Charles V. Riley

“ In view of this embarrassing multitude of collecting opportunities in a good locality, the beginner is apt to be at a loss what course to pursue. Experience alone can teach here, and only an expert collector is able to decide, at a glance at the locality before him, what collecting method is likely to produce the best results, and his judgment will rarely be at fault. ”

“ As the sun goes down many species move which do not stir at other times. I watch the tops of the grass, the stems of the flowers, the twigs of the trees; I disturb leaves and low-growing plants with a short switch and secure each little moth that moves, taking each out of the net in a separate pill-box, selected according to the size of the insect, as he runs up the net to escape. Transferring the full boxes to the bag I continue the process until moths cease flying or night sets in. Many species can be taken with a lamp after dark. ”

“ Beach collecting.—Along the shores of the ocean and the Great Lakes untold numbers of Coleoptera and other insects fall at this season into the water, and, if the tides, the currents, and the winds be favorable, they are washed ashore by the waves on the sandy beaches, where they often form windrows several inches in height and width. If the collector is happy enough to be at the right place on the right day he has then the opportunity to pick up hundreds of rare species within a very short time and without any trouble. ”

“ The philosophic study of entomology, however, requires much more than the mere collecting of specimens, and one of the most profitable and, at the same time, most fascinating phases of the study relates to the life-history and habits. In no branch of natural history are biologic studies more easily carried on, or the biologic facts more remarkable or interesting. ”

“ If the decay is very much advanced neither the loose bark nor the interior of the log will harbor many Coleoptera excepting a multitude of Passalus cornutus and its larvæ. If the decay is less advanced, but if such log is exposed to the scorching rays of the sun, it will be far less productive than a log in a shady situation. The investigation of the bark of a favorably situated log in the right stage of decay does not need any special instruction, but the decayed wood itself should be pried off with a chisel or trowel, put in the sieve and sifted on the collecting cloth. ”

“ The insects of this section must be considered essentially beneficial to man, notwithstanding the occasional sting of a bee or wasp, the boring of a carpenter bee, or the importunities of the omnipresent ant. Not only do they furnish us with honey and wax, but they play so important a part in the destruction of insects injurious to vegetation that they may be looked upon as God-appointed guards over the vegetal kingdom—carrying the pollen from plant to plant, and insuring the fertilization of diœcious species, and the cross-fertilization of others ”

“ It is almost impossible to follow, under artificial conditions, the full life cycle of many species like the Aphididæ, or the Gall-flies, etc., which involve alternation of generations, dimorphism, heteromorphism, migration from one plant to another, and various other curious departures from the normal mode of development, without careful field study and experiment. These studies are possible only to those who are able to frequent the same localities throughout the whole year, and can hardly be carried on by the traveling naturalist or collector. ”

“ Collecting the early States.—The careful entomologist who prides himself on the appearance of his specimens, will, as stated above, rely largely on collecting the early states and on rearing the insects, for his material. The Macrolepidoptera have either a single or two broods, or more, in a season, and the collection of the early states will be greatly facilitated if a knowledge of the insect's life-habits is first obtained. The eggs are often found on the food plants of the species, and where they are deposited in masses they afford a very easy method of getting the larvæ in numbers. ”

“ Insects are further characterized by having usually three distinct divisions of the body, viz.: head, thorax, and abdomen, and by undergoing certain metamorphoses or transformations. Now, while a number of other animals outside of the insect world go through similar transformations, those in the Crustacea being equally remarkable, yet, from the ease with which they are observed and the completeness of the transformations in most insects, the metamorphoses of this class have, from time immemorial, excited the greatest curiosity. ”

“ Many insects which breed on the ground or on low herbage may be very successfully watched and controlled by covering the soil containing them or the plant on which they feed with a wire screen or netting. The use of wire screens is also advisable in the case of wintering pupæ or larvæ out of doors. Many species can be more easily carried through the winter by placing them outdoors under such screens during the winter, which insures their being subjected to the natural conditions of climate, and then transferring them to the breeding cage again early in the spring. ”

“ Trees, shrubs, and vines in the interior of unbroken forest districts are, as a rule, unproductive, while the edges of the woods, narrow strips of hedges, and especially solitary trees are excellent collecting places. In the Rocky Mountains, especially in the more southern sections, long stretches of mountain slopes are occasionally perfectly bare of vegetation with the exception of a few solitary, sickly-looking, and dwarfed trees, but every one of these is a veritable gold mine to the Coleopterist with his umbrella. ”

“ The character of the boxes and cabinets used for storing insects will depend largely on the nature and extent of the collection and the object of the collector. For temporary use, nothing is more convenient and economical than a cigar box lined with cork or pith. Such boxes, however, should be employed only for the temporary storage of fresh specimens, as they afford free access to museum pests, and insects kept in them for any length of time are apt to be destroyed or rendered useless. ”

“ The vast number of species represented in a systematic collection renders the numbering system entirely out of place and inadequate, and the labeling system alone is generally available. If it becomes necessary in the systematic collection to refer to food-plants or life-history or any other fact of interest, the numbering system should be used, and I recommend that the numbers be written in red ink on the labels, to distinguish at a glance the numbers referring to biological notes from other numbers that will occur in the collection. ”

“ The breeding of aquatic insects requires aquaria, and is always attended with the difficulty of furnishing a proper supply of food. The transformations of many others, both aquatic and terrestrial, can be studied only by close and careful outdoor observation. But the great majority of insect larvæ may be reared to the perfect state indoors, where their maneuverings may be constantly and conveniently watched. For the feeding of small species, glass jars and wide-mouthed bottles will be found useful. ”

“ Mounting Duplicates.—If the collector finds more specimens of a rare species than he cares to have in his collection, the excess may be mounted as duplicates. If the species happens to be of a large size the specimens are pinned in the ordinary way, but if small enough to be gummed, there is a most convenient method of rapidly mounting the specimens so that they may be sent through the mail with much less risk of getting broken or knocked off than if glued on paper points, and will also take up very little room in the duplicate boxes. ”

“ The beating net can be successfully used at almost every season of the year. Even on warm days in winter time many specimens can be swept from the dead grass. So long as the dew is on the plants or in rainy weather no beating should be attempted, as the more delicate species are more or less spoiled by the moisture. After one or two minutes' sweeping the contents should be examined. Those insects which are quick to take wing or which are good runners should first receive attention; the less active can then be examined more at leisure. ”

“ The greatest care and watchfulness, therefore, are necessary to insure success in the rearing of larvæ. In many cases such larvæ can only be successfully reared by inclosing them in netting on their food-plant out of doors. It is a frequent device of Lepidopterists also to inclose a rare female in netting placed on the food plant of the species, where the male may be attracted and may be caught and placed in the bag with the female, when copulation usually takes place successfully, or a male may be caught in the field and inclosed with such female. ”

“ My own equipment, on a collecting trip, consists chiefly of a cotton umbrella, a strong and narrow steel trowel or digger, a haversack slung across the shoulders, a cigar box lined with sheet cork, and a small knapsack attached to a waistbelt which girts a coat, not of many colors, but of many pockets, so made that in stooping nothing falls out of them. The umbrella is one of the indispensables. ”

“ In the hands of the careful breeder an insect may be secured against its numerous natural enemies and against vicissitudes of climate, and will, consequently, be more apt to mature than in a state of nature. ”

“ The insect-breeding house, or insectary, should comprise a building having workrooms, or laboratories, for microscopic and general work in the study and preparation of specimens, and also a conservatory for the rearing of specimens and the growth of plants, and, where applied entomology is concerned, special rooms for the preparation and the test of insecticides. The building proper should also have a basement storage room for hibernating insects. ”

“ In the Alpine regions of our mountainous districts, especially above the timber line, collecting under stones becomes the most important method, and is especially favorable along the edges of snow fields. In often frequented localities the collector should carefully replace the stones, especially those under which he has found rare specimens. The neglect of this rule is one of the principal causes for certain rare species having become extinct in the vicinity of our cities. ”

“ The Gall-flies, Cynipidæ, are the easiest of the families to collect, because of their abundance and because of the ease with which they may be reared. Their galls occur in enormous variety on oaks of various species and also upon brambles and certain common weeds. These should be collected when mature and be kept in glass jars. The Gall-flies and inquilinous and parasitic species may thus be easily obtained, the former appearing at particular seasons and the latter emerging from the galls at all seasons of the year, and sometimes continuing to escape for a period exceeding two years. ”

“ As is remarked by Miss Murtfeldt, in an interesting paper read before the Entomological Club of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, August 20, 1890, “there is a great individuality, or rather specificality, in insects, and not infrequently specimens of larvæ are found for which the collector taxes his ingenuity in vain to provide. Not the freshest leaves, the cleanest swept earth, or the most well-aired cages will seem to promote their development.” ”

“ Those which have been taken out will be found to be all dead and in a beautifully relaxed condition for setting. Had the smallest specimens been placed in the canister over night there would have been some fear of their drying up, owing to the small amount of moisture in their bodies.
If the weather is very hot there is some danger of killed insects becoming stiff while others are being set, in which case it is better to pin at once into a damp cork box all that have been taken out of the canister, but under ordinary circumstances I prefer to pin them one by one as I set them. ”

“ The hardy pupæ of most Noctuids and Bombycids, as well as those of many Rophalocera, may be handled with little danger, but other species, if handled at all, or if the cocoons which they make for themselves are broken, can seldom be reared. Constant precautions also must be exercised in the care of the soil and the breeding cages. One of the great drawbacks is the presence of mites and thread worms (Entozoöns) , etc., which affect dying or dead pupæ and larvæ in the soil. They also affect living specimens and are capable of doing very considerable damage. ”

“ The necessity of outdoor work is further felt in the determination of the facts in the life-history of some insects which have an alternation of generations, as some Gall-flies (Cynipidæ) , and most Aphides. To successfully study these insects constant outdoor observation is necessary, or the species must be inclosed in screens of wire or netting outdoors on their food-plant. ”

“ Little apparatus is necessary in the collection of spiders and other Arachnids. The essentials are vials containing alcohol, an insect net, a sieve, and forceps. Narrow vials without necks are best for collecting purposes, as the corks can be more quickly inserted. They should be of different sizes, from 1 dram to 4 or 6 drams, and the alcohol used should be at least 50 per cent strong and in some cases it is advisable to use it at a strength of 70 or 80 per cent. The net may be of the same construction as that used to collect insects and is used in the same way. ”