THE DECORATIVE USE OF BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



R. P FROELICH. 



The uses of entomological specimens as 

 means of decoration, are but lightly con- 

 sidered or appreciated by the majority of 

 those who have the beauty of the home at 

 heart. You have seen butterflies and moths 

 alive. Have you ever gathered ioo or more 

 of the prettier varieties and, after prepar- 

 ing them so that the wings lie almost flat 

 and wide outspread, pinned them in a taste- 

 ful glass covered case, to set on an easel in 

 your room? If not, you have yet to learn 

 that the beauty of prepared specimens ex- 

 ceeds that revealed in the moving, living 

 insect. In this case, at least, nature re- 

 ceives an improving touch from the hand of 

 humanity. 



For the successful preparation of butter- 

 flies and moths certain simple apparatus is 

 needful. Of the net, but little description 

 is required. For traveling, a folding net is 

 best- The handle should be jointed like a 

 fishing rod and the hoop made of such 

 material as to admit being doubled easily. 

 Ordinary mosquito gauze is the best net- 

 ting. A more important requisite is the 

 stretching frame. Only a good frame is of 

 any use. A cheap article, with uneven 

 sides, rough surfaces, or made of wood 

 which warps easily, will leave ineffaceable 

 traces on any collection. Frames should 

 have the main boards of soft pine; such a 

 surface receiving pins easily. This is an 

 important consideration, for the papers 

 holding the wings in position must be 

 firmly pinned to the frame. The side strips 

 should be of walnut, to prevent warping. 

 The groove in the frame should be one 

 inch deep, with a strip of cork on the bot- 

 tom. Lay your specimen in the groove and 

 pin it on the cork. If the insect has a 

 heavy body, cotton should be carefully 

 tucked under it, keeping it in a good posi- 

 tion while drying. A number of frames 

 are necessary; some with wide grooves 

 and faces for large winged and bodied 

 moths, and smaller sizes for smaller butter- 

 flies and moths. 



No special rule can be laid down as to 

 the time a specimen should be left on the 

 frame. Large moths, such as Cynthia 



cecropia, polyphemous and luna, need, usually, 

 10 days. The smaller moths — promethea 

 for instance — 5 days. Butterflies, having 

 smaller bodies and consequently less liquid 

 matter, rarely require more than 6 days. 



The killing of butterflies and moths is 

 an art. Every drug that merely kills is not 

 a success. Kerosene, naphtha and alcohol 

 will kill, but will also ruin the specimen, 

 treated. I consider ether best. No possi- 

 bility exists of soiling a specimen through 

 its use, and relaxation takes place in a per- 

 fectly natural manner. I mean by this that 

 it does not make an insect rigid, as is the 

 case with most other drugs. A small sy- 

 ringe — such, for instance, as a medicine 

 dropper — is needed for the etherization. 

 Two fillings must generally be used on a 

 large moth. Cyanide of potassium, in an 

 air tight jar, is an effective insecticide; yet 

 when the deadly nature of the fumes is 

 considered, I hesitate to recommend it to 

 any but an experienced and careful oper- 

 ator. 



The collection of butterflies — on the 

 wing — is most successfully pursued during 

 July and August. Almost any countryside 

 will yield goodly numbers; some loca- 

 tions being of course better than others. I 

 find the Catskills good collecting ground; 

 Greene county being especially good. 

 Long Island, the swampy portions in par- 

 ticular, also yields many specimens. Bronx 

 Park has furnished the nucleus of many 

 collections. I find that the taking of co- 

 coons is a successful and interesting mode 

 of procuring perfect specimens of the moth 

 tribe. In the earlier part of my experience 

 I have had 250 or more moths flying about 

 in a room which was reserved for them; 

 and at the time, the snow was falling and 

 the thermometer snuggling toward the 

 bulb. The possibilities of butterfly and 

 moth breeding are great. A half dozen co- 

 coons of a species, properly handled, will 

 ofttimes produce their like 30 fold. Yet 

 without great patience, the utmost care in 

 small matters and delicacy of touch, you 

 must not hope to aid nature in increasing; 

 the supply of entomological specimens. 



Shafter and Dewey, and Sampson, too, 

 Have won their way to fame. 



The weather man has no gun at all, 

 But he gets there just the same. 



— Chicago Record. 



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