The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 
have been more or less devoured. Generally underneath the tree 
will be found the frass, or ejectamenta, of the caterpillar. The 
presence of the ejectamenta and the evidence of the ravages com¬ 
mitted by the larvae upon the foliage will give the collector a clue 
to the whereabouts of the caterpillar. The writer has found it 
generally advantageous to search for caterpillars that feed upon 
trees along the wide, sandy margins of brooks and rivers. The 
frass is easily discovered upon the sand, and by casting the eye 
upward into the foliage it is often easy to detect the insect. The 
pavements in towns and cities which are bordered by trees may 
also very well be scanned for evidence of the presence of cater¬ 
pillars. A favorite collecting-ground of the writer is one of the 
large cemeteries of the city in which he lives, in which there are 
numerous trees and a great quantity of shrubbery. Wood-boring 
species, as a rule, are more difficult to obtain and rear than those 
that feed upon the foliage. 
Hibernating Caterpillars. — While some difficulty attends the 
preservation of chrysalids in the case of those species which 
pupate in the fall and pass the winter in the chrysalis state under 
the ground, far more difficulty attends the preservation of species 
which hibernate in the caterpillar state. As a rule, it is found best 
to expose the boxes containing these species in an ice-house or 
other cold place, keeping them there until there is available an 
abundant supply of the tender shoots of the plant upon which 
they are in the habit of feeding. They may then be brought forth 
from cold storage and placed in proximity to the food-plant, 
upon which they will proceed to feed. 
THE PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS 
Papering Specimens. — When time and opportunities do not 
suffice for the proper preparation of butterflies for display in 
the permanent collection, the collector may, in the case of the 
larger species, conveniently place them in envelopes, with then 
wings folded (Fig. 51), and they may then be stored in a box 
until such time as he is able to relax the specimens and properly 
mount them. Thousands of insects are thus annually collected. 
The small drug envelopes, or the larger pay-roll envelopes, 
which m^y be bought in boxes by the thousand of any stationer for 
37 
