50 CATEEPILLARS AND THEIR MOTHS 



Few beginners care to preserve caterpillars, and the 

 process of making blown specimens is not attractive, 

 though it gives better specimens than any other pro- 

 cess. The contents of the dead caterpillar's body 

 must be pressed out through the anus, and a small 

 pipe must be inserted, through which the skin is in- 

 flated to its natural size, while the inflated skin must 

 be baked in a little oven until it stiffens. Even this 

 method does not give very satisfactory results. The 

 blown larvae seldom look natural, and the colors 

 usually change, though not as much as those of sj^eci- 

 mens kept in alcohol. We much prefer photographs 

 of the living caterpillar with its natural surroundings 

 to these unreal-looking specimens, although we fully 

 realize the value of the latter for other purposes than 

 identification. 



Cost need never deter any one from studying the 

 lives of moths, for little apparatus is needed. A net 

 can be made with a circle or ellipse of stiff wire fas- 

 tened to a stick four feet long — or longer if desired — 

 and a bag of the better quality of mosquito-netting ; 

 better still, cotton wash-lace, which makes a net cost 

 very little, even if the hardware-dealer makes the net- 

 frame. 



Druggists, grocers, and some confectioners gladly 

 give tin boxes which they would otherwise throw 

 away. Many of the house supplies come in tins also 

 — biscuits of various kinds, broma, chocolate, spices, 

 and some brands of coffee and tea very popular in the 

 country. Scrim costs a few cents a yard, and rubber 

 bands are not expensive and last a long time if the 

 right sizes are used — large enough not to be too much 



