  Soon after insects are killed they dry out, become very brittle, and are damaged easily. Small, fragile insects especially are susceptible to breakage and, when dry, break up readily into fragments. Hard-shelled insects, such as beetles, may appear to be sufficiently durable to withstand handling when dry, but even these insects have fragile legs, antennae, and other parts which snap off readily when handled dry. Newly killed material should be either mounted or put in temporary storage before it has dried out. If collected material dries out before it can be mounted or stored, it should be relaxed by special techniques so that the specimens can again be handled without danger of breakage. Temporary CasesIf it is not convenient to mount the specimens when they are taken from the killing bottle, the moths and butterflies should be put in papers and other insects in cellucotton. Papers are simply rectangular strips of paper of convenient size folded as in fig. 9. A moth or butterfly, with its wings folded, is placed in a paper, the edges of which are then crimped over to lock it shut. For insects other than moths or butterflies, cardboard pillboxes containing cellucotton make good temporary housing, fig. 10. A layer of cellucotton is laid in the bottom, a layer of insects placed on it, and another layer of cellucotton placed over the insects. The lid should fit fairly snugly over all. Cigar boxes and other boxes of like size also may be used in the same way. Fig. 9.—Papers. These are temporary means of keeping dragonflies, moths, butterflies, and small insects of other kinds until they can be relaxed and mounted. A rectangular piece of paper, of a size suited to the insect it is to contain, is folded along the dotted lines and in the directions indicated by arrows, as shown in a, b, and c. Great care must be taken that sufficient cellucotton is put in the box to take up all moisture in the insect bodies. If the specimens are large, they should be allowed to dry moderately uncovered before being placed in cellucotton in storage containers. If insects become damp in the containers they quickly mold or rot. The containers Relaxing Boxes and JarsAt any desired time the dry specimens may be relaxed and mounted. A relaxing box or jar is easily made. In the bottom of a wide-mouthed jar with a screw-on lid, put an inch or two of clean sand; saturate the sand with water containing a small amount of phenol (carbolic acid) and place over it a piece of cork, cardboard, or wood cut to fit the jar. Place the dry specimens on the cork or other material, and cover the jar tightly with the screw-on lid. The lid must be practically airtight. In a day or two the specimens will be soft and pliable enough for pinning or spreading, the next steps toward permanent arrangement of the collection. Fig. 10.—Pillbox for temporary storage of insects. Enough cotton packing is placed in the box to keep the specimen from rattling about but not so much that it crushes the specimen. The relaxer will sweat if kept in too hot a room and will spoil the specimens. Also, the insects will be spoiled if left in the relaxer too long. The correct length of time varies with each relaxer and can be learned only by experience. |
|
