182 MR. C. B. HARDENBURG 



To Obtain First Instar Larvae. 



For this purpose it is, in most cases, necessary to ob- 

 tain fertile eggs and have them hatclied indoors. It is only 

 in exceptional cases that the first instar larv?e are readily 

 collected in the field. Unfortunately for the collector, 

 these eggs are very often parasitised ; our experience has 

 been that, if the egg mass has been found by a female 

 parasite^ she has done her work so thoroughly that not 

 a single egg in the cluster has escaped being stung. The 

 most satisfactory way is, therefore, to obtain the eggs 

 from the female moth or butterfly. While it is com 

 paratively easy to collect the eggs of the larger moths, 

 those of the smaller kinds are more difficult to locate; 

 in fact, in many cases we do not know where the eggs 

 are deposited or where to look for them. Fortunately, very 

 many of these smaller moths are attracted to the light. 

 The females, as a rule, contain eggs, and these eggs are. 

 in most cases, fertile (contrary to our previous ideas). 

 The females which one captures at the light should there- 

 fore not be killed at once, but should be imprisoned under 

 the lid of a box or a tumbler until the following morn- 

 ing. As a rule we shall find that eggs have been laid 

 overnight, and the moth will be still quite fresh and can 

 then be killed for the cabinet. A description of the colour 

 mai'kings and other peculiarities of the eggs should then 

 be made, a few of the eggs preserved in alcohol, and the 

 remainder left to hatch. 



Preparing Caterpillars. 



Tlie usual procedure on the part of the collector when 

 he finds a nearly full grown caterpillar is to try and rear 

 it through to the adult so as to be able to tell which 

 species it represents. It is a natural curiosity which he 

 wants to satisfy. But a little consideration will show 

 tliat this is really the wrong procedure. Probably in nine 

 eases out of ten the adult will be a known species, while 



