INTR OD UCTION: xv 



observed and sprinkled with water if necessar}'. The bottom must be covered to the depth 



of several inches with a mixture of sifted earth and sand, and covered with moss. On one 



side are placed pieces of bark, cork, 



turf, or other suitable material, among 



which the larvae may assume the pupa 



state. The food must be renewed 



at least once a da}'. 



Pupae must not be removed 

 from their cocoons or the earth around 

 disturbed, as they easily die if this 

 be done. Those which hibernate 

 should be put in a cold place and 

 covered with moss, and towards spring 

 removed to a warm room. 



When the butterfly or moth 

 emerges it must be allowed to rest 

 till its wings are perfectly developed, 

 which will probably take some hours. 

 It may then be transferred to a 

 bottle charged with chloroform or 

 ether, if required for the collection pj„_ -_ 



When the insect is dead it should 



be laid on a piece of turf or cork covered with paper, and a pin passed through the thorax; 

 after which it must be set, as described in the next section. 



SETTING. 



Two methods of setting butterflies and moths are in common use, the British and the 

 Continental. The British setting-board consists of a piece of wood with a groove in the middle 

 for the body of the insect and a narrow slice of cork or turf in the groove to hold the pin. 

 The part of the board on which the wings rest slopes outwards and slightly downwards. The 

 Continental setting-board (Fig. 8) consists of two pieces of smooth flat board, with a slight 



interval between them for the body of the 

 insect, above another board covered with 

 cork or turf beneath the opening. The 

 space between the upper and lower boards 

 is about an inch. Setting-boards are of 

 course made of different sizes for different- 

 sized insects. It will be observed that an 

 insect set by the first method is low on 

 the pin, with the wings sloping and almost 

 touching the paper of the box or drawer, 

 whilst those set in the Continental way 

 are high on the pins with the wings per- 

 fectly flat and horizontal. The latter method looks the best and places the specimens 

 further out of reach of mites. 



In setting a butterfly or moth, care must be taken to pin it exactly through the middle 

 of the thorax, and to see that it is quite dead, for if it is still alive it will move the antennae 

 and wings and become spoiled. The insect is pinned with the body in the groove of the 

 setting-board and the wings spread out in the position seen on the plates, and retained in 

 the proper position by means of strips of paper or thin cardboard secured by pins as seen 



Fisf. 8. 



