PRESERVING SPIDERS AND LARY^ OF INSECTS. 



219 



within, upon a very delicate membrane, wliicli adheres very 

 loosely to both, but more firmly to the contents within ; so that 

 when the viscera or contents are rudely removed, and without 

 much tearing, the whole mass will be found more or less coloured, 

 while the outer skin will be left entirely transparent. To 

 preserve, therefore, the beauty of spiders, this must be un- 

 touched." He further says : " Make an incision along the 

 ventral aspect of the abdomen, nearly its whole length, or as 

 long as will enable the pulpy contents to be easily removed; 

 then pinch up the pulpy mass with a small forceps, carefully 

 avoiding any dragging ; then, with sharp-pointed scissors, cut 

 away the contents bit by bit until the whole is nearly removed, 

 or until you can see the brilliant colour shining through what 

 remains in the cavity — ^better leave a little too much than be too 

 nice in clearing all away; then, with a blowpipe, distend the 

 empty abdomen ; it will very soon become firm, and 

 retain its original form, but until it is so the blow- ^ 



ing must be frequently repeated." A correspondent 

 to Science Gossip, page 21, 1868, says: "I found 

 the best way to preserve spiders was to suspend 

 them by a loop round their waist in a solution of 

 glycerine f, water -|. The solution may want 

 changing once or twice at first, after that it will 

 keep unchanged for years." 



Preserving Caterpillars. — The larvse of 

 moths and butterflies may be preserved by pressing 

 out the contents of their bodies, and by working 

 from the head to the tail in a gentle manner, 

 and assisting the removal of the mass by a careful 

 dragging with a crochet needle. When empty, a 

 little corrosive sublimate solution may be injected 

 with a metal or glass blow-pipe, and the empty 

 skin then distended by blowing into it through a 

 very fine blowpipe, made by drawing out in a clear 

 flame a small glass tube until it is attenuated to 

 a fine point. This being inserted in the orifice 

 at the last segment of the caterpillar, is kept in 

 place by being tied round with a piece of darning Fig. 36.— Blow- 

 cotton, or, better still, by a contrivance shown in flaiingLarv^! 



