After the specimens have been pinned and labeled, they should be housed in boxes or cases having a soft bottom or inner layer that will allow easy pinning. Such housing not only insures the safety of the collection but makes for easily handled units once the specimens have been named.

Insect Boxes

Several satisfactory types of boxes for housing insect specimens may be bought from commercial supply companies. These are usually much better than boxes of home construction, being more nearly dustproof and pestproof. Homemade boxes, however, are quite practical for the beginning collector, due to their ease of construction and extremely low cost. Cigar boxes 2 inches deep or more make ideal insect boxes if a layer of cork or balsa wood or two layers of soft, corrugated cardboard are glued in the bottom. Other wooden or cardboard boxes may be provided with such a bottom pinning surface and used for storing specimens. Boxes of this type, however, afford the specimens no protection against pests, and great care must be exercised in keeping the boxes fumigated.

Manufactured boxes, cabinets, and cases may be selected from catalogs that various scientific supply firms send free upon application.

Precaution Against Pests

Certain insects, such as flour beetles and carpet beetles, feed upon dried insects, and unless precautions are taken these may entirely destroy a collection. To guard against them, various chemical repellents may be placed in the boxes containing specimens. Naphthalene, of which ordinary mothballs are composed, is one of the best repellents. A few mothballs may be put in a cloth bag pinned securely in one corner of the box, or the heads of common pins may be inserted into naphthalene mothballs, and the points stuck in the corners of the box, fig. 17.

Naphthalene is chiefly repellent in action; its odor keeps out pests, but, if they are already in the specimen boxes, naphthalene will usually not kill these pests, and some other substance must be used.

Paradichlorobenzene, called PDB, is a good fumigant to use on pests in the collection. It should be used in a nearly airtight container, such as a tight trunk, bin, or case, at the rate of 1 pound of PDB to 25 cubic feet of space. The boxes of specimens, with lids open or removed, should be placed in the container, the fumigant scattered or spread on a piece of cloth or paper above them, and the container sealed for about a week.