970 PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGIC.\i MEETING 



coloured specimen, preferably a day or two after a moult, and kill it 

 either in the cyanide bottle, vnih chloroform or other agent or, in the 

 case of a non-hairy caterpillar, by dropping it into spirit or boiling water. 

 If wet, it is then dried on blotting-paper, on which it is laid. A small 

 slit is then cut in the anus with a fine-pointed pair of scissors and the 

 contents of the body are carefully squeezed out through the vent with 

 the help of a small rounded piece of wood, such as a pencil, which is 

 rolled lightly over the body, commencing near the anus and gradually 

 working up towards the head. In this way, all the contents of the 

 body can be removed, leaving only the empty skin. Care should be 

 taken not to press too hard, especially at first, or the skin may burst. 

 The skin being emptied of its contents, the point of a fine blow-pipe, 

 either of metal or of glass tubing drawn out to a point, is inserted into 

 the hole through which the body-contents have been removed and 

 the skin is gently inflated either with the mouth or by means of a 

 small rubber bulb or bellows attached to the blow-pipe. If the skin 

 slips off the blow-pipe it may be secured either with a twist of cotton 

 or by means of a piece of watch-spring lashed onto the blow-pipe and 

 with its free end pressing against the end of the blow-pipe. The inflated 

 skin is then dried moderately rapidly over a piece of wire-gauze placed 

 over a spirit lamp. When thoroughly dry, the skin will retain its shape 

 without collai^sing and may be removed from the blow-pipe and mounted 

 with glue onto an artificial spray of its foodplant or onto a strip of pith 

 or a piece of silk-covered wire and then, after labelling, pinned into 

 the collection. 



Many caterpillars keep their natiural colours very well under this 

 process, but gTeen larvse nearly alwaj's lose all colour. Such may 

 either be left as they are or may be painted by hand or a little dry green 

 paint may be distributed over the inside of the dried skin. 



Another metJiod, known as " popping," is sometimes used for the 

 preservation of small non-hairy caterpillars and possesses the advant- 

 ages of simplicity and quickness. The only requisite is a glass-tube 

 or piece of tin or anything that will stand heat. The caterpillar is 

 killed with chloroform or benzine or in the cyanide bottle and placed 

 in the tube which is heated over a flame. The caterpillar will first 

 contract and then expand and burst and dry in this expanded state. 

 It may be allowed to cool in the tube and can then be removed and 

 mounted. As a rough-and-ready method for the preservation of small 

 larvse, the process of ■' popping " often gives satisfactory results under 

 conditions, such as touring, in which regular inflation is not practicable. 



Dried ynpinned material, such as Coccids, may be kept either in 

 envelopes or boxes (according to size) placed in drawers and kept 



