ping boxes, you will find it advisable to 

 do so. Ward's supplies containers especial- 

 ly made for the purpose of shipping frag- 

 ile, pinned insect specimens. (See Fig. 

 32a.) See that all pins are thrust firmly 

 into the pinning composition of the ship- 

 ping box. One "floater" will ruin many 

 specimens. Unless absolutely necessary, do 

 not use corrugated paper as a pinning bot- 

 tom for a shipping box containing pinned 

 insects. The paper will not always pre- 

 vent the pins from coming loose. If cor- 

 rugated paper must be used, be sure to 

 have this material in double thickness. 

 The layers should be placed so that the 

 corrugations are both lengthwise and cross- 

 wise. 



Thrust extra pins of the same height in 

 each corner of the box and over the whole 

 lay a piece of thin cardboard which has 

 been cut to fit the inside of the box snug- 

 ly. Over the layer of cardboard place a 

 layer of cotton thick enough to press firm- 

 ly against the cardboard when the top is 

 closed. The layer of paper held down by 

 the cotton will prevent the pins coming 

 out of the pinning bottom. Wrap the box 

 in paper and pack it in a larger box pro 

 tected by a layer of excelsior or crumpled 

 paper at least 2" thick on all sides. 



Papered specimens may be shipped in 

 any container that will not crush in the 

 mail. (Fig. 32b.) Alternate layers of pa- 

 pered specimens with layers of cotton or 

 cellu-cotton cut to just fit the container 

 may be used. Fill the box so that the tri- 

 angles cannot shake about and pile up in 

 one end. Never place cotton in vials of 

 alcohol as this is sure to entangle the legs 

 and antennae so that these parts will be 

 broken off in transit or when they are re- 

 moved. Fill the vials or jars with alcohol, 

 eliminating the air bubble as much as pos- 

 sible. Place the data label inside the vial 

 but leave out the cotton. 



Mounting Insects for Display 



The preceding instructions are adequate 

 for the storage of insects and their ar- 

 rangement in a collection. Insects also 

 lend themselves to attractive and educa- 

 tional displays which may demonstrate the 

 life cycle of the insect, show typical exam- 

 ples of particular groups (taxonomic col- 

 lections, collections of insect pests, etc.) or 

 be so-called "biological collections" that 

 include examples to illustrate particular 



biological principles. 



Display Containers 



Various types of display containers, of 

 which the following are most common, are 

 used for this purpose. 



Wooden Glass-topped Display Cases. 

 These cases are constructed of wood and 

 are provided with tight-fitting glass tops. 

 The bottom of the case is composed of a 

 sheet of pinning composition that is cov- 

 ered with white glazed paper and the sides 

 of the frame are likewise covered with 

 white flint paper or painted flat white. 

 (See Fig. 33.) 



Fig. 33. A glass-topped exhibit case for 

 displaying specimens. 



Cardboard Display Cases. These are of 

 two types, the larger case with a depth of 

 2\" and the smaller with a depth of \" . 

 The sides are made of several layers of 

 heavy cardboard to give rigidity and the 

 glass top fits as tightly as possbile, altho 

 one can never be sure of as much protec- 

 tion from pests with a cardboard display 

 case as with a wooden one. However, this 

 type of container is much cheaper than 

 that constructed of wood, and if fumigated 

 regularly it will be satisfactory. (Sec Fig. 

 34.) 



The smaller type of display case looks 

 something like a larger Riker Mount. The 

 glass-topped box is made of cardboard, a 

 sheet of pinning composition placed in the 

 bottom of the case and a thin wood frame 

 is made to fit tightly around the inside to 

 give rigidity and to hold the pinning bot- 

 tom firmly in place. The smaller display 

 cases are usually made in two sizes, 6^ x 

 8£" and 8x 12". The depth is about one 

 inch which is less than the height of an 

 insect pin. therefore it is necessary to clip 

 olf the top of the pin so that it will not 



