58 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST 



bred out the same season. I leave all such, 

 but secure all I find upon the upper side of 

 the leaves. When searching for these cases 

 the terminal shoots of V. vitis-idea will be 

 seen tied, and between three upper leaves 

 the larva or pupa of E. purpurana can be 

 found ; or if the leaves are tied and slightly 

 twisted, then expect to breed Coccyx usta- 

 maculana ; and should any puckered leaves 

 of this plant be observed, then expect to 

 breed Nepticula Weaverii ; or if any of the 

 leaves are turned over and appear on the 

 underside to have a skin stretched across 

 the turnover, then secure them and expect 

 to breed Lithocolletis vaccinella. By this time, 

 if you have not been very discreet and quiet, 

 a great big fellow in gaiters will probably 

 be standing over you, and like me on the 

 most successful day in my life, when I had 

 discovered all the above Vaccinium feeders 

 — Myrtilella, Vitisella, Weaverii, and Vaccinella 

 — new to science, will be ordered off "for a 

 foo of a moppet katcher at drov th' grouse 

 an mon goo." — Rose Bank, Fletcher Grove, 

 Edge Lane, January 7th, 1883. 



KILLING AND SETTING 

 ICHNEUMONS 

 AND OTHER FLIES. 



By G. C. BiGNELL, M.E.S. 



In this paper I propose to give instruc- 

 tions how to kill and mount Ichneumons 

 and similar flies. 



I shall commence by saying that all my 

 pill boxes have glass bottoms, so that I am 

 enabled to see the contents of each box after 

 a day's collecting, which is a very great ad- 

 vantage, particularly so when you have to 

 consider how the contents are to be disposed 

 of. — I do not kill till I arrive home. Hav- 

 ing procured specimens, and being ready 

 for work, I obtain a basin of boiling water 

 and invert the box containing the subject to 

 be operated upon over it. If the fly does 

 not seem inclined to move, I give the box a 



sharp tap, and in eight cases out of ten the 

 insect will fall on the water with its wings 

 expanded horizontally. If, however, it does 

 not do so, I try to expand them, at once, by 

 bringing the fly to the side of the basin, and 

 using two setting neadles for that purpose. 

 It is then taken out and placed in piire 

 spirits of wine 1 and removed from this 

 bath by floating it on a piece of glass* 

 with its back downwards. The antennae,^ 

 wings, and legs must be placed in position 

 with a fine brush. ^ It should remain on 

 the glass for about id or 15 minutes, or 

 until the spirit is evaporated. It can then 

 be lifted off with a setting needle and placed 

 on the card. No matter the size of the ich- 

 neumon or fly : it can be killed in the same 

 way. The only exception is the Aphides : 

 these should be stupificd with chloroform, 

 and mounted on plain cards bejore quile dead. 



With regard to mounting single specimens 

 of ichneumons there is a difficulty, because 

 a portion of the underside should be visible, 

 i.e. the coxae and trochanters, also the face 

 and mouth. If you have two of the same 

 species, one can be mounted on its back, 

 which will at once remove the difficulty. I 

 believe, however, that it may be done with, 

 fairly satisfactory result by punching an 

 0-like piece out of the card, so that the por- 

 tions mentioned above may be seen through 

 the aperture. 



I must confess that I like to see an insect 

 well-mounted, and I spare no pains to obtain 

 the desired result. I will, therefore, describe 

 the method I have adopted. I make all my 

 mounting cards for single insects. I do it in 

 this way. Having obtained some nice white 

 paper, I cut it up in pieces about three 

 inches by one and a half ; I then fold it 

 square, and with a small oval punch make a 

 hole about half-an-inch from the fold ; I then 



(1) For this purpose I use an egg-cup. 



(2) Slips of glass 3' by 1' as used for microscopic slides 



do -very nicely for this purpose. 



(3) A small sabk-hair pencil is the best. 



