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The fore and hind wings in some of the primitive forms are not connected with each other in the operation of flight. In the Hepialida there is a lobe near the base of the primaries which is

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FIG. 12.-Diagram of Wings of a Moth. (After Hampson's "Moths of India," Vol. I., with modifications.)

A. FORE WING. B. HIND WING.

c.m. Costal margin. o.m. Outer margin. i.m. Inner margin. a.a. Apex.

i.a. Inner angle.

c. Discoidal cell.

d. Discocellulars.

ar. Areole.

f. Frenulum.

c.n. Costal nervure, vein 12 of fore wing, 8 of hind wing.

s.n. Subcostal nervure.

m.n. Median nervure.

1 a, b, c. Three branches of internal nervure.

2, 3, 4. Three branches of median nervure.

5. Lower radial.

6. Upper radial.

7,8,9, 10, 11. Five subcostal branches of fore wing.

7. Subcostal nervure of hind wing.

known as the jugum, but it does not appear to serve the practical functions of a yoke. This is illustrated in Figure 13. In the vast majority of cases a connection between the fore and hind wings is made by means of the frenulum on the hind wing, which hooks into the retinaculum upon the fore wing, as illustrated in Figure 14. The form of the frenulum is of use in determining the sex of specimens, as in the case of the males it consists of a single curved, hook-like projection, whereas in the case of the females it is split up into a number of bristles. However, in some

groups, as the Phycitina, the frenulum is simple in both sexes. In some of the families the frenulum is aborted, and its function is assumed by a lobe-like expansion of

the basal portion of costa of the hind wing. The nomenclature of the parts of the wings of moths is not essentially different from that which is employed in describing the wings of butterflies. There are, however, certain conventional terms which have been applied by authors to the markings upon the wings, especially of the Noctuidæ, and Figure 15 will serve to explain and illustrate these terms. A great deal of useful information in regard to the anatomical structure of the Lepidoptera, and of moths in particular, may be

Wings of

FIG. 13.1 Hepialus gracilis. Magnified. j, jugum.

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FIG. 14.-Frenulum and Retinaculum. (From "Moths of India," Vol. I.)

1. ♂ ; 2. f .-A. FORE WING. B. HIND WING.

f. Frenulum.

r. Retinaculum.

c.n. Costal nervure.

s.n. Subcostal nervure. m.n. Median nervure. i.n. Internal nervure.

derived from the study of various manuals and special papers, reference to which will be made hereafter as the various families are successively taken up and studied.

Among works to be particularly recommended in this connection are those of Professor A. S. Packard and Professor Comstock's "Manual for the Study of Insects." A very useful treatise is found in Professor David Sharp's two volumes upon the Insecta contained in the "Cambridge Natural History." Every student, as he advances in the study of the subject, will have frequent occasion to consult these useful books, which embody the results of the most recent researches and are invaluable for purposes of

reference. An even more valuable work than these is the great "Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalænæ contained in the Collection of the British Museum," which is being prepared by Sir

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FIG. 15. Wing of Noctuid Moth. (After Beutenmüller, "Bulletin American Museum Natural History," Vol. XIV., p. 230.) C, collar lappet; tg, patagium or shoulder lappet; T, thorax; ab, abdomen; H, head; p, palpus; E, eye; ant, antenna; b, basal line; bd, basal dash; ta, transverse anterior line; cl, claviform; or, orbicular; ms, median shade; ren, reniform; tp, transverse posterior line; ap, apical patch; apex, apex; tl, terminal lunules; st, subterminal line; fr, fringes; om, outer margin; ha, hind angle; ds, discal mark; el, exterior line; an, anal angle; im, inner margin.

The

George F. Hampson, and published by the Trustees. endeavor in this work is to give a complete view of the entire subject in compact form, and the learned author has enlisted the coöperation of the most distinguished lepidopterists throughout the world in the prosecution of his great task. The work is of course somewhat expensive, but the working lepidopterist cannot well do without it. Much help may also be derived from the older works of Burmeister and Westwood, which, though old, are far from being obsolete and useless.

CHAPTER II

THE CAPTURE, PREPARATION, AND PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS

"Does he who searches Nature's secrets scruple

To stick a pin into an insect?"

A. G. EHLENSCHLÆGER, Aladdin's Lamp.

EVERYTHING that has been said in "The Butterfly Book" in reference to the capture, preparation, and preservation of specimens holds good in the case of the Heterocera. Inasmuch, however, as many of the moths are exceedingly minute in form, it is worth while to state that a greater degree of care must be observed in the collection and preservation of these minute species than is necessary in the case of even the smallest butterflies. The best method of collecting the micro-lepidoptera is to put them, after they have been netted, into pill-boxes, which have glass covers, or into vials or test tubes of large size. These receptacles may be carried in a bag or pocket by the collector. When he has returned from the field, the specimens may be killed by subjecting them to the action of sulphuric ether applied to the corks of the vials, or introduced into the boxes on a camel's-hair pencil. By dipping the cork into the ether and moistening it with a drop or two and then replacing it in the vial the insect is stunned. Sometimes two or three successive applications of ether are necessary. When the insect has been killed and is still

FIG. 16. Setting needle used in adjusting wings of micro-
lepidoptera upon the glass surface of the setting board.

lax, it is fixed upon a small silver pin of a size proportionate to that of its body, and is then transferred to the setting board. Setting boards for mounting micro-lepidoptera should be made

The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens

differently from setting boards commonly used for butterflies and larger moths. The best form known to the writer is one, which has for many years been employed by Mr. Herbert H. Smith, the veteran collector. Small pieces of glass about one inch square, with their edges very lightly beveled, so as to remove all sharpness, are spaced upon a strip of cork fastened to a wide piece of soft pine in such a way that an interval of from one-sixteenth to oneeighth of an inch occurs between them. This serves as the groove to receive the body of the specimen. Having been fixed upon the pin the insect is placed in one of these grooves. The wings are then carefully expanded with a crooked needle fastened in a handle, as illustrated in Figure 16, and are then bound

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FIG. 17. Setting board for mounting micro-lepidoptera; a, pieces of glass attached to papered cork with shellac; b, base of soft pine; co., cork; d, white paper covering cork; ee, brads, to which setting threads are tied; ff, pins set firmly beyond groove to secure alignment of setting threads; tt, setting threads; pp, pins to which setting threads are fastened, and which are stuck into the pine base to hold down the wings in position; h, small silver pin transfixing thorax of specimen.

in place by a thread which is held in place by a pin, as shown in Figure 17. Though the wings of these small insects may, when mounted, at first curl up a little under the pressure of the thread drawn across them, they generally recover their position after removal from the setting board. The advantage of mounting these insects upon glass arises from the fact that the sharp point of the needle will glide over the glass and the surface is smooth,

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