PRESERVATION OP ENTOMOLOGICAL SPECIMENS. 143 



feed at night only. In searching for the larvse which are 

 defoliating your trees, this characteristic should be remembered. 

 Any sickly larvse should be at once removed from the box and 

 destroyed. In all cases larvse should be carefully described, and 

 at each fresh moult a new description and, if possible, a drawing 

 of it should be made. A little practice will enable the most 

 average draughtsman to turn out a workable sketch of a cater- 

 pillar. 



The management of wood-boring larvse will be described under 

 Coleoptera. 



As soon as the imagoes come out and their wings are fully 

 developed, if eggs are not required from them, they should be 

 killed in the cyanide bottle. 



They can then be ticketed and packed away in the triangular 

 paper forms already described. 



Collection and Preservation of Coleoptera. 



The rearing of wood-boring larvae will be here considered 

 Amongst such we may mention the larvte of Cerainbycidce, 

 Curenlionidce, Buprestidce (all Coleoptera), and of Sessiidce, 

 Cossidce, etc. (the latter two Lepidoptera). 



Large boxes should be used, so that large pieces of wood 

 containing the larvje may be placed in them. Care must be 

 taken that only specimens of the same species are confined in the 

 same box. They may be treated as follows : — Take a piece of 

 wood four cubic inches in size, split it in two and make on the 

 inside a cavity just large enough to receive the grub and allow it 

 to move easily in it, then fasten the two halves together with a 

 strong rubber band. Slightly moisten the wood in the box twice 

 a week, and if the larvae escapes by boring a hole through the 

 wood, replace it in the central cavity by filling the hole with a 

 plug. Tin or glass-sided boxes should be used, as the borer will 

 bore through a wooden or card-board box. The bottom of the 

 box should be covered with sawdust. Certain larvse, such as 

 Elaterid and some Noctuid ones, require earth in the box, but 

 it should not be put unless required. If earth is put in, it 

 should be thoroughly baked first to destroy all noxious insects, 

 etc., which might prove destructive to your grubs. The larvse 

 and pupse should be kept in darkness. 



Hearing of Bark and Bast-feeding Beetles. — Such insects, 

 especially Ptinidce, Scolytidoi, small Ceramhycidce, and Buprestidm, 



