[60] 



COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS RILEY. 



FIG. 95. Method of pinning and labeling 

 Coleoptera (original) . 



care all insects can be prepared for the cabinet so that both the upper 

 and under surface of the specimen may be examined without further 

 manipulation. 



Pinning. "Insects should be pinned through the middle of the 

 thorax, when, as is more generally the case, this portion (the mesothorax) 

 is largely developed. Beetles ( Coleoptera} 

 and Bugs (Hemiptera), should, however, 

 be pinned, the former through the right 

 elytron or wing-cover (Fig. 95), and the 

 latter through the scutel or triangular 

 piece behind the thorax, the pin issuing 

 between the middle and hind legs (Fig. 

 96). The specimens look very pretty with 

 all the legs neatly spread out, but for 

 practical purposes it is better to let them 

 dry in the natural, partly bent position. 

 It is a saving of time and space, and the 

 limbs are not so apt to break. The legs 

 must also not reach too far downward or they will interfere with the 

 proper labeling and the secure pinning of the specimen in the cabinet 

 Moreover, the antennae and legs must be brought into such position 

 that they will not obstruct the view of any important part of the under - 

 surface. The pin should always project about half an 

 inch above the insect to facilitate handling, and uni- 

 formity in this regard will have much to do with the 

 neat appearance of the collection. In pinning very large 

 and heavy insects on a No. 4 or No. 5 pin, it is a good 

 plan to first flatten the pin by a few blows of a hammer, 

 in order to prevent the specimen from subsequently turn- 

 ing round on the pin." 



In pinning specimens which have a flat or nearly flat 

 undersurface and short legs (as in many Coleoptera 

 and Hemiptera and some Hymenoptera, e. g. the Saw- 

 flies) the specimens are laid on a piece of cork and held 

 in place there with the fingers or with a forceps. The pin is then 

 pushed through the insect at the proper point, care being taken not 

 to strike one of the legs or coxae, and that the pin passes through the 

 specimen in a vertical direction. 



After the pin has been pushed through the specimen it is taken out 

 of the cork and the specimen is pushed up to its proper height. This 

 can be done either by holding the specimen between the fingers or 

 by placing it on the upper edge of a thick book. A piece of card- 

 board provided with a small hole may also be used for this purpose. 

 The perforations in ordinary sheet-cork, or the lapel of one's coat, 

 will answer the same purpose. In pinning Lepidoptera or Hymenoptera 

 the specimen should lie lightly in the angle formed by the thumb and 



FIG. 90. Method 

 of pinning Hemip- 

 tera (original). 



