32 
MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 
COLLECTING MOTHS. 
ASSEMBLING. 
This name is given to a method of bringing together numbers 
of the males of any species of insect by the aid of a virgin female of 
the same or an allied species. 
The different species of the family Bombyx may be readily assem¬ 
bled, and a more interesting experience to an enthusiastic collector 
can scarcely be imagined. Some of the species assembled with little 
difficulty are among our largest and most handsome moths. Saturnia 
io , Telea polyphemus, Actias luna, Attacus promethia , Saturnia 
mala , etc., are all easily assembled, the method of procedure being 
as follows : Take a virgin female a few hours after she has hatched 
from the cocoon, and place her in a bag made of mosquito netting. 
Hang the bag out of doors on the limb of a tree or other suitable 
place, and have a light near enough so that you may see the males 
when they arrive. A warm, dark night with a light breeze blowing 
will be found most productive ; and when the males begin to congre¬ 
gate, the collector will be busy indeed if he manages to catch and 
take care of half the specimens that come. Sometimes they make 
their appearance early in the evening, at other times later, and one 
must do his best when the dance begins. 
An experiment which a friend of mine assured me he had tried 
with excellent success was on a warm afternoon to take the captive 
female with him on a ramble through the forests and fields, making a 
circuit of two or three miles about his home, and on returning hang 
the moth out of doors near his house as usual. He said he had very 
good reason to think that the males in flying about in the evening 
came across the scent left by the female as he carried her, and on fol¬ 
lowing it up arrived at his house, where he was on the lookout for 
them. His success leads me to recommend this method to the col¬ 
lector, as my friend evidently puts a great deal of faith in it. 
Attacus promethia and Saturnia maia are day flyers, and usually 
assemble best on warm afternoons, when they may sometimes be 
taken by dozens. It frequently happens that the first night after 
hatching a female will not attract the males at all, while they will 
come in numbers the second night. A good deal seems to depend 
