needed by 

 naturalists, punctuality is one of 

 the most important. Especially to the 

 entomologist is it a valuable quality to 

 possess, and, perhaps, the lepidopterist 

 needs it more than any one else. It is 

 true that we read of abnormal appear- 

 ances of various species from time to 

 time. P. rap(B was brought us alive on j 

 the 16th of December last, and a day or ! 

 two later a larva of the same species 

 was found feeding, but nature soon 

 reverts to her usual course, and we may 

 depend on finding any species almost 

 on the same day year after year. The 

 lepidopterist who knows when a 

 species emerges and does not take 

 the trouble to be })unctual, but goes 

 a fortnight or three weeks later, 

 may obtain the object of his search, but 

 it is not likely to be in very fine con- 

 dition, while if he goes at the proper 

 time he will get specimens equal to 

 bred ones, and for our part, we prefer 

 captured specimens when equally fine. 

 But not only must the lepidopterist be 

 punctual to the day, he must also bs 

 punctual to the hour. You will not 

 find butterflies on the wing after sunset, 

 nor Swifts flying after dark. Almost 



all species have their particular hour of 

 flight, and though some remain a longer 

 time on the wing than others, each kind 

 keeps to its own hours. Perhaps we 

 might except Plusia gamma, for that 

 ubiquitous species flies at all hours, and 

 almost all the year through. But this 

 is the exception that proves the rule, 

 and you will find if you want to be 

 successful as a collector that you must 

 learn the hour of flight and prepare 

 yourself accordingly. Nor is it only for 

 the capture of the perfect insect that 

 punctuality is needed. It is no use 

 digging for pupae after the imagines 

 have emerged, nor searching for larvae 

 after they have pupated. 



If you are collecting birds' eggs the 

 same rule obtains. Some species, of 

 course, nest earlier than others, but that 

 is what you have to learn ; and if 

 you know when the bird begins to lay 

 you must look then for the egg. Do 

 not wait till it is "black sitting." You 

 may with much trouble blow an egg 

 that is nearly ready for hatching, but 

 you are more likely to break it : besides, 

 there is much more harm in taking an 

 egg in this state than when newly laid. 

 If the egg be taken at first, the bird lays 

 again directly, and a brood is not lost ; 



