. Brief guide to the commoner butterflies of the northern United States and Canada; being an introduction to a knowledge of their life-histories. lying inwait near the spot; others will course upand down a roadside, a forest lane, or ahedgerow, and may be easily netted by takingadvantage of tiiis habit. Xor should it beforgotten that not a few are very limitedindeed in the selection of their haunts, andevery kind of spot should be visited; someconfine their flight to marshy spots and evento particular bogs; some prefer the openfields; pastures where thistles and otherweeds are in flower attrac
. Brief guide to the commoner butterflies of the northern United States and Canada; being an introduction to a knowledge of their life-histories. lying inwait near the spot; others will course upand down a roadside, a forest lane, or ahedgerow, and may be easily netted by takingadvantage of tiiis habit. Xor should it beforgotten that not a few are very limitedindeed in the selection of their haunts, andevery kind of spot should be visited; someconfine their flight to marshy spots and evento particular bogs; some prefer the openfields; pastures where thistles and otherweeds are in flower attract a gieat crowd; others may befound in openings in the forest where the fire-weed concealsthe charred timber beneath its panicles of blue flowers: onewill not look in vain upon the goldenrods and blossomedvines which fringe the roadside or stone walls; the shrub-berv which loves the marsrin of slender streams or theed2:e of thickets is a favorite haunt of manv; shelteredvalleys with their varying verdure are always a choice re-sort of the entomologist; but even the tops of ruggedmountains or sandy wastes given to sorrel and feeble grasses. Fig. 8, — Net-head for a remov-able frame. 194 APPENDIX. will yield their quota; the garden too, the vegetable field,and even the roadside puddles must not be neglected. One soon learns to capture with a dexterous turn of thenet, and no description of the method is worth anythingbeside a very little ex23erience; when captured the netshould be turned to prevent escape and the butterflygently seized from outside the net, with the wings back toback to prevent its struggling and so bruising itself; itshould then be removed to the cyanide bottle, where,especially if placed in the dark pocket, it will soon bemotionless, and speedily dies; this is the quickest andeasiest mode of death, besides leaving the insect in themost perfect condition. The ^cyanide bottleis simplya phial with a mouth wide enough to readily admit thelargest specimens (a small
Size: 890px × 2808px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublishernewyorkhholtandcom
