The Preparation and Care of Insect Collections. 



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should not be used for mounting duplicates on card board. 

 Another glue is made of gum arabie, sulphate of alumina, 

 glycerine and acetic acid dissolved in water. Some collectors 

 use Spanlding's prepared glue. The desiderata is to get a 

 quick-setting glue that will hold tenaciously and not be too 

 brittle when dry. In mounting small insects on triangles use 

 only a small particle of glue, so as not to obscure characters. 

 Above all things keep the specimen clean and perfect. For 

 pinning through the triangles a Xo. 2 Carls bader pin may be 

 used, and for pinning the larger beetles a Xo. 2 or 3 is right. 

 In pinning all insets use as small a pin as possible to secure 

 stability in handling. Use nothing but the best pins obtain- 

 able. The Klaeger pin is a good pin. The particular locali- 

 ties in which to collect insects vary some in each neigh- 

 borhood. In Coleoptera we get a faunae along the rivers and 

 low bottom lands that is somewhat different from that of the 

 higher forest. Dead beech timber produces some of our most 

 interesting things in this order, and is very prolific in species. 

 For sweeping, with the sweep-net, the edges of forests 

 that have a rank growth of vegetation are good. Localities 

 where cattle and hogs are pastured should be avoided. For 

 diurnal Lepidoptera, I have the best success in the early part 

 of the day, say from 9 to 12 M ., and for these all localities 

 should be searched. For sugaring the trees at night, which 

 is done by smearing a mixture of sour beer and strong brown 

 sugar on them, care should be taken to select trees along 

 paths that are easy of access, so they can be visited readily, 

 and with a dark lantern the desired specimens selected and 

 the collecting jar placed over them. I always prefer to spread 

 Lepidoptera while fresh, though diurnals can be nicely col- 

 lected in papers folden in triangular shape. These can be 

 softened afterward by placing them in a crock which has the 

 bottom covered with wet sand. Place some carbolic acid 

 (crude) on the inside of crock to prevent mould. It takes 

 several days to soften thick-bodied insects, but the process 

 can be hastened by pouring a little boiling water on the sand. 



When Lepidoptera are softened and the wings set in a 

 different position from the one in which they have been orig- 

 inally dried, a small particle of shellac glue should be touched 

 on the base of wings to hold them exactly in place when dry. 



