30 
THE WEEKLY ENTOMOLOGIST. 
first, a few words about collecting. 
Small Staphglinidce &c should always 
be put into glass tubes [the small ones 
used for homaeopathic medicines are 
the best] which must be quite dry 
inside. Besides these tubes, the Col- 
eopterist, when collecting, should be 
provided with two wide-mouthed 
bottles, — one large, and two thirds 
filled with bruised leaves and blotting 
paper ; into this should be put all 
medium and large sized Geodephaga 
[ Cemara, or anything larger] and all 
very large beetles of the other fam- 
ilies. The other wide mouthed bottle 
may be a smaller one, and its cork 
should be pierced by a quill, one end 
of which is to project about three 
quarters of an inch above the top of 
the cork, the other end about an inch 
into the bottle which should contain a 
small quantity of laurel leaves and 
blotting paper ; this is the receptaclo 
for those beetles which, though small, 
are hard, and into it*go many of the 
insects obtained by sweeping [Aptons 
&c.] 
Next, as to Killing Coleoptera. For 
this purpose water, as near boiling as 
possible, should be used. In this the 
tubes containing the small staphs are 
to be held, care being taken that no 
water gets into them. The insects in 
the two bottles are best put actually 
into the water, and directly they are 
dead, should be taken out, and trans- 
ferred to a wet rag, on which they 
arc to remain till set, caro being 
taken that the rag is not allowed to 
get dry. 
Third.— Setting Coleoptera. — For 
this purpose, gum, prepared accord- 
ing to Mr. Wollaston’s instructions 
is to be used. (According to my ex- 
perience, however, it is better, not 
reduced to powder.) Get a piece of 
cork eight or ten inches square, and 
pin on to it a strip of card four or 
five inches long, and wide in pro- 
portion to the insects to be extended 
on it. Not more than one row of 
beetles is to be set out on each strip. 
The finest needles procurable are 
necessary for the very small insects, 
and the legs should be brushed out 
with Sable’s (not Camel’s) hair 
brushes ; the card used should be the 
whitest and best to be had. 
Small Staphs cannot be kept, but 
must be set, the day they are killed. 
W hen Mr. Broderick mentions beetles 
that drag across the card, and resist 
to the utmost the operation of setting, 
I dare say he alludes more particu- 
larly to the small weevils, — Apions, 
etc. These should be set, if possible 
the day after being killed, when, if 
the antenna} are well brushed out, 
before putting the insects on the gum, 
no difficulty at all will be found in 
accomplishing the operation success- 
fully. Geodephaga, and most other 
beetles, may be kept a much longer 
time. Tho cards should most cer- 
tainly not bo cut out until after tho 
insects are on it, and, if the strips of 
card I have described bo used, tho 
labour of outting out will be very 
much diminished. The management 
of the wet rag requires a littlo ex- 
perience, for, if kept too saturated, 
the legs and antenna) of the insect 
