It has been recently claimed by a writer that painted decoys representing butterflies, placed upon flowers, or kept in motion at the tip of a switch, may be effectively used in securing rare and wild species. The writer has no personal knowledge of the merit of the plan. It might be worth trying, however, in the case of monstrous rarities.
[CHAPTER XLIII.]
PREPARATION, CARE, AND DISPLAY OF INSECTS.
[a]Fig. 94.]—Manner of Folding Paper Envelope. A-B, First fold; B-C, second fold; A-D, third fold; B-F, fourth fold; A-E, fifth fold.
The next step after the capture of the specimens is to prepare them either for transportation or for the cabinet. If collecting upon a journey, or where facilities for the preparation of specimens for the cabinet are lacking, the insects may be preserved in papers. Common druggists' envelopes are a very convenient resource for the preservation of lepidoptera. They may be purchased by the thousand at about sixty-five cents. If these cannot be had, envelopes may easily be made from pieces of paper, preferably stiff newspaper or common writing-paper upon which ink has not been used. The manner of folding these is illustrated by Figures 94 and 95. Care should be taken to write upon the envelope, before the insect is placed in it, the date and the locality of capture. Beetles, if black and devoid of hairy vestiture, may be preserved in alcohol, and the same course may be taken with many insects of other orders. It is preferable, however, to pack beetles and other hard-bodied insects in layers of cotton batting. A small box may be made to contain an immense number of insects in envelopes or in cotton, and they may thus be safely transported anywhere. In case alcohol is used as a preservative all the specimens of a species should be sorted out and tied together in a small sack made out of thin netting, and to this should be attached a label giving the date and place of capture and a reference to the note-book. In case cotton layers are employed all the specimens of a species, if numerous, should be placed in one layer, and a memorandum to the same purport as the label inserted.
[a]Fig. 95.]—Butterfly in Envelope.