165 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, '04 



After sending the copy of the first part of these Suggestions 

 to the Editors, I received from the American Entomological Com- 

 pany a sample card of American-made steel, black japanned, nee- 

 dle-pointed pins, which are far superior in finish, stiffness and 

 springiness to any European-made pin I have ever seen. No. 00 

 is a trifle less in diameter than the No. i Kirby, which latter is 

 about the thickness of No. o. I can heartily endorse these new 

 pins; the best grade are to be known as " No. 210 Special 

 double japanned." The only criticism to be made is that the 

 heads are a separate piece ; but this may be remedied if we all 

 bring pressure to bear on the makers and insist on a head that 

 cannot come off. 



Part III. — Breeding. 



I am quite sure the only reason that every American collector 

 does not increase his collection by breeding from the larvae is 

 the immense bugaboo he has raised up in his mind of the diffi- 

 culties, extra work and elaborate cages and apparatus required. 



In England and throughout Europe the acquisition of speci- 

 mens by this method is, if anything, more common than catch- 

 ing the perfect insects with a net. The great majority of species 

 offered through the ' ' Exchange columns ' ' of European maga- 

 zines state that the specimens are " bred." 



The apparatus actually required for the work is absurdly 

 simple, — a few tight tin or zinc boxes and wide-mouth vials 

 for the field and a few common jelly-glasses with tight tin cov- 

 ers or small wide-mouth screw-top jars for the house, are all 

 the apparatus required for a beginning. 



It is a mistaken notion of the average collector that larvae 

 must be raised in cages, with gauze wire on one or more sides 

 to give an abundant supply of air. The amount of air actually 

 required is so infinitesimal that no provision at all need be 

 made for it. A very great advantage of the tightly closed vial 

 or jar is that the leaves or food of the larvae will retain their 

 freshness and palatability for a week or ten days ; whereas, 

 with the wire cage, the leaves are often wilted and stale a few 

 hours after they are placed in it. 



The great secret of success is cleanliness, which will be elab- 

 orated on later. 



For Micro-Iycpidoptera larvae I prefer for actual collecting 



