146 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



obliterated entirely. These, then, must be pinned with fine wire 

 from beneath (not above), and if it can be avoided, the point 

 should not project above the mesonotum at all. The wire is 

 then stuck into a piece of pith (that from the stalk of Jerusalem 

 artichokes will do), and through this pith an ordinary pin is driven, 

 by means of which it is placed in the cabinet. I possess a collection 

 of Continental Chalcididae and Cynipidae set on this plan, and I 

 am not quite sure but that for general study it is better for the 

 Micro-Hymenoptera than carding; it also saves time, for it is not 

 easy to spread out the organs of insects less than a line in length, 

 while if not properly carded the specimens are worthless. For 

 want of tliis care the type collections of Chalcididae, etc., made 

 and described by the late Francis Walker are an eyesore, and 

 scarcely of any value. 



Should the student prefer to use pins, he ought to get long 

 ones, and place the specimens well up, as by this they are rendered 

 safe from the attacks of Psocidae, while also they can be better 

 examined. There can be no doubt that a collection of insects 

 set on long pins will last three times as long as one set on 

 short ones. 



It may be added that the plan, advocated by the Rev. T. A. 

 Marshall, of washing over the card-board with a weak solution of 

 carbolic acid, is an effectual preventive from mites, etc., attacking 

 the insects mounted on the cards treated in this way; and it is 

 also a wise plan to wash over the cabinet and store boxes with 

 the same fluid. 



Having said so much on the preparation of the perfect insects, 

 let us now say something regarding the larvae, a branch which, 

 notwithstanding its great interest, has been too much neglected. 

 It ought never to be forgotten that the mere naming of species 

 and the formation of a collection are but the A B C of entomology 

 leading on to the development and anatomy, without a knowledge 

 of which the student may truly be said to know nothing, no 

 matter how many species he may be able to name. The study of 

 the larvae of the Phytophagous Hymenoi)tera is, however, by no 

 means easy, for it is not at all a simple matter to rear them, this 

 being a good deal owing to the fact that they hibernate over the 

 winter. It is true that this does not apply to those species which 

 are double brooded, but still the first brood is, as a rule, much 

 smaller than the autumnal one, and in Scotland at least, there are 



