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Treacling or Sugaring

This is by far the most productive method of getting at least two-thirds of the British species, and has all the charm of uncertainty. The longer one collects, the more doubtful one becomes as to what really will bring success, and every moth-hunter has his different infallible tips. Of one thing, all have been convinced by experience that to take a layman out for his first experience of the BUTTERFLY COLLECTING] excitement is to ensure a blank night. Some general rules may, however, be given, with an average probability of their turning out correct. As to the material, cane-sugar treacle is better generally than beet, and, personally, I have found the old black treacle, mixed with stale beer and a little rum, the most attractive; but other men with much wider experience have told me that golden syrup and methylated spirits is just as good, and they are certainly easier to procure in country places. One keen collector assured me that an absolutely infallible method was to take in the mouth a spoonful of the mixture, and to spray it on to leaves, &c., mingled with saliva! Not only did he recommend it, but he adopted it, and successfully, but his was a height of devotion to which few can reach. Generally speaking, the best pitches are the sidings of big woods, or trees standing outside the woods, but at the seaside one must, of course, be content with grass heads, posts, tufts of ragwort, low bushes, and anything.

If possible, select a circuit of about a mile in a wood, choosing trees with a rough bark.

It is an advantage to have the bottom of the trunk clear, in order to see those whose weaker heads took them under the table at an early stage. Ivy on the trunk, or a bush waving in front of it, is usually bad. As to time, the usual mistake is to put the treacle on too late. It should be on by sunset, and the moths will be on the first tree very often by the time one has completed the round. In summer, on a good night, they may continue to come in flights till two in the morning, but in autumn even stragglers are rare after eight. Treacle is rarely of any great use till April, but from then till November any night may give a prize-or blank. Sometimes, during a drought, when there is much honeydew on the leaves, I have drawn blanks for a fortnight. As to weather, a cold east wind and a mist are fatal to success, but I have taken moths in April when it was freezing, and a pouring rain seems often to attract the whole population of the woods to the feast. I have seen moths on the trees, with toads and mice and bats taking their toll, and hawks sometimes come for the mice. The great advantage of the method is that the specimens can be secured undamaged, or alive if a pill-box be used. a Light.-Light has a curious and unexplained fascination for many species, and can be tried anywhere. Even in towns the street lamps will frequently give good results, and a poaching flavour is sometimes given to the expedition by the protests of policemen, and of the gas company's employees, a less easily propitiated race. It must be admitted that the gas mantles are liable to suffer damage. The best of the sport, however, is to be obtained in the fens.

Choose the wettest spot that will bear the weight, fix a strong light on a pole thrust into the marsh; set a lamp of the ordinary stable lantern type on the ground, if possible in a clearing close to the edge of a reed bed, and, with any luck on a warm damp night, the collector will be mobbed by insects, from mosquitoes to Hydrilla palustris. A light moth trap, easily constructed at home on the eel-pot principle, gives more entertainment, and will go on working while the man with the net takes a desired rest. In summer, it is quite worth while staying at the lights till dawn, for the various species have their own hours of flight. The common Tiger Moth, for instance, is, of course, no rarity, but the sudden arrival at midnight of about a dozen in a state of wild excitement is a sight worth seeing.

Breeding provides the finest specimens and gives most scope for experimental work. Larva-cages can be bought, but are easily made, the essential point being to keep them clean. For fairly common larvæ, the escape of some of which is not important, there is nothing better than a grocer's orange box three-quarters filled with mould and carefully planted beforehand with suitable food-stuff. The top may be covered with mill-silk or perforated zinc. Another excellent method is to put larvæ on a suitable tree, and to tie a bag of muslin completely round the twig, shifting them when they have eaten off the leaves.

Pupa Digging may be carried on throughout winter and spring, but it is not wise to expect very abundant results. The best spots are around the trunks of big trees which stand at the edges of a wood, and, like the study of ancient Greek inscriptions, it is at least pleasant exercise on a fine day.

Setting. First, and most important from the start, are entomological pins (No. 9 is a very handy size for most purposes).

A badly-set insect may be relaxed afterwards, but a bad pin remains an eyesore, and its removal is a very delicate operation. It may happen that in the first year of collecting the best variety or the greatest rarity in the collection falls to the net, and is eternally disfigured. The needles used for extending the wings should be fine, but strong, and they will be found very handy if the head be thrust well up into the centre of a stout wooden match.

Of Setting there are many methods, the commonest being with strips of thin transparent paper passed over the wings and pinned down beyond them. Another, which can be strongly recommended, is to use only short setting boards, with room for one, or at most two insects. Instead of straps, soft, and fairly fine wool is passed lightly over the wings. One turn should first be taken over the wings close to the body, so as to bring them flat upon the setting boards for the needles to adjust them. Then wind lightly round the board as many turns of the wool as seem necessary to keep the wings absolutely steady. It should be mentioned that this plan is not found to work so well with the micros, for whose setting microscopic slides are sometimes used with success. The chief cause of bad setting is the taking of the insects from the boards before they are absolutely dry. Five weeks is by no means too long to leave them. A relaxing-box can easily be made by affixing sheets of cork to the bottom of any airtight box. If these be damped and the insect pinned to them, it will be ready for re-setting in two days.

Preservation and Exhibition.--Albocarbon, or its refined form, naphthaline, will preserve insects from mites, and should be kept in every drawer or box in which they are. Light must be jealously excluded.

When a collection is begun, a careful note should be made of the species likely to be found, and the available space accurately measured. A "Watkins and Doncaster" label list should be purchased and a proportionate space left with a label for each probable insect in case of capture. It is advisable to leave a considerable interval between each group, in order that an unexpected success may not involve the rearrangement of the whole. A good cabinet is almost the only part of his equipment for which the collector is necessarily dependent on others, but it is great unwisdom to attempt the saving of a few shillings in this department. The usual price for the best quality is 15s. each drawer, measuring 162 by 19½ inches, and they can be obtained from any entomological firm.

C. S. COLMAN.

Bibliography. - Illustrations of Exotic Entomology, by Dru Drury, new edition by J. O. Westwood (H. Bohn), 1837; The Cabinet of Oriental Entomology, J. O. Westwood (W. Smith), 1848; A Manual of British Butterflies and Moths, H. T.

Stainton (J. Van Voorst), 1857; An Illustrated Natural History of British Moths, 1869-Butterflies, 1871, Edward Newman (Allen and Co.); Butterflies from China, Japan, and Korea, J. H.

Leach (Porter), 1892-94; Histoire Naturelle des Lépidoptères Exotiques, H. Lucas (Paris), 1835;