kk; 



attaclied in tlie sauie way as before indicated — 

 not forgetting to well secure the label. 



Imagines 



are ihtIiuiis tlic most dillicult of all to slied, and 

 deinaiul giuat caie. There are several vvays of sen- 

 diiig tlieso — ,in papers- or „set*. If the former 

 nietliod is decided oii, tlio lepidoptera should first 

 liave tlieir wings Iblded together, wing to wing, aiid 

 he put iip in littlc triaugular paper packets, gummed 

 :ill round, each one beiug labelled witli the names 

 and sex of tlie insect contained, together with the 

 locality in whicli it was taken, aud the date of its 

 capture. „Set" butterflies and moths, of course, 

 sliouM eacli bear similar data. The lepidoptera should 

 then be placed in a siiallow box (those used for 

 cigars are besti. with a good layer of wadding sur- 

 rounding each packet, so tliat the speciraens cannot be 

 shaken abnut. The box sliould then be wrapped 

 in wadding, and covered with paper, addressed, 

 also ticketed by securing the string of the label 

 througli a hole in the box (as before mentioned). 

 It is then ready to go on its travels. 



This plan is not recoraraeuded, as a rule, for 

 specimens that have to go very long distances. Tra- 

 vellers and others, who are not generally able to 

 carry niuch impedimenta, usually bring their insects 

 horae in papers, so that they thus occupy little space. 

 A second plan is to pin the lepidoptera, previously 

 „set", in a little box lined with cork, which is then 

 sent througli the i)Ost in the ordinary way. Natu- 

 raliy, only a few specimens can be sent by this means, 

 room being limited. Bnt this device, too, is risky 

 to the safety of the insects concerned, even when 

 tiie box is enveloped in cotton-wool. Prabably one 

 of the most interesting inventions eames from Paris. 

 It is a small woodeu box of a size conveniont for 

 the post, padded throughout iusidc, like au arm- 

 chair. 



Inside this, is inserted anotber smaller box, made 

 eutirely of cork, lid and all, containing the insects 

 pinned into be sent. Between the lid of this the 

 smaller box and the box itself, is fixed a small kind 

 of window, made of silk gauze stretched on a frame- 

 work of card-board. 



This gauze covering can, of course, be opened, 

 when it is desired to remove the lepidoptera. The 

 advantage of the above ingeniously conceived ar- 

 rangement, is that the specimens ccntained, can be 

 examined by the most iiiuxporienced, without any 

 neccessity of disluibing tlicm, I ryuiid mcrely opening 



the lid of the little box. The last plan, and that 

 generally followed on the continent, is the sending 

 of insects ,by rail', in double boxes. The lepidop- 

 tera to be forwarded, are first pinned in a box lined 

 with turf (this is best), cork, or „agav(5* (fr: alo^s), 

 tied round with pajier and string, and packed with 

 fine shavings or cotton-woll, in a larger box. A piece 

 of paper with the adress oi the consignee, is then 

 pasted on the outer box and it is sent elf in the 

 usual way. It is advisable to describe the specimens 

 sent, as „prepared" or „dried", othorwise one is 

 liable to be asked „Are they alive?" (!) It is best 

 before sending, tiiat the turf, or cork of the inner 

 box or boxes should be covered over with a thin 

 layer of wadding drawn out fine, and made fast by 

 digging it into the turf, here and there, with the 

 point of a pen-knife. This material catches the an- 

 tennae and logs of the insects, which niay get de- 

 tached in transit. Turf (olitainable at most dealers') 

 is preferable to any other substance, as it secures 

 the pins better than anything eise, and resists jolting 

 them, to a larger exteut, perhaps, than most other 

 Substitutes. ,Agav^'' is the soft inferior of a tree, 

 common in the South of Europe, but a native of 

 Central America. Sonie lepidopterists have small 

 Windows to the lids of their inner boxes, through 

 which it is possilde to examine the contents of a 

 box, without opening the lid. Large fry, such as the 

 big sphinges — Ächerontia atropos, etc. should 

 have their bodies (which, by reason of their weight 

 and bulkiness, are not unlikely to break off with 

 any shock, and cause daraage to the other inmates 

 of a boxj made secure. 



This is effected by fastening the abdomina cross- 

 wise with pins wrapped round with cotton-wool, in 

 tho box. The double box plan is altogether the best 

 method of sending specimens, aud this is more par- 

 ticularly the case whero large quantities of lepidop- 

 tera are concerned. 



Raupenfütterung mit präparirtem Futter! 



Von Dr. JauJ. Heisaler. 



Herr Ernest Hein, Karlsbad, berichtet seine dies- 

 bezügliche Methode und deren Resultate seit einiger 

 Zeit. Dabei spielt das Einfrischen des Futters in 

 verschiedene Tintenlösungen die Hauptrolle. Es sollen 

 damit grossartige Farbenveränderungen erzielt werden. 



