BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [76] 



be not less than 2 inches deep, and if made in the form of a quadrangu- 

 lar frame, braced with two cross-pieces on which to tack sheet cork, 

 they will serve for the doable purpose of drying spread specimens and 

 for the spreading of others, as there are many insects with long legs 

 which are more conveniently spread on such a board, by means of tri- 

 angular pieces of stiff cardboard braces or 'saddles,' than on the 

 stretcher already described. Two of these braces are fixed on the set- 

 ting board, by means of stout pins, at sufficient distances apart to 

 receive the body between them. The wings are then spread upon 

 them and kept in jtlace until dry by means of additional braces. In 

 the case of bees, wasps, etc., the pin may be thrust well into the cork 

 or pith so that the wings may be arranged in the proper position and 

 braced and supported by strips of stout cardboard. This method is 

 especially recommended in the case of the Fossorial wasps, the legs of 

 which, if mounted in an ordinary spreading board, can not be properly 

 arranged. 



In spreading Lepidoptera I have used, in the place of a number of 

 paper strips pinned across the wings, blocks of glass of various sizes 

 to hold the wings in position. My method of mounting, with a large 

 amount of material on hand to be attended to, consists in pinning a 

 row on the spreading- board and fixing the wings in position with 

 spreading needles, fastening them with a single narrow strip of paper 

 placed next the body. The entire spreading-board is filled with speci- 

 mens in this way, a single long strip of paper on either side answering 

 to keep the wings of all the specimens in position. Then, instead of 

 pinning additional strips to hold the wings flat and securely in posi- 

 tion, the pieces of glass referred to are used, i^laciug them on the 

 wings of the insect. With the use of glass the spreading-board must 

 always be kept in a horizontal position and must never be disturbed. 

 The advantage of the glass is that the wings can be seen through it 

 and more truly adjusted. 



Spreading-boards may be made as described above, or it may be of 

 advantage, when a good deal of work is to be done, to adopt a some- 

 what different method. Five or six spreading-boards may be made 

 together, forming a sort of shelf. A number of these shelves may be 

 constructed and the whole combined in a case with a screen cover to 

 exclude insects. The individual shelves may be arranged with grooves 

 to slide on tongues in the side of the case. A screen-covered case for 

 spreading-boards is always desirable, as the insects are otherwise very 

 liable to be eaten by roaches or other insects. A spreading-case of 

 the form described is shown at Fig. 107. 



A new Apparatus for Spreading Microlepidoptera. — For the spreading" 

 of Microlepidoptera my assistant, Mr. Theo. Pergande, has devised an 

 apparatus, represented in the accompanying illustration, which he finds 

 very convenient. It consists of a small spreading-block represented at 



