2S 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Feb. 1, I860. 



such slides as may worthily be compared in extreme 

 loveliness, if riot in grand colouring, with exotics. 



It is necessary that the wings chosen for display 

 and permanent preservation should be perfect — a 

 condition only to be obtained by killing the insect 

 immediately it has completed the transformation into 

 the imago state, and also that it be properly illumi- 

 nated so that it may be seen to the best advantage. 



Some of the species most suitable for selection are 

 as follow : — 



The Red Admiral, the caterpillar of which feeds 

 upon the nettle, and may be obtained in June and 

 July, exhibits marked contrast and depth of colour- 

 ing on the upper surface of the wings. The red, 

 black, white, and blue remind one of the glories of 

 the denizens of warmer climates. We, however, 

 prefer to bring microscopic power to bear on the 

 under -surface of both wings. In the fore-wing a 

 great number of tints may be found, from the 

 brightest and most delicate to deep black, and in 

 certain parts, small groups of scales of an iridescent 

 green glow with refulgent beauty. The under- 

 surface of the hind-wing presents a no less marvel- 

 lous display— white, black, brown, blue, pearly grey, 

 and iridescent green scales are scattered apparently 

 in confusion, and yet the effect is one of surpassing 

 loveliness. To the unaided vision these hues all 

 blend into a warm brown marbled with other sober 

 tints, and the indications of the sight described are 

 so small, that few only would place this object on 

 the microscopic stage, and expect to And anything 

 worth special notice. 



All the butterflies of this family and its allies will 

 supply good specimens ; but, in my humble opinion, 

 the Red Admiral furnishes the most superb object, 

 not even excepting the Peacock Butterfly, the 

 splendour of which has been specially dwelt on more 

 than once by able writers. I opine that there is 

 little danger of such highly prized insects as the 

 Camberwell Beauty, or the Purple Emperor, being 

 cut up to make objects of. Those wings which are 

 intended for viewing by reflected light must of 

 course be mounted dry, in cells. Unfortunately I 

 find they deteriorate in time. Confervoid growths 

 make their appearance on the covering glass, and 

 the colours themselves fade slightly. 



At the meeting of the Microscopical Society, in 

 December last, the subject of cells for objects 

 mounted in the dry was ably and fully discussed. 

 The merits of cells made with glass, marine glue, 

 tin foil, india-rubber, ebonite, and paper saturated 

 with shellac, were each reviewed, and the hints 

 then dropped from distinguished microscopists of 

 long experience cannot but be of great value. 



The Small Tortoiseshell, any of the Eritillary 

 Butterflies, or the Swallow Tail, will furnish a 

 capital wing for mounting in balsam, to be viewed 

 as a transparent object. The latter is also often 

 mounted opaque. 



The Green-veined White Butterfly, in which a 

 greenish tint is observable on the underside of the 

 hind wing, when placed under the microscope shows 

 the said green tint to be merely an optical illusion 

 caused by the mixture of black and yellow scales 

 situated there. 



Any of the Blues will make a splendid slide if 

 mounted entire with the wings closed, suitable 

 especially for a low power of seven or eight dia- 

 meters. 



The moths now claim our attention. 



The Burnet moth gives a remarkably fine slide, 

 and so does the Green Oak moth. It will be found 

 that, owing to the iridescent property of the scales 

 of these moths, some positions of the light bring 

 out the colours more strongly than others. Badly 

 illuminated the wing will look insignificant, but 

 when everything is comme ilfaut, it will be declared 

 magnificent, the scales having a metallic lustre, and 

 returning from myriad -glittering surfaces the light 

 they receive from the lamp. 



Towards the end of May, and all through June, a 

 little glossy brown or black moth with long antennae 

 is common in the suburbs of London. There are 

 several species, and some will suit the collector 

 better than others. I remember reading in Wood's 

 " Common Objects of the Country" * a description 

 of this little gem, and I was so determined to add it 

 to my collection, that I lost no time in going to the 

 British Museum to identify the insect. Having 

 satisfied myself that I should know an Adela moth 

 if one came in my way, I next went to Epping Eorest 

 and got plenty. Since then I have, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Battersea, Wandsworth, and Streatham, 

 on several occasions found, on palings, in the evening, 

 a sort of Adela, having comparatively short antenna 1 , 

 which is more beautiful still, and justifies all that the 

 author quoted has said on the subject. The scales in 

 this moth are prismatic, and if the light by which 

 they are illuminated is slightly shifted the effect is 

 remarkably pretty. Vivid rainbow and metallic 

 tints alternately appear and disappear as the beam 

 of light passes over the wing. 



No cabinet will be complete without the wing of 

 the White Plume moth, an exquisite example of 

 grace and beauty. The scales and hairs on this wing 

 are of the purest white, and gleam with silvery 

 lustre. The moth is common all over the south of 

 England, and makes its appearance in the twilight 



* In his Nat. History he says, " If an observer be walking 

 in the woods and should keep a careful watch among the 

 leaves of the shrubs and underwood, he will often see sundry 

 delicate filaments, like the threads of the gossamer spider, 

 waving in the light, but having an iridescent surface, which 

 shows they could not have derived their origin from the 

 spider. On following these filaments to their source, he will 

 find they belong to a little reddish-coloured moth, which sits 

 on the branch with closed wings, and permits the long thread- 

 like antenna; to wave freely in the breeze." — Vol. iii., p. 542. 



