COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS. 



91 



in a solution consisting of a quart of the first solution and 

 two ounces of arseniate of potash and a gallon of water. (Pro- 

 ceedings Boston Society Nat. Hist., vol. x, p. 257.) 



The nests, cocoons, and chrysalids of insects may be pre- 

 served from injury from other insects by being soaked in the 

 arseniated alcohol, or dipped into benzine, or a solution of car- 

 bolic acid or creosote. 



Preparing Insects for the Cabinet. Dried insects may be 

 moistened by laying them for twelve or twenty-four hours in 

 a box containing a layer of wet sand, covered with one thick- 

 ness of soft paper. Their wings can then be easily spread. 

 Setting-boards for spreading the wings of insects may be made 

 by sawing deep grooves in a thick board, and placing a strip 

 of pith or cork at the bottom. The groove may be deep enough 

 to allow a quarter of the length of the pin to project above 

 the insect. The setting-board usuall}- consists of thin parallel 

 strips of board, leaving a groove between them wide enough to 

 receive the body of the insect, at the bottom of which a strip 

 of cork or pith should be glued. The ends of the strips should 

 be nailed on to a stouter strip of wood, raising the surface of 

 the setting-board an inch and a half so that the pins can stick 

 through without touching. Several setting-boards can be made 

 to form shelves in a frame covered with wire gauze, so that 

 the specimens may be preserved from dust and destructive in- 

 sects, while the air may at the same time have constant access 

 to them. The surface of the board should incline a little to- 

 wards the groove for the reception of the insect, as the wings 

 often gather a little moisture, relax and fall down after the 

 insect is dried. Moths of medium size should remain two or 

 three days on the setting-board, while the larger thick-bodied 

 Sphinges and Bombycidce require a week to dry. The wings 

 can be arranged by means of a needle stuck into a handle 

 of wood. They should be set horizontally, and the front mar- 

 gin of the fore-wings drawn a little forward of a line perpen- 

 dicular to the body, so as to free the inner margin of the hind 

 wings from the body, that their form may be distinctly seen. 

 When thus arranged, they can be confined by pieces of card 

 pinned to the board as indicated in figure 71, or, as we prefer,, 

 by square pieces of glass laid upon them. 



