]low to Collect, Preserve, and Study Lepidopterons Insects in 

 South Africa. By A. J. T. Janse, F.E.8. (Lond.j. 



(Plate II.) 



Part I. 



The Lepidoptera, or butterflies and moths as they are 

 ordinarily called in daily life, have always formed attractive 

 objects to the students of Nature, and by far the greatest 

 number oE entomologists are lepidopterists or have been 

 so during their earlier moments of insect study. The reason 

 for this is to be sought for in the extreme beauty of coloration 

 and markings found among the members of this order, and 

 perhaps also in the comparative ease of preparing and pre- 

 serving them. In fact some collectors think it so easy, 

 that they call any accumulation of moths or butterflies stuck 

 through with pins and placed in a glass-topped box " a 

 collection,"' and when instead of the lady^s toilet variety 

 entomological pin,s have been used, this brings the " collec- 

 tion *' at once to a scientific standard. 



It is not my wish to discourage such collectors; on the 

 contrary, I would have them go on with their collecting as 

 much as their free time will allow. But my maxim has 

 always been : when you do a thing, do it in the best possible 

 way you can, even if it means more trouble and time. This 

 especially holds when we kill such beautiful creatures, even 

 though they may sometimes be harmful ; as killing in my 

 opinion is only permissible when it is done with some good 

 or useful object. To make a collection only to keep the 

 specimens for one or two years or until they are thrown away 

 in disgust in bleached and insect-eaten condition does not, 

 I think, justify the killing of the insects involved. 



Yet when collecting is done in a proper manner, the 

 results can be preserved and studied for more than a hundred 

 years and will remain a source of pleasure and intellectual 

 interest to the possessor and student. If properly done, 

 insect collecting is more than a hobby, it is a study, and the 



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