THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 81 



between their claspers. If mounted in this way on the food- 

 plant they will possess a very life-like appearance, and form 

 iDeaiilifiil objects for the collection. 



Cossus ligniperda preserves admirably; and the Bombyces 

 will be the favourites of all who take to preserving them. 

 The larvae of the Sphingida?, if of a green colour, are almost 

 sure to fade during the drying process, which for them 

 should be conducted very slowly. Some persons restore the 

 natural colour by the use of pigments; but this is to be 

 deprecated. If there are many which do not retain their 

 natural appearance, there are, on the other hand, many that 

 do ; and by practising on these a proficiency n)ay be 

 acquired which will enable the operator to manipulate the 

 others with better chance of success. 



Henry A. Auld. 



The Retreat, Blacklieath. 



Preserving Larv(e of Lepidoptera. — Perhaps the following, 

 taken from the 'Taxidermist's Manual,' may help Mr. E. G. 

 Browne: — "The easiest way of destroying the caterpillars is 

 by immersion in spirits of wine. They may be retained for a 

 long time in this spirit, without destroying their colours. 

 After having killed the caterpillar, as above directed, make 

 a small puncture at the tail, gently press out the contents of 

 the abdomen, and fill the skin with fine dry sand, bringing 

 the animal to its natural circumference. It is then exposed 

 to the air to dry, and will have become quite hard in the 

 course of a i^w hours; after which the sand may be shaken 

 out at the aperture, and the caterpillar then gummed to a 

 piece of card. Another method is, after the entrails are 

 squeezed out, to insert into the aperture a glass tube, drawn 

 to a very fine point. The operator must blow through this 

 pipe while he keeps turning the skin slowly round over a 

 charcoal fire; the skin soon becomes hardened, and, after 

 being anointed with oil of spike and resin, it may be placed 

 in the cabinet when dry. A small straw or pipe of grass may 

 be substituted for the glass pi]ie. Some persons inject them 

 with coloured wax after they are dried." — Yl. Laddiman ; 

 Norwich, March 18, 1876. 



[I have often tried the plan of killing larva) in spirits of 



M 



