CHAPTER II 
THE CAPTURE, PREPARATION, AND PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS 
“ Does he who searches Nature’s secrets scruple 
To stick a pin into an insect ?” 
A. G. CEhlenschl^ger, Aladdin's Lamp. 
Everything that has been said in “The Butterfly Book” in 
reference to the capture, preparation, and preservation of speci¬ 
mens holds good in the case of the Heterocera. Inasmuch, 
however, as many of the moths are exceedingly minute in form, 
it is worth while to state that a greater degree of care must be 
observed in the collection and preservation of these minute 
species than is necessary in the case of even the smallest butter¬ 
flies. The best method of collecting the micro-lepidoptera is to 
put them, after they have been netted, into pill-boxes, which have 
glass covers, or into vials or test tubes of large size. These 
receptacles may be carried in a bag or pocket by the collector. 
When he has returned from the field, the specimens may be killed 
by subjecting them to the action of sulphuric ether applied to the 
corks of the vials, or introduced into the boxes on a camel’s-hair 
pencil. By dipping the cork into the ether and moistening it 
with a drop or two and then replacing it in the vial the insect is 
stunned. Sometimes two or three successive applications of 
ether are necessary. When the insect has been killed and is still 
a 
Fig. i 6 .—Setting needle used in adjusting wings of micro- 
lepidoptera upon the glass surface of the setting board. 
lax, it is fixed upon a small silver pin of a size proportionate to 
that of its body, and is then transferred to the setting board. 
Setting boards for mounting micro-lepidoptera should be made 
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