454 INSECTS ABROAD. 



means of a strong current of air directed against the set of the 

 hairs. In this way I have succeeded in restoring the beauti- 

 ful downy softness of our Goat Moth, and the furry richness of 

 the humble-bees and similarly adorned insects. In the British 

 Museum insects are relaxed by placing them in a closed earthen- 

 ware vessel containing about half an inch in depth of damp 

 sand ; and the late Mr. Doubleday used to attain the same 

 object by placing the insects in a large flower-pot sunk into 

 the ground. 



The wings of this species are very much like those of the 

 Ant Lion in colour, being firm, shining, and transparent, with 

 two patches of dark brown on the upper pair and two similar 

 patches of very pale brown on the lower pair. 



This genus is spread over a very large portion of the world, 

 and there are specimens in the British Museum from Europe, 

 Australia, New Zealand, and America. One species which in- 

 habits Para is remarkable for the beauty of its wings, which are 

 exceedingly glossy, and are gorgeous with the most brilliant 

 crimson, azure, and gold. 



As is often the case with insects, the sexes of this genus are so 

 unlike each other in appearance that they might easily be taken 



for two distinct species. The chief 

 difference lies in the antennas, 

 which in the female are simple, 

 long, and boldly curved at the 

 ends. Those of the male, how- 

 ever, one of which is drawm in the 

 illustration, are nearly straight 

 and most elaborately formed, each 

 joint looking very much like the 

 head of a trident. Indeed, if 



Vw. 28o -Ctenocerua ramosua. . : 1 tl.t 



(Black ; wings yeiiow, ,d g ed with brown.) we take the conventional .Nep- 

 tune's trident with its spear- 

 headed point, ami cut away three-fourths of the central prong, 

 we shall have a very good idea of a single joint of Ctenocerus. 



Each prong, so to speak, is slightly bent downwards, and they 

 are so arranged that when the antenna is seen sideways it looks 

 like a ilattened strip of yellow horn, covered with an embossed 

 pattern and pierced with a double row of holes, the holes being 



