Cornell Nature-Study Leaflets / Being a selection, with revision, from the teachers' leaflets, home nature-study lessons, junior naturalist monthlies and other publications from the College of Agriculture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., 1896-1904

by New York State College of Agriculture

Fig. 128. Insect net.

Bend the wire into a ring about a foot in diameter and bend back about 3 inches of each end of the wire so they may be inserted into a hole drilled into the end of the handle. The piece of tin should be fastened around the end of the handle where the wire is inserted to hold it securely in place. If practicable, a tinsmith should be called upon to help in bending the wire and fastening it to the handle. After this is done, take the sheeting and fold it over the wire double, using only enough to fit around the wire without gathering; the object of this heavy cloth is to prevent the net from wearing out quickly. Make the cheese cloth into a bag with rounded bottom and just wide enough to fit the facing of sheeting, to which it should be sewed securely, and the net is finished.

How to Use the Net.

To be successful, the net must be swung swiftly. Insects have many eyes and are very wide awake and have no desire to be caught; therefore, the collector must be very active if he gets anything. One method of using the net is called "sweeping;" to do this take the handle about a foot and a half above the ring and pass the net quickly back and forth striking it against the grass in front of you as you walk through open fields; the net must be turned at each stroke and kept in rapid motion or the insects will escape. After a time the net should be examined and the insects put in the killing bottle.

Another method of using the net is called "beating." This method is used in collecting insects from bushes, and consists of lifting the net, mouth upward, and striking it sharply against the branches or leaves, thus jarring the insects into it.

To use the net in water, sweep the water plants as quickly as possible. In running streams, overturn stones, holding the net just below them with the mouth up stream. An old dipper made into a sieve by perforating the bottom with an awl is a good utensil for collecting water insects.

The Killing Bottle. [Fig. 129].

It is desirable to kill the insects in a humane way, so that they will not suffer by the process; it is also desirable that they should not revive after they are pinned, both for their own sakes as well as for the sake of the feelings of the collector. The best way to secure painless and sure death for the insects is by the means of a "cyanide bottle."