3 
Mr. Quail then read his paper on “ Preserving larvae.” He stated 
that the easiest time to preserve larvae was immediately after the last 
moult. He killed them in the cyanide bottle, leaving the hairy larvae 
there for twenty-four hours. The contents of the body were then ex¬ 
tracted by pushing a needle into the anal orifice, and afterwards rolling 
the larva with a pencil on a pad of blotting paper, taking care not to 
press too hard, or the colour would be removed. The blowing 
apparatus consisted of one of the double bellows used with scent 
diffusers, and a short piece of glass tube drawn to a point, and fitted 
with a piece of watch spring to hold the larva on the tube. For diying 
the distended skin he had used an ordinary gas burner with a metal 
top. Occasionally, the larva adhered to the tube, and it then had to 
be disengaged with a slightly moistened needle. He then described 
the difficulties peculiar to certain species. The green colour of Papilio 
machaon and Saturnia carpini was easy to preserve, but most of the 
green species faded, and he had stuffed Smerinthus ocellatus with silk 
to restore the colour. Among hairy species, Arctia caia and Orgyia 
pudibunda were fairly easy, if care were taken not to singe the hairs. 
O. antiqua , Spilosoma lubricipedci and Lipciris aurifl.ua , however, were 
difficult, as the hairs easily came out. Eriogaster lanestris exuded a 
kind of grease towards the end of the drying process, which gave the 
skin a shiny appearance. The legs of Stanropus fagi were apt to 
scorch; and he had to squeeze out the contents of the body of 
Phorodesmci srnaragdaria, as rolling would spoil the covering of leaves 
made by this larva. With pupae, he had found the best way was to 
let the imago form, and then slice the back of the pupa off, and 
remove the contents. The golden spots on the pups of the Vanessidce 
were preserved by this process. The plants, on which the larvae were 
to be mounted, were covered with silver sand, and kept in a dry place 
for a few weeks. 
Mr. Battley said that he had found that the contents of the body 
were better extracted by pressing with the finger, as the pressure could 
be regulated more easily, also that hairy larvae such as Spiloso 7 na 
mendica might be blown without rolling, if they died naturally, and 
were then left for a day or two to dry. He also drew attention to the 
importance of not over-distending the skin, and proposed a vote of 
thanks to Mr. Quail for his paper. 
Mr. Simes seconded this resolution, and suggested that the plants 
should be selected with some partly eaten leaves, so as to show the 
way the larvae fed. 
Mr. Southey stated that he always starved his larvae for about a day 
before preserving them, and killed them by immersion in benzine, in 
which they should be left until they ceased to move, when they may be 
taken out, and rolled in the usual way. This system seemed to con¬ 
tract the larva, and prevented the skin from stretching unduly, while it 
fixed the hairs much more firmly than the cyanide bottle. Mr. Milton 
and Dr. Buckell also made some remarks on the subject, and the vote 
of thanks to Mr. Quail was unanimously passed. 
Mr. Miffon mentioned that he had obtained eggs during the past 
season of Saturnia carpini and Arctia villica , and in both cases noticed 
that those first deposited were fertile, while the others were infertile. 
Several similar cases were noted of other species. Mr. Battley stated 
that the eggs of the honey-bee were fertilized as they passed into the 
ovipositor, and the fertilizing fluid sometimes became exhausted before 
