R. W. BOWYER—METHODS OF MOTH-COLLECTING. 
29 
The descriptions in Newman’s work of these two cannibals are very- 
graphic and not at all overdrawn. 
Finally the most interesting way of all is to rear your moth from 
the egg state. The eggs themselves are not in many cases easy to 
find ; but, if a female moth is captured and kept alive for a day or 
two, she will as a rule deposit a supply of fertilised eggs. These 
will hatch out at varying intervals of time, generally giving 
warning by change of colour. A jam-pot, with a bit of glass as a 
cover, is an admirable receptacle for these young larvae: it is well 
at first to avoid changing the food too often, and leaves keep fresh 
in this way for some days; as the larvae grow, they may be changed 
to more suitable cages. It is interesting to watch the changes of 
skin, which occur several times in the course of growth. Perhaps 
what has been a sombre-looking larva will appear some morning in 
a gaily-coloured, garb; and in many cases, after a moult, the first 
meal is made off the old skin. 
A collector of moths must be to some extent a botanist; he must 
know by sight and name most of the common wild flowers—other¬ 
wise if he were told that a certain caterpillar was to be found on a 
plant, which he would not know if he saw it, he would be handi¬ 
capped in his proceedings. And, if one knows plants by sight and 
name, it is but a little step further to examine their structure, and 
here is one more wide field of beauty and interest opened out, 
some of the charms of which your President treated of in a very 
attractive way last week. 
I will only mention one or two more of the pleasures of the 
pursuit. One of these is the chance of obtaining rarities, for it is 
often due to chance that they are obtained. Last autumn our 
porter brought to me a large moth which he had picked up in the 
quadrangle : I thought at first sight that it was the common “ red 
under wing,” but it gave a flap of its wings and I saw violet 
instead of red, and I knew that I had a great prize —Catocala 
fraxini. 
When one looks over the drawers of one’s cabinet, the sight of 
this or that insect often brings back to the mind pleasant associa¬ 
tions connected with its capture. To those who have the reputation 
of being collectors it is interesting to see the variety of insects 
brought by friends and neighbours, as presents or to be named. 
My position renders me peculiarly accessible to presents of this 
nature. When one of our boys comes with a little box and says, 
“I have brought a moth, but I expect it is a common one,” there 
is always the chance that it may be rare, and the certainty that the 
mere looking at it will be a pleasure. 
I must now bring my paper to an end. I am afraid I have 
treated a wide subject in a very discursive manner; but I hope 
you will have seen that it is one of deep and varied interest to 
myself, and if I have imparted this interest, in however slight a 
degree, to any of you, one of the main objects I had in view will 
have been attained. 
