VOL. XIX. LONDON, FEBRUARY, 1887. No. 2 COLLECTING AT THE ELECTRIC LIGHT, 1886. ]^ ja^ BY HENRY S. SAUNDERS, LONDON, ONT. "^^ JSlf*T' On the evening of Saturday, May 22nd, 1886, being the first warm evening after the electric light system was started in London, hmidreds of "electric light bugs" (Camptobrochis grandis) and large green Calosomas (Calosovia scrutator) came into the city, and from that time on through-out the summer, and even as late as Nov, 2nd, the lights continued to attract hundreds of insects every warm evening. There are some general points I should like to mention before giving the list in detail : — The lights around which all the collecting was done, were in store windows, or just outside of them, and these were in the centre of the city ; the insects were either on the glass, on the woodwork around it, or on the sidewalk, Moths were taken with a bottle as in sugaring ; beetles taken by hand and put into a separate bottle. Cyanide of potassium I found the best poison ; a few drops of chloroform on cot-ton would quiet them more quickly, but was more troublesome, the chloroform having to be frequently renewed, occasionally as often as four or five times during the same evening, and sometimes even then the moths would be found alive the next mornins:. My collecting was all done between 10 and 12 p. m. No lights were lit on Sundays, and I was out of the city from July 24 to Aug. g. On very cold nights very few insects would come out ; on cool nights a few moths were always to be found, but seldom any beetles ; on warm nights both beetles and moths were plentiful. Beetles were very plentiful only on the warmest evenings. Often on wet evenings the Sphingidte would be plentiful when there was scarcely anything else out. My record of dates is very incomplete, as I had no idea while collect-ing of publishing them in this way. There are about 35 Lepidoptera and 5 Coleoptera that I have not sue-
BioStor
