The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 



have been more or less devoured. Generally underneath the tree 

 will be found the frass, or ejectamenta, of the caterpillar. The 

 presence of the ejectamenta and the evidence of the ravages com- 

 mitted by the larvae upon the foliage will give the collector a clue 

 to the whereabouts of the caterpillar. The writer has found it 

 generally advantageous to search for caterpillars that feed upon 

 trees along the wide, sandy margins of brooks and rivers. The 

 frass is easily discovered upon the sand, and by casting the eye 

 upward into the foliage it is often easy to detect the insect. The 

 pavements in towns and cities which are bordered by trees may 

 also very well be scanned for evidence of the presence of cater- 

 pillars. A favorite collecting-ground of the writer is one of the 

 large cemeteries of the city in which he lives, in which there are 

 numerous trees and a great quantity of shrubbery. Wood-boring 

 species, as a rule, are more difficult to obtain and rear than those 

 that feed upon the foliage. 



Hibernating Caterpillars.— While some difficulty attends the 

 preservation of chrysalids in the case of those species which 

 pupate in the fall and pass the winter in the chrysalis state under 

 the ground, far more difficulty attends the preservation of species 

 which hibernate in the caterpillar state. As a rule, it is found best 

 to expose the boxes containing these species in an ice-house or 

 other cold place, keeping them there until there is available an 

 abundant supply of the tender shoots of the plant upon which 

 they are in the habit of feeding. They may then be brought forth 

 from cold storage and placed in proximity to the food-plant, 

 upon which they will proceed to feed. 



THE PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS 



Papering Specimens.— When time and opportunities do not 

 suffice for the proper preparation of butterflies for display in 

 the permanent collection, the collector may, in the case of the 

 larger species, conveniently place them in envelopes, with their 

 wings folded (Fig. 51), and they may then be stored in a box 

 until such time as he is able to relax the specimens and properly 

 mount them. Thousands of insects are thus annually collected. 

 The small drug envelopes, or the larger pay-roll envelopes, 

 which may be bought in boxes by the thousand of any stationer for 



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