now TO COLLIi:CT, rRESEIiVK & STUDY INSECTS 237 



AMieii beetles are to be iiioiinted at; once tliev should 

 be pinned after removal from the killing bottle. Proper 

 pinning contributes greatly towards the neatness and 

 scientific value of the collection. Of course, only en- 

 tomological pins should be used, as ordinary pins are 

 much too thick and too blunt for the purpose, to say 

 nothing of the length. Objection is often made to steel 

 pins for Coleoptera, as they are said to corrode too 

 easily, this is due I think to the protecting lacquer 

 being scraped off by the hard chitine of the elytra, the 

 exposed steel readily rusting in a damp climate, especially 

 if the bottom of the boxes are covered with peat. In 

 the Transvaal, however, I have never found these pins to 

 rust excessively when used for Coleoptera, but near the 

 coast there is a certain amount of risk. However, nickel 

 pins are often destroyed along with the specimens they 

 carry, by verdigris, though Coleoptera are not so easily 

 ruined thus as Lepidoptera. 



The pin should pass perpendicularly through the right 

 elytron, so that the point will come out between the 

 second and third pair of legs. This position will give 

 the securest hold to the pin, without disarranging the 

 elytra or legs, and if a well marked spot on the elytron is 

 thus destroyed, it is preserved on the left side. Do not 

 force the pin through the scutellum, as it will invariably 

 crack that part and thus ruin the specimen. Kaise the 

 insect on the pin till only one third of a pin's length 

 projects beyond the upper part of the elytra; whether 

 the beetle is big or small, they will then all be at the 

 same height, and to facilitate this uniformity a little 

 block of hard wood with a hole in it may be used as a 

 gauge. If the elytron is too hard to be pierced by a 

 pin, a little hole can be drilled by a stout setting needle 

 revolved between the fingers. 



Xext, the legs and antennae have to be brought and 

 kept in the natural position, which should be copied from 

 the living specimen. The walking position is, perhaps 



