New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-07-07
MOTH HUNTERS.
HOW MOTHS ARE CAPTURED AND REARED

HOW MOTHS ARE CAPTURED AND REARED
The destructive work done to wool.en fabrics by
the little moths classified under the tribal name of
Tlneans has made the word moth a popular syn
onyme for household pest. 1t Is hard to realize
that the name also applies to big-wInged. gorge
ously patterned nighthying insects which rival the
butterfly for expanse OF wing and briancy Of
plumage, and which include the "A,tacus Jorulla"
OF Mexico. the 'I'rania orlentas' OF Madagascar.
the long-tailed "Tropaea leto'' Of the East Indies
and the mammoth "Attacus atlas OF Chna-a
beauty which frequently measures a foot across the
wings
Collectors hunt and trap American moths for
preservation and exchange with lepidopterists in all
parts Of the world. For weeks 10 come the moth
collectors will be busy with nets and killing bottles
searching for the rarest specimens on the wing
The bodied green-winged "Luna"; the fawn-
oolored. peacock-s spotted "Polyphemus': the slate
colored. red and white banded "Cecropa"; the god
enhuod 10 and "Erebus odora' OF the eastern
United States: the "Sam.a Columbia" OF the FAR
North and the ''Samia Ceanothi" and the SANTA
Goveri' Of the Pacific slope. among the COM
moner large 'rarietier, with expanse of wing ..
from three inches. The cream-spottcd
Regal the rlch-plumagei Imperial the rare
"Didyma." the blue bodied Leopard" the oddly
marked "Angulifera" and the rare "noc;udae."
which ly to light and sugar. prizes In the col
lec;or's net.
The street light whether oil. gas electric al
lures moths by It's glitter. and these the hunter
resorts TO make his eases. captures His most IA
vorable time is on thick mugsy. misty night.
Clear windy nights favorable for TIE
hunt Moths seem to love fou. her. There are
moths never caught at light which are captured by
''sembling' and b. "sugarng." When a hunter
captures a virgin moth he puts her In gauze
cage as decoy in the fields and waits and watches
for the males - appear. They sure 20 come.
and the males taken in this way. With
a virgin "Promethea" or 10" moth for decoy.
from twenty tc fifty males have been Melted in
evening.
Moths love sweets. This taste ed hunters 10 re-
sort 10 sugaring. For this purpose a mixture Of
beer and sugar used. This applied the
trunks Of trees with brush early in the evening.
and later the trees are visited With Mt and Ian
tern The net is placed against the tree beneath the
sugared SPOT. and the light turned on. The moment
net is well placed will fail into IT,
collector is familiar With the sooi plant. the esq
and the caterpillar. and knows whether the latter
banded sSA egg or of the Poyphemus the black bead
like egg Of the luna" the slngles,spottrd egg ~
shapely yollow egg Of the Imperial" the green oval
egg Of the ..Catocala." and The green nucd egg Of
collector knows that the PRONE thea and other
the larger "4 moths moth With Almost %
racy lay one egg or thee eggs beneath an oc,
whether the larvae ' feed by day or by night and
can recognize them in any of their stages
tics in sheds in open lots. the larvae Of butterflies
and moths are beng kept by breeders who supply
them with fresh food. keep them clean. and give
the caterpars as much attention to promote
health and growth az the most careful breeders OF
the Langshan. any other desirable domestic
fowl. do to perfect the development OF ther birds
The caterplars. when mature. spin silken CO.
in which to pass the winter burrow In
the ground their habit may be The breeding
cages prepared so that the occupants may fol
low out their habits. Several inches Of earth
placed the cages for the caterpars 10 burrow in
and this has been sifed and baked so that the lar
shall not fall prey 10 tural enemies after
so much care has been given 10 their rearing. To
nat ards
Packard. Fletcher. Fernald, French Cooke. Lint
ner, Grote. Holland. Smith and others. are being
sent eggs Of butterflies and moths Of the larval
life OF which nothing is known. and 10 tho Matching
and rearing Of these they will give the
and interest which the smallest new insect IS sure
to command from these earnest and enthusiastic
students OF natural history