The San Francisco call. [volume], February 20, 1910, Page 5, Image 5

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
-\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 i J? an - Fraiicisccr Sunday Call
Mabel H. Collyer
SPOLICEMAX by day — a trailer of
fairy gold by night!
Patrolman 15. a stalwart, full
chested, good natured member of
San Francisco's "finest," is a man
-»-\u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0
with a dual personality. By day you
may catch a glimpse of him patrolling
his beat, anywhere along Geary, O'Far
rell or out by Fillmore; by night you
may not be able to catch up with him
at all, unless your eyes are keener
than those of the candle moth or the
other creepy, crawly things whose
haunts he disturbs. Straight as an ar
row by day, big and brawny, built
something on the typical western cow
boy plan, he dwindles away at night
to an insignificant nocturnal prowler.
Togged out in brown khaki, with a
slouch hat pulled over his eyes and a
net over his shoulder, he skulks along
blind Janes and alleys, as suspicious
looking a character as any he himself
xrcay run in during the day. For our
friend the policeman is a bugologist of
a very pronounced typ*.
Bugs — ugh! Their mere mention
brings a vision of blue spectacled old
men, with long hair end pasty faces,
peering into slimy pools! But our cop
will t*ll you that this Is a passing
type — -that the entomologist of today
is as lively as the cricket lie trails and
as sportive as the bee. "The greatest
sport, in tli« world." he calls ft, this
tramping over hill and d;ilt after airy
fairy, fluttery vreaturcs, or poking into
hollows for ugly brown beetles. And
be it known that on his longer jaunts
during: vacation, or on «o:ne holiday,
a single butterfly ha* led him a chase
of some SS miles in a day—only to die
a dire little death at sundown in a
cyanide bottle and to be labeled, "Rare
and beautiful specimen of the" — spa?e
us the narr.e!
But apart from this — the glorious
sport that it is, and the exercise, the
interest and all that Is to be derived
from a painstaking pursuit of ento
mological objects— there is another
tide, namely', that an ever Increasing
demand for rare and perfect specimens
brings a goodly financial return to the
professional collector.. The prices
paid for unusual specimens are truly
enough to make the uninitiated out
eider sit up and take notice. Imagine
If you will a little feather weight of a
moth being worth $5 in gold, and an
odd kind of beetle, a little different
from all his neighbors, commanding a
price of $20 In open market, with va
rious collectors bidding against each
other for his possession at that.
Policeman James E. Cottle, sitting In
the dining room of his home at 2117
Bush street, told with twinkling eyes
how he first came to be Interested In
the insect industry:
» "It was one day in early *June^ I
think." he said, "that I was rusticating
in some little out of the way place. I
had the popular notion In my head that
a chap who would spend his time chas
ing beetles and bees over the hills was
a species of crank that ought to be
locked up; bo when I saw one of them,
coming down the mountainside' with a
net over his shoulder and a bug in his
hand.'l bad a notion to run him in on
the spot. But I had some curiosity
concerning his special genus, sol saun
tered up and asked him what he
thought he was doing, anyway.
'"'What am I doing?* said he, looking
at me, kind of scornfulllke. 'Why, I've
just caught one of the rarest butter
flies in this locality, and I think I'm
on the trail of some more." ' I looked
at the bug. It didn't amount to shucks
in my. eyes; so I asked him what he,.
wanted with the things after he'd got
'em. He was a good natured chap, and
just grinned at my ignorance.
•"Want with 'em?' said he. 'Why, I
can sell these fellows for $2 apiece
easy.' You should have seen me jump!
" 'Say.' said I; 'do you- mean to tell me,
you ran get reaPraoney for things like
that?'
"'That's what," said he. 'I got $20 for
a dandy.lot last week.' I saw my chance
and ducked in. 'Don't you need some
help?' said I, easy like. ' 'Have you got
another net?" He had, and off we sailed
together. We raught 23 that day and
he sold 'em, and gave me half the profit,
like the dead game sport that he was.
That was my start. I bought some
books and set to work. I have been a
confirmed bugologlst ever since, and
that was 20 years ago."
Mr. Cottle explained that the novice
of course can not collect specimens with,
profit to himself or any one else with
out some proper instruction. Butter
flies, moths and even hardy looking
beetles, It seems, are all of them fragile
enough to be ruthlessly destroyed by a
little clumsy handling; and since there
Is a market for perfect specimens only, i
it behooves the wouldbe collector* to \u25a0
learn ways and means before starting ;
to the hills with a net and a bottle. ;
As far as the field is concerned, it -is i
right at our doors, for California's Hie :
mecca of. the entomologist, and some of
the rarest specimens, many of them
unclassified as yet, are to be. found on, :
over and around our San Francisco
hills. According to Officer Cottle and
others of his ilk the atmosphere en
circling: our city is a vast unexplored,
mine of floating wealth. And right '<
here ctfmes in the hint of fairy gold;. ;
for what could be more evasive, -more '
elflnlike, than a little ethereal moth, ":;
its wings steeped in gold dust, hover- ;
, ing just out of reach of some -horrid ;
old miser's net^ God! . Not only, in .]
color, but In substance! And behoidj' \u25a0.')
here is a new way to mine for bright i
little nuggets— with a net and a cyi:- \u25a0
, nlde bottle, instead "of a pick and :
BY DAY HE
CATCHES BURGLARS:
BY NIGHT HE
CATCHES BUGS
Poli cem a.n Co 111 c 5 *ys Our
Bdvlmy Air Is Full of Flying
Nuggets: Get c* Butterfly
NeK d^nd HelbYouraelf
shovel! And a beautiful showing the
little nuggets make, stuck on pins In<
glass showcases!:. \u25a0.'..'•\u25a0' -
Butterflies fly by day, the moth by
night, and the beetle, though he seems
to crawl forth most any old time, lias
his favorite haunts, his habits and his
hoars. But it is the moth, in ; its
various guises, that Officer Cottle stalks"
after nightfall, luring it: forth by means;
of a -great,- tall acetylene lantern that
gives a light as powerful as that of a,
street- lamp. He makes some if his.
catches around his own doorstep, others
he trails out toward Golden GateVpark,
that with its many flower beds and
abundant shrubbery is a veritable
storehouse of floating treasure, and
thence wanders on, sometimes out by
the beach and at other times out
toward San Mateo and the adjacent dis
tricts. 'He, is-a tireless' walker*' and an.
expert climber. On his, lcmger jaunts
among the hills over ; iri;finih valley and
up around Mount Tamalpais tie seldom '
goes alone, but is accompanied "by; his'
friend, P'rancis X.; Williams, ;a- giadu
ate-^of Stanford university , in ; the de
partment of entomology. : These two
have scaled: nearly, ;every v high "peak in'
the: vicinity' of the bay seeking certain '
odd specimens that"; have a penchant for.
roostinj^^high'iJlaces.' .' ' .
Rar4? flies 'are not always found in
rare places; so it. is not necessary, to
scale a high peak in order to discover a
'treasure. One of Mr. Cottle's'.-moit
•highly prized specimens, a variety, of |
the Pyrameis caryae,*-. with markings so
peculiar arid so different frbm any other
member ;of;, its family.; that (he values
his catch at $50, was captured in: a
garden at the corner of Washington and
Buchanan streets. >- He .has the pride of
a; discoverer in', his find, for tie sur
mises that this is the . only \u25a0; variety of
: its": kind in; any collection. All! collect
ors are constantly .; on the lookout- for
odd specimens of \ a recognized - faintly '
showing markings, or" characteristics a
little different from. those on its family
tree. Moreover, butterflies are ; migra
tory- creatures, and : frequently; 'vanish
from ;' a favorite ",\ locality only -to § re
appear later amid entirely different sur-;
rouhdings.; Thus ; the Lepisesla' phau
ton, "formerly of Los Angeles, whose -
progeny 'for $10 a pair.' because •
of their scarcity?: may,; perchance, be
rearinga; family jrighf around ttiecor
rier.; \u25a0 The . Arctonotus "lucidus, . an ova
si ye little olive green creature, (has i re
cently moved from northern Oregon.to :
pur: vicinity. Not ; quite;, so -scarce: as
somo ; of. its neighbors, ; this fly; brings;
about $3 a pair. '\u25a0\u25a0,'.
Previous to April. do. .1906. Mr. Cot
tie had as fine a collection of butter
flies and moths ,as could be found In
thai.Unlted : States,- representing' work
a. period of 16 years. It all
went up in smoke, alone with several
other \u25a0 choice 'collections of various:
*kinds '-' • In^ this city*. lie has re
covered ' from the shock, " though he
still bemoans the loss of a certain
'.-beetle-, so .rare that only ..two of -.its'
counterparts aro known* today— one in
the : famous -Rothschild collection i'n>
London and the other In the possession
of Dr. Edwin Van Dyke of San Fran
clsco.V Since Mr. Cottle makes a spe
cialty of butterflies and moths, this
beetle , was -merely a, straggler in his
net, but proved very welcome, as there
was a handsome price on his Jiead. The.
little beetle when caught was bearing
*up bravely under the, stupendous name
of - Nebclyttius balteatus, having .been
thus designated by. Professor .le Conte.
Over :? the many other rare specimens .
lost ;Mr. Cottle. "draws a" veil and points
withCpride/to his new collection that
Is. being rebuilt drawer -by. drawer, on
a par. with the city's growth. , Wonder-'
fill ".butterflies-. and moths, all of
native \u25a0Calif ornians, , each with a neat
unpronounceable name - attached to ; its ' :
pin, are lined -up in ; a handsome new
cabinet in a little den of a room re
served especially for his bugs, and the
paraphernalia that goes with them.
And apart from these there Is a float
ing population of brilliant flies with
folded wings done up in little tricol
ored manila envelopes ready for the
eastern market, which Mr. Cottle Is
constantly supplying with new specl
\u25a0 mens.. _ Some of his rarer specimens ha
ships to Germany, France and other
European countries.- The dtmand for
such specimens, he states, is on the
increase. The demand Is always ahead
of the supply, since it is almost impos
sible to capture more than one or two
of certain rare species 'during a season,
though occasional good fortune favors
the collector when he stumbles on a
swarm of some rara avis. Take, for
example, the Kodiosoma nlgra. a spe
cies of moth much In demand. Mr.
Cottle. roaming around Marin county
not long ago, was able to capture 16
of these In a single day and sold them
in New York for $2.50 apiece, receiving
a request for more with his check.
The running mate of this little beastle.
the Kidiosoma tricolor, whose haunts
have been traced to the vicinity. of. San
Jose, has so far eluded his net at every
turn and he is still seeking his first
specimen of this breed, though at pres
ent he is looking more pointedly for
specimens of the Arctonotus lucldus, a
rare species that files from November
to the last of February, with Its fa
vorite haunts around Mount Tamalpais.
Meanwhile he has his eye open for a
glimpse of the bewitching N Melittla glo-"
• riosa, a magnificent, moth, as elusive
as: she is charming and valuable. In
ail his collecting tie has caught but
one specimen of the glorlosa, and that
he states was a "battered old girl"
\u25a0 roosting behind Mount Diablo. These
little moths easily command a price of
$8 a pair. They would be easy to
catch, he declares, if a fellow, could
only find "their haunts.'
\u25a0'. "The" Heniseuca~electra, another rare
moth, \u25a0is a native .of San Diego. Going
: down there last year at the right sea
son, Mr.- Cottle was 'able* to bag 64 flies
and" 422" eggs. He realized 50 cents
apiece for_ the males and |l apiece for
the females. Eggs = so collected are
hatched out in breeding cages and the
; collector/has the fun of watching, his
specimens ' in their ; metamorphosis from \u25a0
worm • to fly. , Then ; pop— the fully de
veloped specimen goes Into a- cyanid*
bottle and incomes a, mummy on a
pin.
So It turns out that there Is money
In bugs, and lots, of it — for the right
kind.- Professor Studebaker. an au
thority on insects of all kinds, mad*
a goodly fortune selling butterflies
alone, while Dr. Frank E. Blalsdell and
Dr. Edwin Van Dyke of this city have
collections of rare beetles, literally
worth their weight in precious stones
rather than gold — they are so light,
.you know. Prof. Charles Fuchs of the
University of California is another
steady contributor to the beetle trade,
and numerous other members of the
Pacific Coast entomological, association
.draw down tidy sums for their various
finds. "\ ,'v
Sooner or later, according: to Mr. Cot
tle, it is absolutely necessary for an
entomologist to specialize in some ono
branch of tha Insect industry, alnca
the whole rang* of entomology is too
vast for any one man to hope to cover
it in a lifetime. Therefore Mr. Cuttle
long: ago made bia specialty the lepl
dopteru. — though he is not at all averse
to snapping up any odd specimen of
any class that may creep across his
path. ' Entomologists, too, generally
work in couples or trios, or even in
crowds, , since all of them exchange
specimens in order to coraplsta their
collections.
Once find the food plant of a certain
species, states Mr. Cottle, and the rest
is easy, though time plays an Impor
tant part in many a capture* Many
of the iepidopera ar# staid li(U* crea
tures of habit, with fixed hours for
flyluir, fixed hours for matin? and
fixed 'hours for dying 1 . A little too
early or a little too late means no catch,
at all. The Hepialus sequoiolus, a
dainty little creature called tha head
light moth, because tha female carries
a bit of phosphorus on her back that
lights up as she spreads her vrlngs.
flies promptly at 7:45 and stops flying
at S sharp, as abruptly as If some tiny
curfew had been rung in her hearing. "'
After S she and her train of admirers
disappear completely until the same
hour the next evening, when tha sama
little headlight procession again
swings Into viewr.
' Many butterflies fly only at higo
noon, others make quick short flights
promptly at 2 p. m., and .immediately
take siestas with the regularity of
automatons. How the little crea
tures tell time Is a mystery yet un
solved by the savant, but Cottla
affirms that he would just as
soon set his watch by a moth
or butterfly as by the city chimes.
Light attracts most . varieties .of ;
moths, though . some revel in ab
solute darkness, flitting about from
flower to flower like tiny elfish owla.
The study of the eccentricities and
habits of these little creatures of th«u
air is. as fascinating* as it is profit
able, asserts Mr. Cottle. and he thinks
that in trailing them hither and yon,
always out In the open, he has dis
covered a veritable elixir of youth.
. "It Is the healthiest life in tha
world.", he declared enthusiastically,
"and the greatest sport I know any
thing about. 1 wonder that more peo
ple do not take it up. f can wager
that a fellow with tuberculosis would
be cured of his disease in a few -
months; If he would follow my trail
over the hills.'*.
And his looks do not belie his words.
He I3,the picture of. buoyant health,
with a spring to. his gait and a fores
to his fist that makes him quite In
dependent of his Mlly. as he duti
full}*-patrols his beat, day, after day,
with his weather eye always peeled
for a specimen bug.
This little 'side issue in bugs ' might . .\
be called. a hobby except that a hobby,
is usually an extravagance, while bus
chasing is a" diversion that pays.