PRESERVATION OF ENTOMOLOGICAL SPECIMENS. 139 



bees-wax or dough. This helps to prevent the quick evapoiation 

 of the liquor, which always takes place at a rapid rate in hot 

 climates. It should be remembered that sealing-wax should not 

 he used if the bottle contains spirit, as the spirit oozing through 

 the cork dissolves the sealing-wax and makes an awful mess. 



The bottle should be placed in a stout box filled with either 

 cotton, wool, torn up pieces of paper, or best of all, sawdust. It 

 should be borne in mind that if any portion of the bottle touches 

 the side of the box, the chances are that it will reach its destina- 

 tion broken. Hard-bodied insects are better sent simply packed 

 in dry sawdust which has been disinfected with creosote or 

 carbolic acid. 



Lepidoftera and other soft-bodied insects may be well pre- 

 served by placing them in square pieces of paper folded in a 

 triangular form with the edges over-lapping. Put up in this 

 way, many can be packed away in tin boxes, and will bear trans- 

 portation to any distance. 



In sending live larvje by post, they should be enclosed with 

 leaves and a little moss in small tin boxes. The tin boxes 

 should not be perforated to give the larva:; air. In forwarding 

 specimens in alcohol, the box should be light but strong. No 

 bottles or specimens of any kind should be sent without being 

 first properly labelled, so that the nature of their contents can be 

 at once seen. A forwarding letter should, in each instance, be 

 sent separately, giving full data with reference to the specimens 

 sent. 



Rearing Insects to enable their Life-Histories to be Studied. 



General. 



In order to study the life-histories of insects, it becomes 

 necessary to examine the various stages of their metamorphosis, 

 and this can only be done by watching them carefully at close 

 quarters. The best stages to collect for this purpose are the eggs 

 or larvse. These .should be put into a box, and a supply of the 

 food-material on which the larvfe feed, put into it. Two points 

 must be remembered : the food, if leaves, etc., should be kept 

 fresb, and the box must be well ventilated. Various things may 

 be used as cages. Tumblers covered with gauze, paste-board 

 boxes pierced with holes and fitted with covers, or large glass 

 jars, are all of them utilisable. The bottom of such vessels 



