74 ilR. S. G. KICH 



abrait the size of the large paiattin tin, and covered with 

 wire nettinii' 1'hore is one si^le left without netting: this 

 side is placed downwards. The cage is placed in a stream, 

 in a still part, with a mnddy bottom, and is sunk two 

 or three inches into the mud. It protrudes above the 

 surface, and also prevents the escape of the larva through 

 the mud oi- water. The larva is in its natural habitat 

 undei- the cage, but lias in the cage-walls a convenient 

 mode of egress from the Avater. A daily visit to see what 

 is in the aerial pail of the cage, and to take whr.v has 

 emerged, is all llie c:ire necessary. 



Some of Xeedliam's pupils add a door in the top of 

 the cage. 1 do not iind this necessary unless a number 

 of larvae are to be reared in one cage. The cage can be 

 lifted gently and a net slid underneath it at once to take 

 any adult in the cage. 



It is often not wise to kill, pin and set any adult thus 

 bred, at once, as they are often immature in colour and 

 soft when found. A day in a roomy bottle will not 

 damage them : they may then be killed and set. In 

 setting any adults with long bodies it is wise to insert 

 through the frons a pin, cut off to a suitable length, 

 which will run through head and thorax into the abdo 

 men and hold together the body. Odonata, especially^ 

 often fall apart if not thus artificially made into 

 '' Vertebrates." 



When several specimens of a larva are found together, 

 as is often the case, some may well be preserved as larvae. 

 It is useful to preserve as many instars as possible Mv 

 experience is that aquatic larvae do not preserve well 

 by any dry method. The colours have, in my experience 

 with these, kept best if the larvae are both kille<l and 

 preserved in very weak formalin. A two per cent, solntion 

 of formalin is quite strong enough: I now have specimens 

 which have kept in perfect condition since 1914 in 

 formalin of half that strength. An important detail is 

 to slit the larva along the abdomen as soon as it is dead. 



