Flemiptera-fHeteroptera. 11 
them is to use an ordinary Coleoptera bottle, with a glass 
tube through the cork, and to place the end of the tube 
directly over the creature ; in an umbrella or net it is easy 
to secure any of the species, if they are running up the net 
or the sides of the umbrella, by just touching their hind 
legs with the under rim of the tube; they are almost sure 
to jump and fall backwards under such circumstances, 
right down the tube; of course the harder species of 
Pentatomidz, Coreidee, etc., can be handled without 
fear of damage, but they often leave a very unpleasant 
smell on the fingers. For killing purposes I always use 
cyanide, which I put at the bottom of the bottle, covering 
it well over with a thick wad of blotting-paper, and over 
this a cone of white paper which should touch the sides of 
the bottle all round, so that no insects can crawl down 
between it and the glass; the great thing is to keep the 
specimens dry, asif they get the least wetted the membrane 
will curl up at the end ; they should be set as soon as pos- 
sible after capture. I believe the best way of mounting is 
to gum each specimen across a narrow strip of card and 
then pin through the card, by this means most of the 
underside can be seen, and if a slight sideways cant be 
given to the insect, both upper and under sides can be 
examined with ease ; of course insects set like this do not 
look so picturesque as when mounted on card with all the 
legs symmetrically stretched out, but as the raison d’étre 
of our science is to know the creatures under observa- 
tion, every obstacle to thorough investigation ought to 
be removed, and a card under the insect is a considerable 
obstacle, as all know who have to name neatly carded 
specimens of critical species ; the very small species may be 
mounted on squares of card, but even then it is well to set 
them as much on their sides as possible. Hach specimen 
should bear a locality ticket, with date of capture, etc., and 
a reference by a number or other sign to a register where 
fuller particulars of locality, etc., can be given. 
