THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 107 



or overflow, and with pilose larvae irretrievably spoil the 

 specimen, as when the wax once gets on the outside of the 

 skin it is impossible ever to get it off without pulling all the 

 hair off with it. In the case of smooth larvae the wax, if it 

 overflows, can easily be pulled off when hard. If, on the 

 contrary, the injection be carried on too slowly, the orifice of 

 the syringe will be closed by the hardened wax, and must be 

 taken out of the skin and warmed again ; and to keep t])e 

 larva steady at the same time, without the wax already injected 

 into it running out, is no easy matter. With care, however, 

 both these extremes may be avoided. The real difficulty is 

 with very small or slender larvae ; indeed, I should suppose 

 for these the inflated mode would answer better than the 

 injection. I have not myself tried much below the size of 

 P. Rapae. With hairy subjects the chief difficulty is to 

 prevent the hairs coming out during the process of disem- 

 bowelling ; and I should like to know whether any contributor 

 has ever had the courage to attack Chrysorrhcea or Auriflua, 

 and, if so, with what results, as, from bitter experience, I have 

 learned it is better to have nothing to do with them. To 

 ensure the colour of some of the green or transparent skinned 

 larvae, a little colouring matter of the correct tint, mixed with 

 the melted wax before injection, will be found to give good 

 results. As regards mounting, it is certainly very unnatural to 

 see larvas stuck on the ends of wire, or fastened flat down to 

 cardboard, it being much more in harmony with Nature to 

 mount them on the proper food-plant, which should be 

 carefully dried, — leaves, stem, and flowers, if possible, — and 

 then the larvae of different ages skilfully fastened on b}^ the 

 hidden help of wire, gum, &c. 



1 should be glad to hear the experience of other ento- 

 mologists on this mode of larvae preserving, as I consider 

 many are debarred from this branch of collecting by the 

 numerous and acknowledged difficulties which are attendant. 



W, E. Sharp. 



Birkenhead. 



[The reader will of course understand that I am not 

 responsible for any of the plans recommended by my 

 correspondents. I have not tried either of them. — Edward 

 Newman A 



