Setting and Mounting of Beetles 



on to the gummed surface back uppermost (the exact 

 position on the card will not matter, but it is as well 

 as far as possible to arrange them in rows to facilitate 

 the subsequent cutting up). The legs, antennae, and 

 palpi, must then be extended by the help of our finely 

 pointed brush, and bent needle, more or less after the 

 fashion in which they are depicted in the illustrations 

 of this book. Finally a note should be pencilled some- 

 where on the card, of the locality and date of capture 

 of those particular beetles, and the card put away 

 in some box or shallow drawer, out of reach of dust, 

 mice, or marauding insects, and left until it may 

 be convenient, but not less than about a month, 

 to dry. 



N.B. Very large beetles, such as the larger Car obi, 

 Geotrupes, Hydrophilus, or Lucanus, may be pinned, 

 by the passing of a fine pin through the right elytron, 

 on to cork, instead of being set in gum, and the legs, 

 antennae, &c., held in place by other pins. 



(b) Mounting. For this, the final operation connected 

 with our beetles, we shall require : 



(1) A wide-mouthed, glass-stoppered, bottle half full 



of benzine or petrol. 



(2) A relaxing dish, which is simply a soup plate or 



large saucer, half filled with super-imposed 

 circular discs of damp blotting paper, and covered 

 by another plate. 



(3) A pair of scissors, 



(4) Several strips of white cardboard of a dull 



but smooth surface and moderate thickness, of 

 4 



