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Butterflies and Butterfly-Catching

IT is impossible within the space at our disposal to give a description of each species of butterfly, but we may give our young would-be collectors some hints as to the best way of catching and preserving the various specimens. Then with the assistance of Mr. Coleman's excellent Manual (British Butterflies, Is., G. Routledge & Sons.) they can find out to what class their captives belong, and note their appearance from the illustrations. There are numbers of presumably well-informed individuals who could not at sight distinguish a butterfly from a moth. (We shall come to moths afterwards.) The great distinction between these insects is that butterflies have tiny knobs upon their feelers, or antennae, and the moths' feelers come to a point. This is the true test. No matter how like a moth may be to a butterfly, or what family resemblance the latter may bear to a moth, the above difference cannot be explained away.

We strongly advise all boys aboat to collect butterflies to "read up the subject" and to make themselves acquainted with the wonderful instincts of these pretty insects. The female selects the very plant of all others most suited for her children's support; and as the bee will never lay an egg in a cell set apart for another sort of egg of all the hundreds she lays, so the butterfly will fix upon a certain bush (the buckthorn), and one she rather dislikes, because it is the very bush of all best fitted for the support of her young. The egg becomes a caterpillar and eats his own shell and anything he can find to suit him to an enormous extent. He then passes into the chrysalis or pupa state, and suspending himself in the most convenient position in a most wonderful manner, well worth studying, the chrysalis, after a period varying with the time and temperature of the year, will emerge a butterfly.

The last change can be witnessed, for the growth is quite visible to the unassisted eye. The wings dry and expand, and within an hour the butterfly spreads them out and flies happily away, to be caught, perhaps, and put into the young collector's cabinet.

We certainly do not advocate the catching of butterflies or any other created thing to torture, or for the mere wantonness of cruelty. But to the admirer of nature, and to any one desirous to study the marvellous works of the Creator, we can point out the humane and painless method of killing butterflies. To catch the insect you must have a net and pocket-boxes, and a few pins. These are all the apparatus, and may be purchased for a few shillings. There are two kinds of net in general use, the clap-net and the ring-net. See figures 1 and 2 respectively. The latter is the favourite as it is more portable, as the handle can be unscrewed and used as a walking-stick while the ring and net can be carried in the pocket. The pocket-boxes are lined with cork about one-eighth of an inch in thickness; the pincushion studded with entomological pins will complete the collector's outfit. The next point to decide is where to go and what weather to go in, and on this latter point common sense will guide you. Cold winds will not suit butterflies, nor will you always find them in the most sunny spots. So when you do go out on a warm day do not neglect the most unpromising localities, for in those places where you least expect a butterfly--much less a rare specimen--you may and very likely will see an insect worth preserving. At first, Mr. Coleman says, the hunter should take all that comes in his way, as sometimes a curious specimen may be captured in mistake for a common sort. When you have spied the butterfly, approach it with caution. Follow it up till it settles and then approach it gently, and then with good aim secure your specimen. If it once gets away you may follow in vain, as they make straight across country and keep a few feet in front of you till they skim over a pond or stream, and leave you like Lord Ullin, lamenting. Some butterflies, however, do not mind repeated attacks, and were it possible to reconcile the practice with their innocent nature, they would appear to enjoy the pleasure of taking you in and treating you to what boys term a "sell." Now, supposing you have secured your specimen and wish to keep it, you must kill it, and kill it painlessly. It will never do to torture the poor insect, so we will give you a hint or two upon this point. But first we feel bound to place on record Mr. Coleman's opinion that an insect cannot feel pain! We cannot quite go so far as this, but as he has probably studied the question more than we have, we will merely say that we hope he is correct. In any case we cannot prove it, so we are bound to spare the inseots any of the suffering we may suppose them to endure.

The painless mode he advocates is by chloroform, put into the box with, and not on the insects. The more usual way, though, is to compress the butterfly just under the wings as soon as it is captured, and it dies at once if the pressure be properly and quickly applied. Great care will be required in carrying your specimens home so that they retain all the soft wing-dust or scales. By thrusting a pin through the thorax, and putting the butterfly thus transfixed carefully, and not mixed up, with other specimens, in your cork-lined box, thecollector will secure his specimen unharmed. When you reach your home you must at once "set" the butterflies as follows. Supposing you have the proper "setting-board," as per the following illustration, you transfix the insects, taking care that the wings diverge at equal angles from the body. By laying slips of card upon the wings you will preserve them flat. Do not handle them, put them away to dry and in a few days they will be ready.

To keep the insects, a dry and close-fitting box, series of drawers, or a cabinet, will be necessary. If you cannot afford the last, have a box lined with cork and place your specimens therein. Dust and insects should be religiously excluded; nor should any resinous or "gummy" wood be used. The cork-lined drawer should be covered with white paper, thinly pasted over. The specimens can then be arranged in rows with names, dates, and any other particulars you please. A friend who may possess a collection will always give you hints as to arrangement. There are about seventy species of British butterflies, which, with their chrysalides, will make a very nice little collection, and the study of their habits will afford the collector much valuable information as the exercise taken in their pursuit will lay in a stock of health.

MOTHS.