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767 



HYMENOFTERA (Bees and Wasps) and 

 DIPTERA (Two-iuinged Flies'). The largest 

 nsects belonging to the first-mentioned 

 order are best killed by being pierced in the 

 jreast with a needle dipped in oxalic acid ; 

 .hose of a smaller size, and our two-winged 

 flies, are easily killed, by pressing smartly 

 on the thorax below the wings, or by the 

 fumes from the bruised leaves of the common 

 laurel ; but as these cannot be procured in 

 every situation, lucifer matches, or German 

 tinder, may be burned in any close vessel, 

 such as a tumbler, or basin, inverted on a 

 piece of leather, or thick woollen cloth. The 

 larger and medium-sized insects have their 

 wings displayed to most advantage, when 

 they are confined till thoroughly dry, be- 

 tween stages of card supported on needles, 

 at the proper elevation : the size of the 

 stages required for a wasp will be, one pair, 

 five-eighths by four-eighths, and another 

 or upper and confining pair, four-eighths by 

 three-eighths. The insects belonging to both 

 orders are transfixed through the centre of 

 the thorax, between the wings. 



LEPIDOPTERA. (Butterflies and Moths.~) 

 The former may be killed by smartly press- 

 ing the thumb-nail into the thorax below 

 the wings ; and should this fail, bruised 

 laurel leaves or oxalic acid will effect your 

 purpose. In setting, the wings should be 

 brought well forward by placing the point 

 of the setting-needle against some of the 

 stronger nervures near their base ; and they 

 are rested on a brace, stretching along their 

 outer margin, and confined by smaller braces, 

 placed over this larger brace. The extremity 

 of the abdomen should either be elevated or 

 depressed, as may appear to be necessary 

 by a little brace ; and the antennas or feelers 

 kept in their proper place by means of 

 needles : but modern taste approves most of 

 butterflies being set on pieces of cork, having 

 a groove cut with a rat-tailed file for the re- 

 ception of the body, and the surface gently 

 sloping towards either side. 



Moths are deprived of life by elevating the 

 lid of the pill-box, and introducing a bruised 

 laurel leaf: the insect is stupified in the 

 course of ten or twenty minutes ; it is then 

 shaken out into the palm of the hand, and 

 transfixed with a pin through the centre oi 

 the thorax, which should be then pierced 

 with a needle dipped in oxalic acid. Moths 

 may also be stupified with the fumes of 

 German tinder, or lucifer matches : but the 

 latter are apt to injure the plumage of some 

 species. The larger species of Sphinx moths 

 should have their bodies dipped into scalding 

 water, their wings being meanwhile held 

 overhead ; and the only way to preserve 

 their thick bodies is to slit them up, and 

 remove their contents, putting in a roll 01 

 blotting paper. In lifting moths, they should 

 be seized hold of by the antennas or legs, and 

 great care should be observed, so as not to 

 injure the downy scales on their wings. In 

 transfixing the smallest moths, the pin 

 should be made to incline forwards over 

 their heads, so that when it is stuck per 

 pendicularly into the setting-board, tin 

 wings of the insect may be at once set bj 



elevating, and then bringing them forwards. 

 The larger species may be set after the 

 ashion of butterflies with braces ; but the 

 avourite way with modern collectors is, to 

 prepare cork cradles, which only diifer from 

 ,hose already described for the butterflies, 

 jy being sloped behind, as well as towards 

 either side, and the points where the dif- 

 ferent slopes meet are rounded off so as not 

 to offend the eye ; the groove receives the 

 body of the moth, and the wings are brought 

 forward and confined with small braces : 

 ;his position is an unnatural one, but it is 

 admirably adapted for displaying the beau- 

 ties of these lovely creatures. The dissevered 

 limbs of any insect should be replaced with 

 a little gum. The best is gum-lac, dissolved 

 in spirits of wine. 



CATERPILLARS. When one of these is 

 taken, a supply of leaves from the plant on 

 which it was found ought to be secured ; and 

 on reaching home, it should be placed in a 

 box, or some suitable vessel, with a little 

 black earth from a decayed tree, into which 

 t may burrow, and some twigs, upon which 

 t may perhaps affix itself before entering 

 the chrysalis state, or amongst which it 

 may spin its cocoon. Breeding cages for the 

 Lepidoptera should never be without a twig, 

 on which the new-born insect may mount 

 and aerate its wings, which, without such a 

 convenience, would be dwarfed in size, and 

 of a crumpled shape. To preserve cater- 

 pillars for the cabinet, place them in dis- 

 tilled vinegar, or strong alcohol, for some 

 time, till they become quite hard ; then open 

 them below, and stuff with cotton, and gum 

 them on cards. 



It is not necessary for a collector to set 

 above three or four specimens for his own 

 cabinet : duplicates of every class, after 

 being dried, may be placed in pill-boxes, 

 with a little camphor to keep off mites ; but 

 it is best to pierce each insect with a pin, and 

 it may afterwards be relaxed by placing it 

 on a cork in a basin of water, covered with a 

 damp cloth. Messrs. Douglas and Stevens, 

 in the Zoologist, page 1341., recommend that 

 twelve young shoots and their leaves of 

 the common laurel, or forty leaves of the 

 same shrub, should be bruised in a coarse 

 bag, with a mallet on a stone ; place the 

 bag in a jar, and stick the insects to be re- 

 laxed on the bag, and close the mouth of 

 the jar with a piece of bladder ; in about 

 twenty-four hours, the specimens are fit for 

 the setting-board. By this mode of treat- 

 ment, mites and mouldiness may be de- 

 stroyed from off all infected specimens. 

 Again, a mouldy specimen may be saturated 

 with spirits of wine, in which some camphor 

 has been dissolved, and then dried in a warm 

 place. Should a specimen become greasy, 

 apply a little spirits of turpentine ; if that 

 is not effectual, scrape a little French chalk 

 over it, expose the specimen to heat, and 

 allow the chalk to remain for some days. 

 As most collectors are careless about their 

 duplicates, these should always be placed in 

 quarantine for some time. Most insects will 

 take about a week to dry in the setting-box 

 in good weather. 



