June, '09] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 259 



some advantages, there are so many objections that I do not 

 use it. Some of the pigment is always drawn out of the body 

 and stains the balsam. If the atmospheric conditions are un- 

 favorable at the time of mounting, the surface will be ob- 

 scured by a cloud caused by moisture. Although such mounts 

 do finally "clear up" to a certain extent, they are never en- 

 tirely satisfactory and shrinkage is apt to occur after a time. 

 They are rather shocking to a person used to modern tech- 

 nique. Closely related species thus mounted are often 

 scarcely distinguishable. This method of mounting is pre- 

 cisely that used by nature in the Tertiary period in the for- 

 mation of the amber specimens. 



In collecting aphids I find that small tin boxes with tightly 

 fitting covers are most convenient. Infested leaves are trim- 

 med of uninfested parts and placed in a box. If the cover 

 does fit closely, the leaves and the insects will not dry up in 

 less than 24 hours; thus the collector has time to make notes 

 and preserve plenty of material on returning to the labora- 

 tory. They can be quickly chloroformed in the box and thus 

 the nuisance of crawling plant lice may be avoided. But it is 

 not safe to use chloroformed material for color notes. These 

 are best made with living examples held in place under a 

 cover glass and examined with a high power hand lens. Mr. 

 C. E. Sanborn has published a guide for taking notes of liv- 

 ing aphids (U. S. Dept. of Agric. Bur. Ent. 60 (n. s.) 

 p. 165). This prevents omissions and secures uniformity so 

 that related forms can be easily compared. But the only sat- 

 isfactory means of recording the color is by colored drawings 

 of living insects. Needless to say they are far better than 

 mere words, which, however, have to suffice in general col- 

 lecting. 



Considerable information is obtained on the habits and de- 

 velopment of aphids by insectary breeding experiments sup- 

 plemented with field observations. To enable the insects to 

 attain their normal size they must be allowed to develop on 

 freshly growing plants. These can be secured for indoor 



