2Q2 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



I.VI KKKSTIM, "FTSIIINC" FOR AQUATIC BEETLES. 



above it and the beetles cannot escape. 

 The umbrella is used upside down un- 

 der trees. A branch is given a shar*; 

 blow with a stick and all the insects 

 upon it will drop into the inverted um- 

 brella. 



Jt is not always convenient or pos- 

 sible to mount the beetles, when one 

 comes home from an excursion. In 

 this case they may be stored in cigar 

 boxes or in tin tobacco boxes on layers 

 of cotton. Use moth flakes for dis- 

 infecting" and do not forget to put 

 labels between the lavers to record the 



time and the place. Before mounting, 

 the insects must be relaxed. For this 

 purpose a saucer is filled with wet 

 sand. The beetles are put en white 

 paper on top of the sand and the whole 

 covered with a bell jar for twenty-four 

 hours. All beetles are mounted on 

 special pins called insect pins. These 

 are thrust through the right wing and 

 care must be taken so that when the 

 pin comes out on the other side it shall 

 . not take a leg off. Small beetles are 

 glued with mucilage or shellac on a 

 triangular piece of stiff paper, which 



HOW TO USE AN INVERTED UMBRELLA UNDER THE BRANCHES OF A TREE. 



