114 COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF INSECTS. 



of the mesothorax,* or that part to which the wings are at- 

 tached, the finger and thumb of the left hand, at the same 

 time, pinching the insect under the wings. A slight pinch 

 kills a butterfly, but it is far otherwise with a thick-bodied 

 moth ; these seem to jjossess an excess of vitality. There 

 are several modes by which moths may be killed, but some 

 of these are not at all times convenient ; however, it will be 

 best to give them all, and then the reader may avail himself 

 of one or other, according to circumstances. First, take 

 the moth by the wings, held together over its back, and 

 then dip its body suddenly in boiling water ; immediately 

 on withdrawing it, it will be found that life and motion are 

 completely extinct ; but the downiness of the body will 

 have received an injury which it never eflFectually recovers. 

 Secondly, fix a piece of thin cork firmly at the bottom of a 

 gallipot; then, having pinned the moth, as before describ- 

 ed, through the mesothorax, stick the pin in the cork, and 

 invert the gallipot in a basin of boiling water : the steam 

 produces death almost instantly, and does not injure the 

 plumage of the moth. Thirdly, having pinned the moth, 

 take its body between the finger and thumb of the left hand, 

 then withdraw the pin, and having previously prepared a 

 sharp-pointed piece of quill or wood, dip it in pnissic acid 

 or a strong solution of oxalic acid, and introduce it into the 

 aperture made by the pin ; death follows almost instantly. 

 A fourth mode of killing moths as well as other insects, 

 has been recorded by Mr. Stephens, in the second volume 

 of the ' Entomological Magazine ; ' it is as follows : — " take 

 three or four juicy leaves (the younger the better, with, if a 

 more powerful effect is required, a small portion of the tip 

 of the stalk) of the common laurel ; break or cut them into 



* These anatomical terms will be fully explained ia the following 

 book, entitled ' Physiology of Insects.' 



