Would they return to the call that attracted them the night before?
Deprived of their antennae, would they be able to find the captive, now placed at a considerable distance from her original position?
The cage was in darkness, almost in the open air.

From time to time I visited it with a net and lantern.

The visitors were captured, inspected, and immediately released in a neighbouring room, of which I closed the door.

This gradual elimination allowed me to count the visitors exactly without danger of counting the same butterfly more than once.

Moreover, the provisional prison, large and bare, in no wise harmed or endangered the prisoners; they found a quiet retreat there and ample space.