36 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. IY, 



may be useful. The most satisfactory method, so far as my 

 experience goes, is the following : — Take a small glass tube full of 

 strong spirit and a fine camel's hair brush. Dip the latter in the 

 spirit and lightly touch the Phlehotomns as it rests on a wall or 

 table. It will adhere to the brush and may then be washed off 

 in the spirit, in which it ma}^ be permanently preserved. 



Dried specimens should be pinned in the same way as mos- 

 quitoes, but. owing to their small size, this is a difficult process. 

 Specimens packed loose in a pill box with tissue paper crumpled 

 up not too tightly are, however, useful, provided that there is a 

 considerable numl>er of them. 



When the specimens preserved in spirit have to be examined, 

 they may be carefully removed to a watch-glass and examined 

 superficially under a low power of the microscope. After such 

 details have been made out as can be made out in this wa}^, a speci- 

 men should be removed to a small stoppeied bottle of absolute 

 alcohol,^ care being taken that it is not allowed to dry up during 

 the process and that the stopper is not left out of the bottle of 

 absolute alcohol longer than is necessary. 



After the Phlebolomus has remained in absolute alcohol for 

 about half an hour it should be removed to a watch-glass con- 

 taining oil of cloves, in which it must be left until it is quite 

 transparent. Important details can often be made out while it is 

 in this watch-glass, for the point of view can be readily altered. 

 Finally the specimen should be mounted in Canada balsam under 

 a thin cover-slip in the ordinary way. It will then be possible to 

 study the general form and also such structures as the antennae, 

 limbs and genitaha with comparative ease. 



To render the wings fit for detailed study, however, it is 

 necessary to stain them artificially. While the specimen is in 

 spirit in a watch-glass they should be snipped off at the base by 

 a fine pair of scissors and carefully transferred to some preparation 

 of hsemalum or hgematoxylin. I find Ehrlich's acid hsematoxylin, 

 Delafield's hgematox^din and Mayer's haemalum all good for the 

 purpose. Although these stains are rapid in their action, it is as 

 well to leave the wing in them for about twenty-four hours. After 

 this it should be washed in tap-water, removed to 70 % spirit, in 

 which it need only remain for a few minutes, and then to absolute 

 alcohol. Finally it should be cleared in oil of cloves and mounted 

 in Canada balsam. Owing to the toughness of the wings, in spite 

 of their apparexit delicacy, it is not necessary to pass them through 

 different strengths of alcohol in the process of dehydration. 



1 In the damp climate of many parts of India absolute alcohol absorbs atmos- 

 pheric moisture with great rapidity ; but this may be remedied by keeping the 

 bottom of the bottle in which the absolute alcohol is stored covered with a layer 

 of burnt (i.e., dehydrated) copper sulphate. The copper sulphate in this condition 

 is white ; when it begins to turn green in the alcohol, it is clear that the alcohol 

 is absorbing water, which is again being absorbed by the copper sulphate. In 

 this case the alcohol should be poured off and freshly burnt copper sulphate placed 

 in it ; or the old powder may Ije removed, burnt again and replaced. 



