Whiting: Rearing Meal Moths 



257 



THE FEMALE WASPS STING THE CATERPILLAR 

 AND FEED AT THE PUNCTURE 



The males do not get any of their nutriment in this way 

 and if kept in a jar must be fed on a mixture of honey and 

 water. After stinging the caterpillar and the latter has be- 

 come torpid or dormant, the female wasp deposits her eggs. 

 (Fig. 12.) 



ANOTHER VIEW OF STINGING WASP 



The sexes are readily distinguished by the longer anten- 

 nae of the male and the ovipositor of the female. Compare 

 Figs. 9 and 10 with these two views (Fig. 13.) 



COLLECTING THE MOTHS 



Moths rest on cover, sides of tin or 

 on the cereal and may be conveniently 

 collected in a shell vial. This is 

 placed over each one and at the same 

 time the culture tin or cover is tipped 

 in such a way that the insect will fall 

 down into the vial when touched by it. 

 If many moths have emerged and are 



disturbingly active, the tin 

 may be cooled slightly to 

 quiet them. Several indi- 

 viduals may be collected 

 successively in the vial 

 which is then inverted into 

 an etherizing bottle as in 

 work with Drosophila. A 

 few seconds only are neces- 

 sary to quiet the moths 

 which may afterwards be 

 placed upon a card and ex- 

 amined. Anaesthesia oc- 

 curs much more quickly 

 than in Drosophila, but the 

 moths recover without in- 

 jury after a short exposure. 

 Two wide-mouthed bottles 

 are used, the cork with 

 cotton suspended on a wire 

 and saturated with ether 

 being transferred from one 

 to another. Soft, smooth- 

 tipped "butterfly tweezers" 

 such as are made by Denton 

 Brothers, Wellesley, Mass., 

 are convenient for handling 

 the insects which should be 

 collected once a day if wing 

 markings are to be studied 

 as scales are likely to be 

 rubbed ofif after a longer time. 

 If it is desired to keep a 

 stock of Ephestia conven- 

 iently isolated for future 

 work, the culture may be 

 set in a cold place. Even 

 at rather low room tempera-: 

 ture the insects may safely' 

 be left undisturbed for sev-; 

 eral months, especially if' 

 white flour be added. The 

 finer material packs down 

 closely preventing its rapidj 

 utilization by the larvae.' 

 A culture was set in a glass 

 jar, four inches in diameter and five 

 inches high, half filled with white flour. 

 A tin cover was screwed down tightly 

 and the material placed in a moderately 

 cool room. After eighteen months an 

 examination showed insects in all 

 stages of development and the flour by 

 no means exhausted. 



