[CHAPTER XLII.]
COLLECTING IMAGOES.
[a]Fig. 88.]—Net Frame. (After Riley.) a, Wire ring with ends bent to insert in ferule b; c, point where plug and net-handle meet.
The name imago is applied by naturalists to the perfect form of insects, which is revealed at the conclusion of the round of metamorphoses. In the collection and the preservation of these the most necessary implement at the outset is the net. A simple way of making a serviceable and strong net is to take a piece of brass or galvanized iron wire about three feet and six inches in length, and about three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, and having bent it into the form of a hoop, with the two ends forming shanks, to insert these into the end of a brass ferule such as is used on fishing-rods, and fix them there by pouring in melted lead or solder in such a way that the handle can be inserted into the other end of the ferule. This can be easily accomplished by plugging the handle end of the ferule with a piece of soft wood or with clay. The handle should be light, and not more than four or five feet in length for ordinary use. To the ring of the net a sack made of green tarletan, or less preferably mosquito-netting, about two and a half times as deep as the diameter of the ring, should be sewn. A piece of green muslin should be then stitched on as a binding over the ring. Green is to be always preferred to any other color as less likely to alarm the insects. Nets with folding rings and jointed bamboo handles are to be had of most dealers, and are to be highly recommended for convenience, if well made. In collecting about electric lights which hang high, and along the woodland walks of tropical forests, it is well to be able to add to the length of the handle by inserting more joints of bamboo. Some butterflies are "highfliers." Nets made of stout muslin are useful for sweeping the tops of grass and low herbage, and in this way multitudes of small insects of various orders may be taken. Such nets should be larger than the ordinary net. Nets made of stout lace cloth are used for capturing aquatic insects in pools and ditches. For this purpose a scoop made of wire gauze may also be advantageously employed.
PLATE XXII.
[a]Fig. 1.—Beating the Bush.] [a]Fig. 2.—A Successful Stroke.]