84 THE CLASS OF INSECTS. 



the first, supported two additional legs equally well formed as 

 the true one." 



The wings are often partially aborted and deformed ; this is 

 especially noticeable in the wings of butterflies and moths. 

 Mr. F. G. Sanborn has described and 

 figured a wing of a female of Libellula 

 luctuosa Burm. (Fig. 69), in which 

 among other deformities "the ptero- 

 Fig. 69. stigma is shorter and broader than that 



of the opposite wing, and is situated about one-eighth of an inch 

 only from the nodus, only one cubital vein occurring between 

 them, instead of fourteen as in the opposite wing." (Proceed- 

 ings of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xi, p. 326.) 



DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS. 

 Insects differ sexually in that the female generally appears to 

 have one abdominal ring less (one ring disappearing during the 

 semi-pupa state, when the ovipositor is formed), and in being 

 larger, fuller, and duller colored than the males, while the lat- 

 ter often differ in sculpture and ornamentation. In collect- 

 ing, whenever the two sexes are found united they should be 

 pinned upon the same pin, the male being placed highest. 

 When we take one sex alone, we may feel sure that the other 

 is somewhere in the vicinity ; perhaps while one is flying about 

 so as to be easily captured, the other is hidden under some 

 leaf, or resting on the trunk of some tree near by, w r hich must 

 be examined and every bush in the vicinity vigorously beaten 

 by the net. Many species rare in most places have a metropolis 

 where they occur in great abundance. During seasons when 

 his favorites are especially abundant the collector should lay 

 up a store against years of scarcity. 



At no time of the year need the entomologist rest from his 

 labors. In the winter, under the bark of trees and in moss he 

 can find many species, or on trees, etc., detect their eggs, which 

 he can mark for observation in the spring when they hatch out. 



He need not relax his endeavors day or night. Mothing is 

 night employment. Skunks and toads entomologize at night. 

 Early in the morning, at sunrise, when the dew is still on 

 the leaves, insects are sluggish and easily taken with the hand ; 







