8900 Entomological Society: 
“ Method of arranging the Object.—As a rule all light-coloured insects ought to be 
set on a dead black paper, dark insects on a white one. Insects ought to be arranged 
if possible in some measure according to colour and texture, thus - 
“ First, colour. Black velvety wings are good absorbers, but bad reflectors of 
light, therefore they will require about five times the length of exposure to that of a 
white wing. Yellow colours are most difficult to take; they require a great deal of 
forcing, even more than the black: I am not yet ina position to give any accurate 
time, as the yellows vary from the pale lemon to the deep orange; but, as a rule, I 
should expose two minutes longer than the black; thus, if in a box of insects black, 
white and yellows are mixed up, it is extremely difficult to obtain a satisfactory result, 
as may be seen in No. 1 plate, containivg the swallow-tail, the Bath white and orange- 
tip. The swallow-tail is not brought out, whilst the whites and greens are perfect ; 
the orange is blackish. 
“ Secondly, texture. The wings of the Coleoptera are mostly glazed, therefore 
good reflectors. These insects take admirably, as in plate 7; all their salient points 
come out remarkably well, and stand,sharp and clear. In these insects form is every- 
thing, and colour next to nothing; so that by Photography we are enabled to trace 
the most minute variations, if the insects be correctly focussed. The clear-winged 
insects are also beautifully brought out by this Art,—the Neuroptera especially,—but 
care must be taken to have a back-ground suitable for throwing up the exquisitely 
delicate tracery of the wings ; the Orthoptera also come out well. Specimens of these 
two insects are seen in plate 7. 
“ Size of Specimens.—This is a very important consideration. If we wish to exhibit 
a single specimen, iLought to be taken as near the full size as possible, but where a 
series is to be photographed the expense must be kept down by diminishing the size 
(as seen in plate 5), for here we have a specimen of the largest moth known, which 
would have occupied more space than the whole plate, yet brought out so clearly and 
forcibly in the reduced size as to be in every way satisfactory, for I think so long as 
we can have all the markings well developed, it is not of much consequence that the 
actual size should be adhered to. 
“In conclusiou I beg to state that I shall be happy to answer any communications 
forwarded to me on this subject.” 
The President read the following note :— 
On the Nest of Trigona carbonaria. 
“At the November Meeting of this Society I exhibited a nest of Trigona carbonaria, 
a stingless honey hee, from Queensland, Eastern Australia, I have had opportunities 
since that time of more carefully inspecting the structure of the nest, and I think the 
results may be sufficiently interesting to lay before the Meeting. On cutting away a 
portion of the back of the box in which the nest was built I at once obtained a view of 
the interior, The spaces between the combs, and also every hole and crevice, was 
crammed with the bodies of dead bees; I obtained from four to five hundred, all of 
which I carefully examined in the hope of finding a female. All appeared to be 
ordinary working bees ; I could not detect any difference among them. ‘The combs 
in the nest of Trigona carbonaria are arranged precisely similar to those of the common 
wasp, that is, they are single, placed horizontally, and attached, or rather kept apart 
from each other, by short columns or foot-stalks; the mouths of the cells are, as in the 
