Methods and techniques for collecting butterflies

1. Collection tools:

Insect catching net: It is the main tool for catching butterflies. It consists of three parts: net hoop, net handle and net bag.

Poison bottle: Use a wide-mouth bottle or soft plexiglass box, put a layer of cotton at the bottom, inject two or three milliliters of chloroform or ether to replace the highly toxic cyanide, and use it to poison "suspended death" butterflies in micro or triangular bags. .

Triangular paper bag: It is essential for collection. The paper material should be smooth, translucent and tough. There are two sizes available: 15×11 cm and 7.5×11 cm.

Collection box: Store triangular paper bags at any time, preferably in a triangular box, which should be easy to open. A pair of hooks must be installed on one side of the box wall, which can be hung on the belt of trousers.

2. Methods and techniques for collecting butterflies

Swinging a net to catch butterflies, especially those with fast legs, requires both calmness and agility. After the butterfly falls into the net, the net bag is quickly folded and sealed to prevent the butterfly from escaping. Use the tips of your thumb and index finger to press the butterfly's chest through the net, and the butterfly will be suffocated. Then put it into a triangular paper bag and then put it into the collection box. When putting it into the triangular paper bag, be sure to keep the abdomen upward and the tentacles hidden inside the front edge. This way, the tentacles will not break after the specimen is dried.

After the butterflies have just emerged, they are active and fly around, which is an excellent opportunity to catch them with a net. To capture different types of butterflies, you must go in time according to their emergence period and do not waste time. To catch a certain kind of butterfly, you must go to the place where it grows. Collecting is like hunting. You must choose an appropriate collection location, otherwise you will not catch anything.

Taiwanese businessmen use the "trap method" when collecting butterflies, that is, they dig shallow holes with a diameter of 1 meter in the sand of the river beach, then sprinkle urine in the holes and place 2-3 silver-streaked yellow butterflies. Other silver-streaked yellow butterflies flying through the sky were attracted by the smell of ammonia in their urine and landed one after another. At this time, as long as the insect catching net is quietly covered from the edge of the cave to the cave, all the butterflies can be caught. It is said that more than 5,000 butterflies can be caught every day. To capture butterflies with weak water absorption, rotten and fermented pineapples or papayas are often placed on forest clearings or tree trunks to replace tree sap, thereby attracting numerous species such as nymphals and ringed butterflies.

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