_The Water Net._--The numerous insects or insect larvae which live in the water can not be conveniently collected without the use of a net, except where they live in small shallow streams or creeks with gravelly or stony bottoms. A suitable water net can readily be made by using the frame of the beating net and attaching to it a rather short bag of some coarse material, _e. g._, "grass cloth," coarse millinet. The mode of operation with this net is very simple: if some insect is seen swimming in the water, the net is carefully brought beneath the specimen, which is thus lifted out of the water. Most water insects are, however, not seen swimming about freely, but hide amid the various plants, mosses, etc., or in the mud at the base of the plants, and they can best be captured by dragging the net through these plants. When taken from the water the net is more or less filled with mud and parts of plants, and the water must be allowed to run out and the contents of the net spread out on a cloth or on a flat stone, if such be at hand. The insects are at first not readily seen, but after a short while they begin to emerge from the mud and crawl about, and can readily be taken up with a forceps. [Illustration: FIG. 50.--The Water Net. (After Packard.)] _Water Dip Net._--The small water sieve, shown in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 51), and somewhat resembling in appearance a jockey cap, is frequently of service in collecting the larvae of aquatic insects, especially where it is necessary to scrape submerged stones or timbers. In use it is fastened on the end of a cane or stick, and can be easily made by any tinsmith. [Illustration: FIG. 51.--Small Water Dip Net (original).]