The Butterflies of the British IslesSouth, Richard
Science
The Butterflies of the British Isles
South, Richard
Butterflies -- Great Britain; Butterflies -- Great Britain -- Identification; Lepidoptera -- Great Britain
The following method of setting butterflies on the English kind of
"board" or saddle is frequently adopted. Select a suitable saddle, that
is one that has the groove wide enough to take the body, and rather
wider than the wings when expanded. A setting bristle will then be
required. This is made, as shown in Fig. 19, by fixing a fairly long and
stout bristle, or a very fine needle, or a thin length of quill, in a
cube of cork; the cork cube has a stoutish and sharp-pointed pin pushed
through it as indicated. Having placed the first insect on the saddle
with its body comfortably resting in the groove and the wings flush with
the surface, the setting bristle is then brought into action. The point
of the pin is rested on the saddle directly in the rear of the hind
wing, and the top of the bristle touching the saddle in advance of the
front wing. Tilt the pin slightly forward until the bristle presses
lightly on the central area of the wings, then with the setting needle
push the wings into the required position, and at the same time drive
pin of bristle into the saddle. After the wings have been secured by
means of braces (triangular pieces of thin card or stout paper, with a
pin through the base of the triangle), proceed in the same way with the
other side. Finally, fix a brace to the tip and angle of each fore wing
to keep them from turning up in drying, and a pin or two may be required
for the horns if these are not in a good position. Instead of using
braces, a strip of transparent paper may be pinned over the wings beyond
the bristle, but in this case the bristle must be pressed across the
wings at a point nearer their base than in the previous method (see
lower figure in Fig. 20). In lieu of a setting bristle a length of
sewing cotton may be used. Tie a double knot at one end, and through
this pass the point of a pin in such a way that the cotton lies flush on
the saddle when in use. Insert the pin firmly in the saddle a little in
advance of the fore wing, then draw the cotton downwards across the
wings and hold it taut, with the fore finger of the left hand placed on
it just in rear of the hind wing. Whilst so held the wings can be got
into pose with the setting needle, and braces may then be applied as
previously directed.
Fig. 21 shows a specimen set by a method that is in vogue in the north.
Blocks of soft pine, grooved and bevelled as in the cork saddle, are
easily made. Down the centre of the groove there is a saw cut for the
point of the pin to enter, and nicks are cut along the bottom edge at
each end. One end of a length of cotton is knotted and fixed in a nick,
then a turn is taken over the wings on one side; these are placed in
position and secured by other turns of the cotton. The other side is
then treated in the same manner, and the end of the cotton fastened off
in one of the nicks. This is a quick and, in skilled hands, a very neat
method.
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