14 MISC. PUB. 601, U. S. DEPT. OP AGRICULTURE 



Mecoptera (scorpion flies) : Kill in cyanide; mount on pins. 



Neuroptera (lacewing flies, ant lions, etc.) : Kill in cyanide; mount on pins. 



Odonata (dragonflies) : Kill in cyanide; mount on pins. 



Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, roaches) : Kill in cyanide; mount on pins. 



Plecoptera (stoneflies) : Kill and preserve in alcohol. 



Siphonaptera (fleas) : Kill in alcohol; mount on slides. 



Thysanoptera (thrips) : Kill in a liquid made of 8 parts 95-percent alcohol, 

 5 parts distilled water, 1 part glycerin, and 1 part glacial acetic acid ; mount on 

 slides. 



Thysanura (silverfish and their allies) : Kill and preserve in alcohol. 



Trichoptera (caddisflies) : Kill in cyanide; mount on pins. 



Zoraptera : Kill and preserve in alcohol. 



Larvae of insects should be killed in boiling water and allowed to remain in 

 the water from 1 to 5 minutes, according to size, then preserved in alcohol. 



Centipedes, millipedes, mites, spiders, ticks, and other small arthropods, 

 although they are not insects, are frequently handled by entomologists. All 

 these should be killed and preserved in alcohol. The smaller forms are usually 

 mounted on slides. 



CARE AND HANDLING OF UNMOUNTED SPECIMENS 



It is frequently impracticable to mount all collected specimens soon 

 after they are killed, and some method of caring for them so they 

 will not be broken must be used. Specimens collected in liquid may 

 be preserved in the liquid indefinitely without injury, the only pre- 

 caution being to keep plenty of fluid in the container. Specimens that 

 are killed in the ethyl acetate bottle and are intended for the ether 

 bath may also be preserved indefinitely in a container with just enough 

 ethyl acetate to keep them from drying. 



Specimens that are killed in cyanide and are to be mounted without 

 further treatment will soon become dry and brittle. Such material 

 should be placed in paper pill boxes between layers of cellucotton 

 cut to fit the box and packed tightly enough so that the specimens will 

 not shift about, but not pressed down enough to flatten or distort 

 the specimens. The pill box should be filled with layers of cellucotton, 

 even though all the layers are not needed for specimens. Cotton should 

 not be used, as legs and antennae catch on the fibers and are apt to 

 be broken off. Medium-sized and small Lepidoptera should be packed 

 one specimen to a layer of cellucotton. Large Lepidoptera, Odonata, 

 and other insects with large wings and relatively small bodies should 

 be placed in envelopes or folded "triangles," which may then be packed 

 between layers of cellucotton. The method of folding a rectangular 

 piece of paper to form a "triangle"' is shown in figure 5. The speci- 

 men should be placed in the folded triangle in the position shown in 

 figure 5, B. 



When storing unmounted specimens, do not forget to write the 

 collection data on the pill box or on the end of the envelope or 

 "triangle." 



HOW TO MOUNT INSECTS 



Specimens are mounted to facilitate handling and study, and their 

 value increases with the convenience with which they may be exam- 

 ined and compared with specimens of the same or related species. 

 As a result of years of experience by many workers there have been 



