The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 



Fig. 51.— Butterfly in envelope. 



a comparatively small sum, are preferable because of their conve- 

 nience. Many collectors, however, paper their specimens in envel- 

 opes which they make of oblong bits of paper adapted to the size 

 of the insect. The process of making the envelope and of paper- 

 ing the insect is accurately depicted in the accompanying cut 



(Fig. 52). The writer finds it good in 

 the case of small butterflies to place 

 them in boxes between layers of cheap 

 plush or velvet. A small box, a few 

 inches long, may be provided, and at 

 its bottom a layer of velvet is placed; 

 upon this a number of small butterflies 

 are laid. Over them is placed a layer of velvet, with its soft 

 pile facing the same side of the velvet at the bottom. On top 

 of this another piece of velvet is laid, with its pile upward, 

 and other specimens are again deposited, and over this another 

 piece of velvet is laid, and so on. If the box is not filled full at- 

 once, it is well to have enough pieces of velvet cut to fill it, or else 

 place cotton on top, so as to keep the layers of velvet from mov- 

 ing or shaking about. A yard or two 

 of plush or velvet will suffice for the 

 packing of a thousand specimens of 

 small butterflies. 



Fig. 52.— Method of folding pa- 

 per for envelopes : first fold on line 

 AB ; then on AD and CB ; then on 

 BF and EA. 



Mounting Butterflies.— When the 

 collector has time enough at his dis- 

 posal he should at once mount his 

 specimens as they are intended to be 

 displayed in the collection. We shall 

 now proceed to explain the manner in 

 which this is most advantageously ac- 

 complished. The insect should first of all be pinned. The pin should 

 be thrust perpendicularly through the thorax, midway between the 

 wings, and at a considerable elevation upon the pin. It should 

 then be placed upon the setting-board or setting-block. Setting- 

 boards or setting-blocks are pieces of wood having a groove on 

 the upper surface of sufficient depth to accommodate the body of 

 the insect and to permit the wings to be brought to the level 

 of the upper surface of the board (Fig. 53). They should also be 

 provided either with a cleft or a hole which will permit the pin to 

 be thrust down below the body of the insect for a considerable 



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