THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 107 
or overflow, and with pilose larve irretrievably spoil the 
specimen, as when the wax once gets on the outside of the 
skin it is impossible ever to get it off without pulling all the 
hair off with it. In the case of smooth larve the wax, if it 
overflows, can easily be pulled off when hard. If, on the 
contrary, the injection be carried on too slowly, the orifice of 
the syringe will be closed by the hardened wax, and must be 
taken out of the skin and warmed again; and to keep the 
larva steady at the same time, without the wax already injected 
into it running out, is no easy matter. With care, however, 
both these extremes may be avoided. The real difficulty is 
with very small or slender larve ; indeed, I should suppose 
for these the inflated mode would answer better than the 
injection. I have not myself tried much below the size of 
P. Rape. With hairy subjects the chief difficulty is to 
prevent the hairs coming out during the process of disem- 
bowelling; and I should like to know whether any contributor 
has ever had the courage to attack Chrysorrhcea or Auriflua, 
and, if so, with what results, as, from bitter experience, | have 
learned it is better to have nothing to do with them. To 
ensure the colour of some of the green or transparent skinned 
larve, a little colouring matter of the correct tint, mixed with 
the melted wax before injection, will be found to give good 
results. As regards mounting, it is certainly very unnatural to 
see larve stuck on the ends of wire, or fastened flat down to 
cardboard, it being much more in harmony with Nature to 
mount them on the proper food-plant, which should be 
carefully dried,—leaves, stem, and flowers, if possible,—and 
then the larve of different ages skilfully fastened on by the 
hidden help of wire, gum, &c. 
1 should be glad to hear the experience of other ento- 
mologists on this mode of larve preserving, as I consider 
many are debarred from this branch of collecting by the 
numerous and acknowledged difficulties which are attendant. 
W. E. Swarr. 
Birkenhead. 
[The reader will of course understand that I am not 
responsible for any of the plans recommended by my 
correspondents. I have not tried either of them.—Edward 
Newman. | 
