136 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the village, which we can thoroughly recommend ; and any other 

 information we are possessed of will be willingly given by the 

 writers. 



11, Kyverdale Eoad, Stoke Newington ; 



2, Grove Villas, Grove Eoad, Walthamstow; April, 1885. 



NOTES ON THE CAPTURE AND PRESERVATION OF 



COLEOPTERA. 



By Lyonell Fanshawe. 



XL— KILLING AND PEESERVING. 



Vaeious methods are employed by collectors for killing 

 beetles, and I will now enumerate some of the quickest and 

 most effective ways. Undoubtedly the speediest, and, in most 

 cases the best, plan is the following : — Immerse a piece of muslin 

 in water absolutely boiling, and throw the insects upon it ; an 

 instant will suffice to deprive them entirely of life, and then 

 they can be lifted out all at once and allowed to dry on a sheet of 

 clean blotting-paper. A few, which would be affected by boiling 

 water, may be killed and preserved in spirit, but it renders them 

 rigid. 



The "laurel-bottle," described in the previous paper, is a 

 very favourite means of killing, the only drawback to this being 

 that laurel has a tendency to stiffen the legs ; this can be 

 remedied by leaving the insects in the bottle for a day or two, 

 when they will be found perfectly relaxed, or you may relax them 

 at once by plunging into hot water. If left too long in the bottle 

 the legs are very liable to come off altogether when being 

 arranged. Dropping them into a box containing cotton-wool 

 saturated with chloroform is another way. This is not a good 

 plan, however, as many beetles become rigid or are extremely 

 hard to kill, and, after having been set and even put away in the 

 store-box, they have been found still alive. The next question 

 is how to set. Moderate-sized beetles should be pinned with the 

 entomological pins sold for the purpose ; the pin should be 

 thrust through the right elytron near the shoulder. Great care 

 must be taken that all the pins are exactly upright when placed 

 in the cabinet, as nothing looks worse than to see them slanting 



