IX 
ON MAKING A OCOLLECTION 
NOTHING gives greater help and pleasure to the 
student of any group of insects, whether butterflies, 
beetles, or bees, than to make a collection of speci- 
mens of the different species. To preserve the form 
and colour of such insects it is only necessary to dry 
them and to keep them as much as possible in dark- 
ness. The British humble-bees make a very pretty 
little collection. It is not needful to buy an expen- 
sive cabinet to hold them. A 14” x 10” store box, 
sold by dealers in entomological apparatus for about 
four shillings, is quite large enough to take about a 
dozen specimens of each species. If room is wanted 
for more—and it is a great advantage to have a 
good series of each sex—another box may be added. 
Also it is not necessary to set the specimens, that 
is, to spread out the wings and legs on a setting 
board, leaving them there until they dry ; though it 
certainly improves the appearance of the collection, 
and conveys a better idea of the characters of each 
species. 
Humble-bees are easily caught in an ordinary 
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