Directions for Collecting and Preserving InsectsRiley, Charles V. (Charles Valentine)
Science
Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects
Riley, Charles V. (Charles Valentine)
Insects -- Collection and preservation
I have described the adult together with the
larva and pupa as _Trombidium muscarum_. An allied mite, _Hydrachna
belostomae_, attacks the large aquatic water bug, Belostoma, and has a
mode of development precisely similar to that of Trombidium.
[Illustration: FIG. 137.--_Trombidium locustarum_. _a_, mature larva
when about to leave the wing of a locust; _b_, pupa; _c_, male adult
when just from the pupa; _d_, female--the natural sizes indicated to the
right; _e_, palpal claw and thumb; _f_, pedal claw; _g_, one of the
barbed hairs; _h_, the striations on the larval skin.]
To this family also belong the common greenhouse mite, _Tetranychus
telarius_, and also the Bryobia mite, _B. pratensis_, which of late
years has attracted very considerable attention by its appearance in
immense numbers about dwellings, coming from the adjoining fields of
clover or grass. Generically allied to the greenhouse mite is the
Six-spotted Mite of the Orange (_T. 6-maculatus_ Riley), which is shown
in the accompanying figure.
[Illustration: FIG. 138.--The Six-spotted Mite of the Orange
(_Tetranychus 6-maculatus_): _a_, from above--enlarged; _b_, tarsus;
_c_, rostrum and palpus--still more enlarged; _d_, tip of palpus--still
more enlarged.]
Spiders and mites thus collected may be transferred to alcohol. Dr.
Marx, who has had a very considerable experience in the preservation of
spiders, recommends the use of the following mixture: Glycerin and
Wickersheim's fluid, 11/2 ounces of each, and distilled water 3 ounces,
the whole to be shaken and thoroughly mixed and added to 30 ounces of 95
per cent alcohol. Alcohol which has previously been used for preserving
spiders, and which has therefore dissolved some of the fatty matters
from the specimens, he prefers to pure alcohol, using with this,
however, somewhat less of the distilled water. The liquid thus composed
answers all demands and keeps the specimens flexible and preserves their
coloring. Should the stopper become loose and the liquid evaporate,
there is always sufficient liquid, water or glycerine, left in the vial
to keep the specimens from drying and thus save them from destruction.
Dr. Marx also prefers to use cork stoppers rather than the rubber
stoppers recommended for other alcoholic material. His objection to the
rubber stopper is that, in a collection in which the specimens are often
used and the stoppers are frequently removed, he finds that small
particles of the rubber stopper come off and settle upon the specimens
as a white dust, which it is difficult to remove. This objection applies
only to a poor quality of rubber, and in all other respects the rubber
is much to be preferred. The colors of spiders are apt to fade somewhat
if exposed to light, and the collection should therefore be kept in
closed boxes or in the dark.
COLLECTING MYRIAPODA.
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