OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



41 



A collection well mounted and cared for will last indefinitely. It 

 must be kept from the light, which fades the specimens, and by all 

 means from dampness. The preserved insects, if not constantly cared 

 for and watched, will soon be injured or devoured by mites, PsogL 

 Dermestes^ and other museum pests, against which there is nothing 

 so effectual as vigilance. A little camphor kept in the boxes will assist 

 in preserving the collection from these enemies; but it should not be 



used too ireely, as I 

 incline to think it has 

 something to do in caus* 

 ) ing the specimens to 

 grease. The best pre- 

 ventive of greasing is 

 thorough drying in the drjnng box; but it is almost 

 impossible to prevent it in the males of some fami- 

 lies of moths (e. g., the jEgerid(B). When the speci- 

 men is very choice, the grease may be extracted by 

 soaking in ether or by covering with pulverized 

 pipe-clay. For inserting the more delicate pins, and 

 for numerous other necessary operations, diiferent 

 forceps, and especially those shown in figures 22, 23 and 24, will be 

 found invaluable. 



If the paper in the bottoms 

 of the boxes becomes yellow 

 with age, or soiled in any way, 

 it may be cleansed and whit- 

 ened by a painting of very finely ground white zinc dissolved in isin- 

 glass or milk, and put on with a broad brush. A little corrosive sub- 

 limate worked in with the paint will serve to protect the insects. 



[Fig. 24.] Kelaxing. — Specimens which have become stiff before being 

 spread, or which need resetting, may be relaxed by placing 

 them in a tight tin vessel, half filled with moist sand ; and a 

 little carbolic acid in the moistening will prevent molding. 



Breeding. — Far too little attention has been given by ento- 

 mologists in this country to the breeding or rearing of insects, 

 notwithstanding it offers a greater field for usefulness, and for 

 original observation, than any other special branch of the 

 science. 



Insects are by no means difficult to rear, and there is a genu- 

 ine pleasure in watching their transformations, and in the an- 

 ticipation and expectancy with which one looks forward to the 

 ultimate form of some new or unfamiliar larva. If it is grati- 

 fying to be able to properl}'^ determine and classify a species, 

 it is still more so to be acquainted with it in all its forms, and 

 to understand its curious habits and ways of life. 



