The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 
been adjusted into the position which they are to occupy, slips 
of tracing-muslin or of paper should be drawn down over them 
and securely pinned, the setting-needles being removed. 
In pinning down the 
^SMMWIE IB. BME. strips which are to hold the 
Fig. 56.—Setting-needle. wings in place, be careful 
to pin around the wing, but 
never, if possible, through it. When the wings have been adjusted 
in the position in which they are to remain, the antennae, or feelers, 
should be attended to and drawn forward on the same plane as the 
wings and secured in place. This may ordinarily be done by set¬ 
ting pins in such a position as to hold them where they are to stay. 
Then the body, if it has a tendency to sag down at the end of the 
abdomen, should be raised. This may also be accomplished by 
means of pins thrust beneath on either side. The figure on the 
next page shows more clearly what is intended. When the 
insect has been set, the board should be put aside in a place where 
it will not be molested or attacked by pests, and the specimens 
upon it allowed to dry. A box with shelves in it is often used 
for this purpose. This box should 
have a door at the front covered 
with wire gauzfe, and the back 
should also be open, covered with 
gauze, so as to allow a free circu- 
lation of air. A few balls of naph¬ 
thaline placed in it will tend to keep 
away mites and other pests. The 
time during which the specimen 
should remain on the board until it 
is dried varies with its size and the 
condition of the atmosphere. Most butterflies and moths in dry 
weather will be sufficiently dried to permit of their removal from 
the setting-boards in a week; but large, stout-bodied moths may 
require as much as two weeks, or even more time, before they are 
dry enough to be taken off the boards. The process of drying 
may be hastened by placing the boards in an oven, but the tem¬ 
perature of the oven must be quite low. If too much heat is 
applied, great injury is sure to result. Only a careful and expert 
operator should resort to the use of the oven, a temperature above 
120 ° F, being sure to work mischief. 
40 
Fig. 57.—Setting-board with moth 
expanded upon it (Riley). 
