Insect Pins. [Fig. 130].
Fig. 130. Insect pins, 1, 3, 5, are German insect pins. 2 is a steel mourning pin.
After the insects are caught they should be pinned so that they may be arranged in the collection in an orderly manner. Common pins are not good for pinning insects; they are too thick and they corrode very soon, covering the specimens with verdigris. Regular insect pins are desirable as they are very slender and do not corrode so quickly. These may be obtained of any dealer in entomological supplies at a cost of fifteen cents per hundred.
Ask for the German insect pins Nos. 1, 3 and 5. If these pins are too expensive you can use the black steel mourning pins. These come in shallow boxes one by two inches square and have round glass heads and the boxes are labelled "Germany;" these may be procured from any dry goods store. However, insects pinned with any beside regular insect pins cannot be sold or exchanged.
All insects except beetles should be pinned through that part of the body just back of the head, as shown in [Figs. 137], [139], [140, 141]. Beetles should be pinned through the right wing-cover, as shown in [Fig. 138]. About one-fourth of the pin should project above the back of the insect. Very small insects may be gummed to a narrow strip of card board and the pin put through the card board.
Labelling Specimens.
Specimens should be labelled with the date of capture and the locality. Thus the butterfly, [Fig. 141], would be labelled thus:
Ithaca, N. Y.
Aug. 12, 1896.