144 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 



etc., may be reared by cutting out with the saw or axe pieces of 

 the infested tree with the bark on about 6 inches square and one 

 inch thick. The castings and sawdust, together with the larvee, 

 should be placed under the bark. Several pieces of bark tied 

 together with the bast sides opposite will sometimes answer the 

 purpose, but the better way is to leave the larvae in the wood 

 until they are nearly full grown ; then, in general, the transforma- 

 tions are completed in about two weeks. 



Collection and Preservatioii of Hemijitera. 



The soft-bodied species of aphis or plant-lice (Coccidce, A2)hidce, 

 etc.) should be preserved in dilute alcohol or very dilute formalin. 

 When collected from a stem, they should be at once put into 

 this. If it is possible, they should, however, be sent alive in situ 

 on the twig or leaf they are infesting to be identified. If the 

 journey is not more than two or three days, this should be always 

 done. The chief essential is to prevent them drying up. The 

 best way of all, if only the insects themselves are being sent, is 

 to enclose them in ordinary quills stopped by plugs of cork or 

 pellets of bees-wax. The substance of the quill is sufficiently 

 porous to prevent mildew on the one hand and a rapid evapora- 

 tion on the other. In this way small insects may be sent through 

 the post, and in a far better condition than can be secured in any 

 tin boxes, even though they be filled with leaves. If a slip of 

 some succulent leaf be rolled round each quill to retain moisture, 

 a bundle will conveniently pass through the post. 



Coccidce proper may be killed in the cyanide bottle and then 

 dried like herbarium specimens, but without pressure in the case 

 of convex fleshy forms. These dried specimens can be packed in 

 paper slips or card-board boxes. 



II'emiptera-hetero]:)tera (true bugs) may be sent either in bottles 

 of spirit or packed in sawdust as dried specimens. 



Collection and Preservation oj Ortho]jtera. 



Orthoptera can be easily preserved in strong alcohol. If 

 preserved dry, they can be killed in the cyanide bottle without 

 losing their colours, as they do if they remain long in alcohol. 

 In sending dry Orthoptera they should be best packed in sawdust, 

 moss, or soft tissue-paper, as their bodies and legs are rather liable 

 to fall off. 



