234 



MR. A. J. T. JAXSE 



As beetles do not die so easily in cyanide as most other 

 insects do, and as they often have very powerful jaws, it 

 is always necessary to place in a beetle bottle a large 

 number of small pieces of blotting paper^ or paper shav- 

 ing such as is found in boxes of sweets. This absorbs 

 any moisture, which beetles often eject when in the bottle, 

 thus preventing the soiling of other beetles and the paper 

 separates the insects from each other so that they are 

 less liable to do damage by their struggles. Great care 

 must be taken with this paper, as, especially when moist, 

 it absorbs large quantities of cyanide gas. It is a good 

 plan to air paper and insects for an hour or so on an 

 open tray, before any sorting is done. 



Fi^.l KdU<i^ bottle Jor 



beeltes 



Small beetles should be collected in a separate and 

 smaller bottle, and it is advisable to have this rather 

 weak, so that certain species will have time to fold 

 the wings underneath the elytra, which otherwise might 

 remain spread out and thus prevent proper setting. The 

 beetle killing bottles have, as a rule, a perforated stopper 

 into which a short piece of thick glass tubing is inserted 

 which again is closed with a cork. This enables one to 

 open the bottle by the smaller cork without the risk of 

 still living beetles escaping, provided the tube projects 

 bej'Ond the stopper into tlie bottle. 



