98 
THE PRESERVATION OF LARV.E FOR STUDY. 
By H. Garman, Lexington, Ey. 
It is a common practice to drop larvae of all sorts into alcohol and 
trust to luck for what happens. My own specimens have been largely 
preserved in this manner. Frequently they become badly discolored 
and shrunken, and the internal organs are generally in very bad con- 
dition for dissection. Some practice in preparing larvae for sectioning 
some years ago led me to adopt the method of killing, and at the same 
time fixing the tissues of such specimens by a short exposure to hot 
water. Eecently I have employed this for the preservation of larvae 
for specimens, and with what seem to me fair results. The procedure 
employed after a few experiments is this : 
Drop the larvae into water heated to the boiling point (not boiling) 
and leave for 15 seconds ; then when the body wall is somewhat rigid, 
pick up with the forceps and with fine sharp scissors cut a slit along 
the under side of the body, then drop into the water again for a few 
seconds longer. The specimen may now be transferred to 50 per cent 
alcohol, and in twelve hours to 70 per cent, and twelve hours after to 
95 per cent for permanent preservation. 
The bodies of such larvae remain in their natural shape. The colors 
are pretty well preserved, and the structures are in good condition for 
either microscopic or macroscopic examination. I find that it will not 
do to cut slits at intervals along the under side of such larvae, for the 
regions between cuts then become discolored. This trouble becomes 
worse in hot weather. 
Everything must be done quickly but thoroughly. Prolonged heat- 
ing will cause specimens to become discolored by cooking them. In- 
stead of alcohol I have used for some specimens, after killing with hot 
water, a preservative which gives, as far as I can see now, rather bet- 
ter results. It consists of the following : 
Boiling water, 250 cubic centimeters. 
Common salt, 3 teaspoonfuls. 
Powdered alum, 1 teaspoonful. 
Pure carbolic acid, 5 drops. Filter. 
The paper was discussed by Messrs. Forbes, Hopkins, Osborn, Smith, 
and Summers. 
Mr. Forbes thought the entomologist might get some points on the 
preservation of the plants injured by insects from the horticulturist, 
and mentioned the preserved fruits at the World's Fair at Chicago as 
examples of good work of this sort. 
Mr. Summers reported having at one time tested a considerable 
