62 BULLETIN 67, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



This keeps the specimen from drying out, as it is apt to do shortly 

 after death. 



In spreading the Microlepidoptera one must exercise great care 

 and at first much patience. The upper side of the wing should not 

 be touched with a pin. The wings may be brought forward into 

 place by the instrument shown in figure 107. This is made by insert- 

 ing a stiff bristle into a piece of cork and a pin nearly at right angles 

 to it. Holding it by the head of the pin the point of the bristle may 

 be passed under the wing, lifting it up and sliding it forward into 

 place. A piece of paper is then pinned down over the wings, the 

 forward pin being put in first. In putting down the strips of paper 

 one must be careful to lay them right side up, for in cutting strips of 

 paper one edge is always slightly turned, and if this edge is turned 

 down on the wing it may scratch and rub the scales. The paper 

 should entirely cover the wings, else the tips may turn up in drying. 



Insects that are in papers or dry in the cabinet may be spread by 

 softening or relaxing them. This is accomplished by placing them in 

 a relaxing jar for a day or two. The relaxing jar is made of any 

 tight metal box or earthenware jar, with an inch or so of moist sand 

 in the bottom and a few drops of carbolic acid to prevent mold. One 

 must not have the sand too moist, else the specimen will become wet. 

 Some insects relax much more readily than others, so that it is well 

 to have two or more jars. If there is much moisture in the sand it 

 is better to put a piece of blotting paper over the top of the box or 

 earthenware crock before replacing the lid. This prevents the drops 

 of moisture which may accumulate on the lid from falling on the 

 specimen. For relaxing a few small things one can put them in a 

 saucer with some moist blotting paper, and cover them by an inverted 



saucer. 



LABELING SPECIMENS. 



After an insect has been pinned, or spread if necessary, the next 

 step is to properly label it. The older entomologists had very general 

 notions about this matter, and one is fortunate to find their speci- 

 mens labeled with the State in which it was captured. But now it 

 is considered necessary to have at least both the name of the town 

 at or near which the species was taken, and the date of capture, upon 

 a label pinned beneath the specimen. These locality labels (fig. 110) 

 should be printed in small type, diamond preferred, on a good quality 

 of paper, as linen ledger, and as shown in the illustration. Some ento- 

 mologists prefer to have the state abbreviation at the right end of 

 the label. Personally, however, I prefer to put it at the left hand. 

 There should be no spacing between each label of one row, so that 

 but one cut with the scissors will be necessary to separate them. 

 The date can be written in the blank space as follows: 9 June 09, or 



