If metal boxes are used they should be perforated; in fact, nothing is better than the ordinary larva boxes of the dealers. All the boxes, of whatever kind, should be lined with moss previous to starting work.
The trowel and chisel do not pack well with a number of small boxes, therefore it is a good plan to fix them in a couple of leather sheaths attached to your belt. In this position they are far more handy for use, and the boxes are also in less danger of being crushed or damaged, as they probably would be if in contact with hard and heavy tools.
A note book is also a valuable addition to your outfit, as it enables you to make memoranda concerning the trees and localities from which you obtain your pupæ.
The best localities for pupa hunting are clearings in woods, parks with numerous large timber trees, and meadows in which large isolated trees are scattered; and the best trees include willows, poplars, oaks, beeches, birches, elms, and hawthorns.
The best thing you can do on arriving at the selected hunting ground is to make at once for isolated trees of large size, and work each one as follows:
First examine well the crevices of the bark, for many caterpillars descend the tree to within a short distance of the ground, and then seek out a snug little crevice in which to spend the winter, often protecting themselves with silken cocoons, or constructing a neat little shelter of gnawed fragments of the wood cemented together.
If there is any loose bark, very carefully force it out with your
chisel, and examine both its inner surface and the wood from which it was removed. The wood thus exposed may reveal openings of the galleries of wood-eating larvæ, in which case, unless the material is too hard to be broken up with the chisel, you may be able to trace out a few pupæ. Where these exist, they are usually to be found very near the entrance, sometimes even protruding slightly from the opening, for the larvæ generally place themselves in this position of easy escape when about to change.
Next give your attention to the moss, if any, covering the lower portion of the trunk. This affords a very favourite shelter to many species. Tear it off very carefully, beginning at the top, and watch for loose pupæ and cocoons as you do so. Then hold the clumps you have removed over a patch of bare ground or over a spread handkerchief, and pull it to pieces, in order that any pupæ it contains may fall out; also examine the fragments carefully for others that may remain attached.
This done, the surface of the ground must be examined. Remove all dead leaves, and watch for pupæ that may be sheltered beneath them. If any loose stones lie on the ground, turn them over. Search well into the angles between the roots, and if there are any holes or hollows beneath them or in the trunk itself, pull out all loose matter within, and feel gently above and around for cocoons.