SOME OF MY EARLIEST ADVENTURES in science came while I was a small boy hunting insects in my mother's flower garden. She loved her garden for its explosions of yellow, lavender and violet blossoms, but I was much more interested in stalking the ostentatious visitors they attracted. My mother's flowers served as sugary ports of call for butterflies so dazzling that spring still finds me netting and occasionally raising these delightful insects.

Lepidoptera (a term that includes butterflies, moths and skippers) is perhaps the most widely studied order of insects. Yet with only modest equipment, the amateur lepidopterist can find almost endless diversion and even do original research. Populations can respond dramatically to changing habitats, and each specimen tells a story.

The first requirement for a butterfly hunter is, of course, a deep gauze net. You can buy one from a biologists' supply house, but die-hard do-it-yourselfers may want to make their own [see below].

Never chase a flying insect. You'll run yourself into the dirt in half an hour with nothing to show for your exhaustion. Instead approach your quarry slowly while it is feeding and scoop it up from behind. You may also be able to catch butterflies from a stationary position as they flutter past. Always let the net overtake them rather than swooping it toward them head-on. Make sure to jerk the net closed with a quick 90-degree twist at the end of your swing to keep your prey from escaping.

If you want to assemble a butterfly collection, you should raise your own specimens--they will be free of the parasites that can mar wild exemplars, and they are fascinating to study. Luckily, butterflies are easy to rear. The sex of members of many species can be determined by the patterns of spots on their wings. If you are uncertain, catch at least four members of the species you wish to breed. You will then have seven chances in eight of having at least one mating pair. Place them in a glass terrarium full of the butterfly's food plants. (field observations will help you here, or see the Further Resources box for suggestions.) It's okay to use cuttings, but replace them often to keep them fresh. Affix cotton netting or muslin over the terrarium's top and place it outside and out of direct sunlight.

A female can also lure her own males for mating. But please don't, as some entomologists suggest, tack one of the female's wings to a tree to immobilize her. Her agonized fluttering will very likely injure her severely and attract more predators than suitors. It is much better to create a short leash by gently knotting a 10-centimeter thread between her thorax and abdomen and tacking the end to the center of a square of thick poster board about 20 centimeters on a side. Secure a bouquet of her favorite flowers to the square and hang the assembly horizontally in the late afternoon near where you caught her. This platform will separate her from tree-dwelling predators, and its swaying will scare away most birds.

In the early morning, transfer your hopeful mother to a net-lined enclosure surrounding a plant on which her species' caterpillars can feed. Caterpillars can be picky, so some butterflies will lay eggs only on particular kinds of plants. If you don't know which plant to use, secure cuttings from several kinds near where the female was caught. The eggs might be sterile, but if they hatch, keep track of which caterpillars do best.

Plastic two-liter soda containers make ideal caterpillar rookeries. Cut off the top and tape a layer of muslin over it, then place the eggs and your caterpillar's favorite food plant (or cuttings from the plant the female laid her eggs on) inside. A smidgen of petroleum jelly on the inner lip will keep the hatchlings from climbing up the side and fouling themselves in the netting.

Keep your caterpillars outdoors with sunlight and temperature as close as possible to their normal habitat. As your new family matures, you'll need more rookeries. A caterpillar must get into the right position to pupate, and more than about five siblings often means too few places in a small container. Arrange twigs in the containers to provide suitable niches. If you rear too many caterpillars for your needs, release the excess creatures on live food plants in their native environment. Transfer any chrysalides or cocoons that develop to your outdoor terrarium and record their daily progress in your field notebook. If all goes well, they will ultimately become magnificent adults.

Select only the best specimens for mounting. Traditionally, two are chosen--one mounted face down and the other face up to display both sides of the wings. Place cotton balls soaked in either a commercial insecticide or fingernail polish remover into a tea strainer. Hang the strainer with a thread near the top of an airtight jar and place a few layers of paper towel on the jar's bottom. Stun the insect with a firm (yet careful) pinch on the underside of its thorax, drop it into the jar and secure the lid. Return in about 30 minutes to remove your specimen from the jar.

If you can't mount the specimen immediately, store it in a triangularly folded piece of blotting paper. Keep stored butterflies in a sealed container in the freezer until you can mount them. Make sure the specimens have returned to room temperature before you proceed.

The illustration (left) shows the procedure for mounting butterflies. Cork or balsa wood make good surfaces for pinning. These should be slightly angled as shown, to compensate for the wings' tendency to droop. Begin by inserting an insect pin through the right dorsal side of the thorax. (Never substitute sewing pins for insect pins; they are too thick and will rust.) Spread and secure the wings and then attach the insect to the center of the mounting board. Keep the abdomen from sagging by crossing two pins directly underneath it. Let the specimen dry out for at least a week before transferring it to a permanent case.

Look out for minuscule mounds of dust beneath your specimens that tip off the activity of tiny insect pests that may be slowly devouring your collection. Make sure each case is tightly sealed with a few mothballs inside to control these marauders.

Serious collectors should connect with their nearest natural history museum. Many museums continually collect local species to monitor the changes in these populations. Collecting for an institution is a great way to advance science and give conservationists the raw data they need to help protect the environment.

Constructing a Butterfly Net

FURTHER RESOURCES:

Books:

The Amateur Naturalist. Gerald Durrell. Alfred Knopf, 1982.

Butterflies East of the Great Plains. Paul A. Opler and George O. Krizek. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984.

The Butterflies of North America. James A. Scott. Stanford University Press, 1986.

The Practical Entomologist. Rick Imes. Simon & Schuster, 1992.

Biological Supplies:

BioQuip Products. 17803 LaSalle Ave., Gardena, CA 90248. Telephone: (310) 324-0620. E-mail: bioquip@aol.com

Butterfly World. Tradewinds Park, 3600 West Sample Rd., Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Telephone: (954) 977-4400.

Organizations for Butterfly Enthusiasts:

Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute. P.O. Box 5624, Tucson, AZ 85703-0624. Telephone: (520) 883-3945. E-mail: arthrostud@aol.com

Young Entomologists' Society. Gary and Dianna Dunn, 1915 Peggy Place, Lansing, MI 48910-2553. Telephone: (517) 887-0499. E-mail: yesbug@aol.com

Lepidoptera Research Foundation. 9620 Heather Rd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Telephone: (310) 274-1052. E-mail: Mattoni@ucla.edu

Lepidopterists' Society. Membership: 1900 John St., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-2608. Telephone: (310) 545-9415.

For more information about this and other amateur science projects, check out the Society for Amateur Scientists's World Wide Web page. You may call them at 1-401-823-7800 or write them at Society for Amateur Scientists, 5600, Post Road, #114-341, East Greenwich, RI 02818.

I gratefully acknowledge informative conversations with David Faulkner.

Images: Patricia J. Wynne (butterflies and mounting assembly)

The Society for Amateur Scientists (SAS) is a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to helping people enrich their lives by following their passion to take part in scientific adventures of all kinds.