24 INSTRUCTIONS IN LEPIDOPTERA. 



strong pin (I obtain of Mr. Gale a No. 12 pin, which answers 

 this purpose), and when about to set out an insect — say a 

 Vanessa Urticce or an Arctia Caja — place two of the longest 

 braces about an inch apart, with their points converging, and 

 let the broad end of the brace be kept well up from the board 

 being some height up the pin, the narrow end being in con- 

 tact or nearly so with the setting board ; these are the under 

 braces, and the insect is then to be placed midway between 

 them, and its wings expanded over these braces and kept in 

 their place by the use of several smaller braces. The insect 

 may thus be made to assume a rounded form, that is to say, 

 the edges of all the wings are deflected so as just to touch 

 the setting board ; it gives the insect a graceful pleasing ap- 

 pearance, but surely not a natural one. On the Continent 

 insects are always set on flat setting boards, with a groove to 

 adjust the body, so that by applying flat braces over the wings 

 they are easily kept perfectly flat and horizontal. The same 

 plan is adopted here by many collectors of Micro- Lepidop- 

 lera> and in many genera is absolutely essential, or the col- 

 lector must despair of having his specimens named, as the 

 characters frequently lie in the very tip of the cilia. Insects 

 should be left on the setting board from one to four days 

 according to the size of the species and the dryness of the 

 weather. 



In summer care must be taken to exclude mites from the 

 setting boards, or they will infallibly destroy all the best 

 species; keeping a good supply of camphor will not always 

 be found sufficient on the setting boards, which are of ne- 

 cessity exposed to the air, but a mixture of equal parts of oil 

 of thyme, oil of anise and spirits of wine, spread over the 

 setting board, and laid on the grooves more especially, will be 

 found of greater effect than camphor. 



