§lte Doting Naturalist : 



A Penny Weekly Magazine of Natural History. 



NOVEMBER 20th, 1880. Vol. 2. 



PUPA DIGGING. 



By R. J. Attye. 



HOW is the time for the Pupa 

 digger to set to work in earnest, 

 if he has not already done so. Merrill, 

 in his Lepidopterist's Calendar, men- 

 tions upwards of 150 Macro-Lepid- 

 optera in the pupa sta & e d W 

 November, a considerable number of 

 which may be obtained by digging, and 

 a careful examination of palings and 

 tree trunks, for pupae spun up. The 

 most productive trees are oak, elm, 

 lime, and poplar, and some pupae 

 may be found at beech and birch. All 

 that is required for digging is a small 

 garden trowel and a box with some 

 moss or cotton wool in it. When 

 commencing to dig the trowel should 

 be inserted at right angles to the trunk 

 of the tree and about three or four 

 inches from it, and driven in until it 

 touches the bark of the tree ; the sod 

 of earth should then be raised as 

 gently as possible, as taps with the 

 trowel sometimes prove very fatal. 



When the trowel is once inserted it 

 should not be drawn back if it is not 

 quite touching the bark of the tree, as 

 a second insertion will inevitably crush 

 any pupae which may have fallen from 

 the earth, loosened at the first inser- 

 tion. Digging with the trowel parallel to 

 the trunk of the tree is to be avoided if 

 possible, as it is often fatal, since many 

 pupa? spin up close to the bark. Many 

 pupae are to be found at the apex of 

 angles made by the roots of trees ; but 

 some, on the other hand, as many of 

 the genus Tceniocampa are often found 

 under loose tufts of grass at trees hav- 

 ing no angles, their roots being 

 invisible, or not visible enough to form 

 an angle ; and when the tuft is pulled 

 up they may be shaken out. A useful 

 book on pupa digging is " The Insect 

 Hunter's Companion," by Rev. J. 

 Green. I have found tan the best 

 thing to keep pupae in, but it is in 

 much too damp a state when first ob- 

 tained from the tanyard, and must be 

 almost, if not quite, dried before pupae 

 are placed in it. A good sized flower 

 pot half full of tan, with a piece of 

 gauze or muslin tied over it, makes a 

 very good breeding cage. 



