§fe gmmg Naturalist: 



A Penny Weekly Magazine of Natural History. 



No. 3. 



NOVEMBER 15th, 1879. 



Vol. 1. 



ON FORMING A COLLECTION 

 OF LEPIDOPTERA. 



^JffpHE winter season is the time most j 

 Jj^s generally devoted to the arrange- 

 ment of the specimens obtained during the j 

 summer ; to exchanging duplicates with 

 other collectors ; and generally with put- 

 ting everything in order, so as to be ready 

 for work, when fine weather brings again, 

 an abundant supply of insects. At pre- 



_ sent we can only address ourselves to those 

 who have been collecting during the past 

 3eason, and who have a stock of specimens 

 by them to arrange and place in their cases. 

 It is well to begin well. If you begin 

 well, you are certain to end well. Good 

 tiabits once formed are rarely relinquished , 

 and you can do things easily at the begin- 

 ing that will be a great labor, if not an 

 impossibility afterwards. We are about 

 'to advise a course that some of you may 

 think unnecessary, too much trouble, not 

 lone by other people, or some other reason 



L equally worthless. We can only recom- 

 mend, you must please yourselves whether 



:c you follow the course we advise. There 



— : ixe many species of lepidoptera that 

 scarcely .vary in color or markings in the 



slightest degree. There are others that 

 differ more or less in different localities, 

 some are darker in the North, some in the 

 South, others vary locally in other ways, 

 while of some species, such as Arctia Caja 

 you will scarcely find two specimens 

 exactly alike. A shorter series of these 

 that vary little, will be needed, while of 

 those that vary much, your aim should be 

 eventually to have in your collection one 

 at least of every obtainable variety. You 

 must not expect to obtain many to begin 

 with, but as you progress, you will procure 

 various forms in your own collecting, or from 

 correspondents, and special varieties will 

 turn up now and then. Now the value 

 of a cabinet of insects depends very much 

 upon a knowledge of where the specimens 

 were obtained, the nature of the soil and 

 other particulars, easily obtainable at the 

 time, difficult or impossible afterwards. 

 Many, we are afraid, most, collectors, trust 

 entirely to their memory on these points. 

 They can tell you, no doubt correctly 

 enough, where this was taken, from whom 

 that was obtained, with other valuable 

 information ; and it is an instructive 

 pleasure to look through a good collection 

 with an entomologist who can refer to 

 every matter of interest as you go along. 



