16 NATURAL HISTORY OF WASPS. 
position without fear of breaking. Now pass a fine 
but strong pin through the thorax, and set the in- 
sect on a cork-board. The legs will keep their posi- 
tion in drying, but the antennz will need support, 
and perhaps the head also. The chief trouble is 
with the wings, on the neat adjustment of which so 
much of the beauty of the specimen depends. The 
best way to manage these is to fix a long pin ob- 
liquely into the cork-board on either side, parallel to 
the body of the msect, making an inclined plane on 
which the wings may rest when they are expanded. 
Now open the fore-wing very carefully, with one blade 
of the forceps, and draw it over the hind-wing, up 
this plane. After one or two trials the row of little 
hooks which are found along the front of the hind- 
wing of the wasp will hook as they naturally do in 
flight, and the wings thus fastened will look much 
better and retain their position more securely than 
when they are adjusted by pins. They are to be 
held in this position by another long lighter pin lymg 
over the stronger one and nipping the wings between 
them. ‘This must be repeated on the other side, and 
the limbs must be re-arranged where they have been 
disturbed; and then the specimen only needs drying 
to be complete. Sometimes, by merely blowing 
them, the wings may be properly expanded, and if, 
luckily, the hooks can be made to catch at the same 
time a great deal of trouble will be saved thereby. 
When the specimen is very small, as will be the case 
if we extend our researches beyond the Vespe, pins 
and forceps will be of no use in spreading the wings, 
but will only tear them. The best way then is to 
float out each wing, with a drop of water, on the 
