92 
THE SUBSTITUTE. 
a little trouble in the packing, and 
insects must arrive safe at their 
destination. But there may be 
many who do not know how to 
pack them properly: let them pay 
attention to the following. Be 
sure to stick the pin on which the 
insect is firmly into the cork ; 
never stick a small pin into a hole 
made by a larger one. Cross-pin 
the abdomens of all moths, both 
small and large, taking the same 
precautions as with the insect pin. 
For Noctum and Bomhyces a strip 
of paper placed over the abdomen 
and secured with pins at the side 
is the best plan. If there is but a 
little of the pin projects under the 
thorax, hardly sufficient to stick in 
the cork, don’t send it, but keep it 
yourself, and put another in its 
place. If the moth is set rather 
high up on the pin, and there is 
not depth of cork to take all there- 
of until the body toucbes the cork, 
place a pellet of cotton-wool under 
it, then strap over the same as 
above. If a body is loose take it 
off, wrap it in cotton wool and se- 
cure the cotton wool with pins. If 
these directions are followed you 
need not hope for the safe arrival 
of the contents of any box ; you 
may be sure of it. — Id. 
Acherontia Atropos. — Mr. Stain- 
ton and other writers assign a very 
short period for the final trans- 
formation of the .<4 c/terojitia. Now 
this insect being of a very respect- 
able size and tangible, I happen 
to have made an acquaintance with 
it, to clear up a puzzle that runs 
through so many species of moths, 
as to their continuance and repro- 
duction. I am told in the ‘ Manual ’ 
and elsewhere that the moth ap- 
pears from August to October, 
doubtless on good grounds ; but 
bow comes it, if this is all the truth, 
that the female can chance in 
autumn upon a depository for eggs, 
that may or may not be planted 
with the insect’s food (say pota- 
toes) till the following spring? 
In September I procured, from 
near Mountsfield, two fine full-fed 
larvae, who retired into the earth, 
and there they are now. Some- 
what later I provided myself with 
two pupae, and made them as com- 
fortable as circumstances per- 
mitted : they despised, by the way, 
my arrangements, and persist in 
lying, like the pigs in the old song, 
and are at this moment visibly 
strong and active, resisting all 
attempts to make them lie more 
decent : the self-buried pair take 
things more quietly. All this, you 
see, is at variauce with “VIII — 
X” of the ‘Manual something 
more is wanting : and I just throw 
out a suggestion that you should 
consider and report upon this at 
some fitting opportunity. Probably 
all this is no news to you; but, for 
the sake of a little variety in “ In- 
sect Books,” it is worth notice; 
otherwise it makes us, the unini- 
tiated, imagine that Sterne’s com- 
plaint, that we make new’ books as 
apothecaries make new mixtures, 
by pouring out of one phial into 
another, is as much the practice 
now as in his time. For my own 
satisfaction I may probably try a 
generation or two of the Death’s 
Head. — W. II. Moimis, Kent 
Water TForAs, Mill Lane, Dept- 
ford ; November 27, 1856. 
Notes by an Old Collector . — 
Neither to the scientific entomolo- 
gist nor even “ old collectors” do 
I presume to deliver a statement 
of my own experience in capturing 
larva; ; but doubtless there are hun- 
dreds of incipients in Entomology, 
and I wish to draw their attention 
