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G E T I N T H E G A M E

Graphic Planet
An Imprint of Magic Wagon
abdobooks.com
abdobooks.com

Published by Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166, Minneap

Copyright © 2021 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc. International copyright
Minnesota 55439.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written
reserved in all countries.
Graphic PlanetTM is a trademark and logo of Magic Wagon.
permission from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota.

082020
012021

Written by Bill Yu
Illustrated by Eduardo Garcia
Colored by Sebastian Garcia
Lettered by Kathryn S. Renta
Layout and design by Michelle Principe and Pejee Calanog of Glass House
and Christina Doffing of ABDO
Graphics
Editorial supervision by David Campiti
Packaged by Glass House Graphics
Art Directed by Candice Keimig and Laura Graphenteen
Editorial Support by Tamara L. Britton

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020930663

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Yu, Bill, author. | Garcia, Eduardo; Garcia, Sebastian, illustrators.

Title: Double trouble / by Bill Yu ; illustrated by Eduardo Garcia and Sebas
Description: Minneapolis, Minnesota : Magic Wagon, 2021. | Series: Get in
Garcia.
Summary: Isabella Clemente plays second base on Peabody’s softball team
game
championships in a row! But this season the team is faltering. When Isab
The team has won two
teammates, Coach Dawson points out that it is easy to be a good sport o
lashes out at her
Isabella support her team when its season will be a losing one? What do
winning team. Can
Identifiers: ISBN 9781532138300 (lib. bdg.) | ISBN 9781644944790 (pbk
she truly value?
(ebook) | ISBN 9781532139383 (Read-to-Me ebook)
ISBN 9781532139024
Subjects: LCSH: Softball--Juvenile fiction. | Sports teams--Juvenile fiction
Juvenile fiction. | Sportsmanship--Juvenile fiction. | Friendship--Juvenile
Winning and losing--
Classification: DDC [741.5]--dc23
fiction
CCOONNTTEENNTTSS

DOUBLE TROUBLE 4

ISABELLA & FRIENDS 26

SOFTBALL QUIZ 28

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 30

SOFTBALL
FUN FACTS 31

GLOSSARY &
ONLINE RESOURCES 32
 L E M EN TE
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 Peabody’s
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…here’s the
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…and Jennie
Siskin smashes a
line drive toward
second base!
Other documents randomly have
different content
reveals in each segment except the last a little valve-like orifice on
either side. These openings are known as spiracles (see Plate A,
Fig. c). Through these the insect breathes. Insects do not breathe
through their mouths, like vertebrates, and their lungs, or what
correspond to the lungs of the higher animals, are not located in the
thorax or chest, but in the abdomen. The last segment of the
abdomen carries at its extremity the external organs of generation.
The male may be distinguished from the female by the so-called
prehensores, or “claspers,” two flattish, scale-like appendages which
adhere one on either side to the last segment of the body. These
organs are quite peculiar in their structure, and in recent years have
received a great deal of study, as it has been found possible by
means of them to distinguish closely allied species, especially
among the Hesperiidæ. It is, however, not possible within our allotted
space to go into a minute discussion of this matter. The abdomen of
the female is devoid of these appendages, and in this sex is
generally heavier and plumper, especially when the eggs, which fill
the ovaries, have not as yet been deposited.
Thus far we have devoted our attention almost exclusively to the
consideration of the external organs of the suborder of insects which
is under discussion. It may be of interest to devote a few paragraphs
to the internal anatomy of butterflies. To do the subject full justice
would require a volume; nevertheless some general statements may
pave the way for a more studious inquiry on the part of readers.
Butterflies take their nourishment in fluid form, principally from the
cups which Flora provides. The organ of ingestion is the proboscis,
which communicates with a bulb-like receptacle in the head, known
as the pharyngeal sac, controlled by a set of muscles which cause it
to alternately expand and contract, very much like the bulb-syringe
used by physicians. When the muscles expand a vacuum is created,
and the fluid is drawn up from the honeyed chalice of the flower into
the receptacle in the head; when they contract, a valve in front
closes, a valve behind opens, and the honey in the receptacle is
forced backward through the œsophagus into the crop, and thence
into the stomach. The stomach lies on the ventral or under side of
the body, but above the nervous cord, which lies still more ventrad.
The stomach opens posteriorly into the small intestine, which is
followed by the colon, the latter in turn being succeeded by the
rectum. Connected with the intestines are certain vesicles, which are
known as Malpighian vessels, and by some are thought to have the
function of the liver in higher animals.
Having thus briefly spoken of the nutritive system we may turn to
the circulatory and respiratory systems. The heart of a butterfly, as in
all arthropods, lies on the dorsal side of the body. Its location
corresponds almost exactly to that occupied in the vertebrate
animals by the spinal cord. It is a long tubular organ. It does not
possess chambers—ventricles and auricles—such as are discovered
in the heart of vertebrates, but it has an enlargement in the
mesothoracic region known as the aortal chamber. The movement of
the heart is wave-like, analogous to the peristaltic movement in the
intestines of the vertebrates. From the heart there go out lateral
blood-vessels, which ramify and intermingle with the capillary
extremities of the tracheæ, or bronchial tubes, through which air is
imported by way of the spiracles, and thus the blood is purified in a
manner quite analogous to that in which the blood of the higher
vertebrates is purified and freed from waste matter by oxydization.
The process is, however, as has already been pointed out, mainly
carried on in the abdominal region, and not exclusively in the thorax,
as in the case of vertebrates.
The nervous system of butterflies consists of a cord with ganglia,
or nerve-knots, one for each segment of the body. As there are
thirteen segments in the body of a butterfly, there are normally
thirteen such ganglia, or nerve centres. The nervous cord lies in a
position exactly opposite to that which is held by the spinal cord in
vertebrates. It is situated on the ventral side of the body, and more
ventrad than all the other internal organs. The ganglion in the head is
the largest of all and forms a rudimentary brain, the greater portion of
which consists of two relatively large optic nerves.
The internal organs of reproduction in the female consist of the
ovaries, from which the eggs pass by way of the oviduct to the
ovipositor, which in butterflies is not so conspicuous or remarkable
an organ as is the case in many other insects. Communicating with
the oviduct are the spermatothecæ, which are receptacles in which
is retained the fertilizing fluid received from the male at the time of
coition. As the eggs, one by one, are passed from the ovaries into
the oviduct, they are impregnated through absorption of the
spermatozoa, which enter their walls, imparting to them vitality. The
internal organs of the male are tubular vesicles, or testes, which
secrete the seminal fluid, which by means of the intromittent organ is
introduced into the spermatothecæ of the female. Union between the
sexes among insects generally takes place but once, and is not
recurrent. The female, having been impregnated, proceeds at once
to lay her eggs upon the tender leaves or the bark of the plants upon
which her progeny are to be nourished, and then promptly dies. The
life of insects in the winged form is usually very brief. Inasmuch as
there are great differences between the sexes in insects alike in size,
form, color, and markings, it is well for the collector to carefully
preserve specimens which may be captured in copulation. Such
specimens should be designated as “Taken in coitu.” The writer in
such cases uses the formula “A ♂ in coitu with B ♀,” which is put in
minute handwriting upon a label and placed upon the pin bearing the
male insect. Upon the pin carrying the female insect there is put the
label “B ♀ in coitu with A ♂ .” The finding of insects in copula is
sometimes the only way in which to definitely settle the question of
sexual relationship between forms. So different are some insects
that the two sexes have in a number of cases been described by
early writers as belonging not merely to different species, but to
different genera, and even families.

THE LIFE HISTORY OF BUTTERFLIES

Almost all insects undergo great changes, or metamorphoses,

during their existence. Butterflies furnish no exception to this
statement. They exist first as eggs; then they appear as caterpillars;
the third stage is that of the chrysalis; the final stage is that of the
imago, or perfectly developed insect.

THE EGGS OF BUTTERFLIES

 The eggs of butterflies are beautiful objects when examined under
a glass. They have various forms. Some are spheres or half
spheres, some are conical, cylindrical or spindle-shaped, others are
flat and resemble little cheeses, and still others have the form of
turbans. There is endless variety of form displayed within certain
limits. Their surfaces may be quite smooth or they may be adorned
with raised ribs and sculpturings (see Plate C, Figs. f and g) or
marked with little pittings or depressions arranged in geometrical
patterns. They vary in color. Some are white, some pale green, or
blue-green; others are yellow, orange, red, or purple. They are often
spotted and marbled like the eggs of some birds.
The eggs of butterflies are deposited by the female upon the
plants which are appropriate to the development of the larvæ.
Caterpillars are very rarely promiscuous feeders, and most species
are restricted to certain species or genera of plants. Even when they
feed upon different plants, observation shows that, having begun to
feed upon a certain plant, they prefer this to all others, and do not
willingly accept anything else. I have noticed frequently that larvæ
which may for instance feed in nature upon the wild plum or the lilac,
having begun to feed upon the one will steadily refuse the other if
offered to them. On several occasions I have lost broods of
caterpillars by attempting to change their diet, though knowing well
that the species is found feeding in nature upon the plants which I
have offered to them. Almost every plant has a butterfly or moth
which is partial to it, and one of the most wonderful things in nature
is the way in which the female butterfly, without having received a
botanical education, is able to select the plant which will best meet
the needs of her progeny, which she never lives to see.
The eggs are deposited sometimes singly, sometimes in small
clusters, sometimes in a mass. Fertile eggs, soon after they have
been laid, undergo a change in color, and it is then possible with a
magnifying glass to see through the thin shell the form of the
caterpillar which is being developed within.
When the development is completed the caterpillar emerges either
from an opening at the side or at the top of the egg. Many species
have eggs provided with a sort of lid, a portion of the shell being
separated from the remainder by a thin section, which finally breaks
under the pressure of the enlarging embryo within, this portion flying
off, the rest adhering to the twig or leaf upon which it has been
placed. Many larvæ have the habit, as soon as they have emerged
from the egg, of making their first meal upon the shell from which
they have just escaped.

CATERPILLARS

The second stage in which the insects we are studying exist is

known as the larval stage. When it is reached the insect is spoken of
as a larva, or caterpillar (see Plate C, Fig. h). Caterpillars have long,
worm-like bodies, which are often thickest about the middle, tapering
before and behind, and more or less flattened on the under side.
Sometimes caterpillars are oval or slug-shaped. Very frequently their
bodies are adorned with hairs, spines, and tubercles of various
forms. The body of the larva, like the body of the butterfly, consists
normally of thirteen rings or segments, of which the three foremost,
just behind the head, correspond to the prothorax, the mesothorax,
and the metathorax of the perfect insect, while the remaining nine
correspond to the abdomen of the imago. These three anterior
segments bear legs, which correspond to the legs of the winged form
in their location, and are known as the true legs of the larva. Besides
these the caterpillar has about the middle of the body and at its
posterior end paired pro-legs, as they are called, which are its
principal organs of locomotion in this stage, but which do not
reappear in the butterfly. The mouth parts of caterpillars are
profoundly different from those of the butterfly. The imago lives, as
we have seen, upon fluid nourishment, and therefore is provided with
a sucking organ, the proboscis. The caterpillar, on the other hand, is
armed with a pair of cutting mandibles, with which it shears off tiny
strips of the leaves upon which it feeds. It holds the edge of the leaf
in place with the three pairs of true legs, while it supports its body
upon the pro-legs during the act of eating.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE C
Fig. a. Caterpillar of Anosia plexippus ready to change into a
chrysalis.
Fig. b. Do. after having partly shed its skin.
Fig. c. Do. holding itself suspended in the air by grasping the shed
skin between the edges of the third and fourth abdominal
segments, and feeling about with the cremaster for the
button of silk above.
Fig. d. Do. after having caught the button and assumed its final form
as a chrysalis.
Fig. e. Chrysalis of Papilio philenor, held by button and girdle of silk.
Fig. f. Egg of Basilarchia disippus, greatly magnified.
Fig. g. Egg of Anosia plexippus, greatly magnified.
Fig. h. Caterpillar of Basilarchia disippus.
(All the figures are after Riley.)

Plate C
When the caterpillar emerges from the egg the head is in many
cases seen to be very large in proportion to the rest of the body. This
relative disparity soon disappears, however, as growth takes place.
As the larva increases in size, it soon reaches a point at which the
skin in which it made its appearance in the world becomes too small
and tight for further comfort and use. Thereupon it proceeds to
moult, or shed, this now uncomfortable garment. The skin splits
along the back and the caterpillar crawls out of it. Before moulting
the caterpillar always takes the precaution to attach this outer skin by
strands of silk to the leaf or branch upon which the moult is to take
place. Having escaped from the cast-off garment, the caterpillar
sometimes turns around and eats it before resuming its vegetable
diet. The process of moulting takes place four or five times before
the larva changes into a chrysalis.
Caterpillars differ entirely from butterflies in that they are able to
produce silk. Silk is a viscous fluid secreted by elongated sacs
located in the dorsal region. These sacs communicate with a minute
tube-like organ, known as the spinneret, which is located on the
under side of the head of the caterpillar, just back of the mandibles.
The fluid silk, as it is ejected through the spinneret, immediately
hardens on contact with the air and is deposited in the form of very
fine threads or filaments which the caterpillar uses for various
purposes, sometimes as lines with which to guide itself from place to
place and enable it to retrace its steps to its favorite resting-place,
sometimes to tie together the leaves in which it forms its nest, or to
weave a sort of shelter in which it conceals itself, and finally to make
the little buttons and the girdles by which, as we shall see later, the
chrysalis is held in place. Many moths weave from silk compact
structures known as cocoons, in which the chrysalis is lodged.
Butterflies do not weave true cocoons.
The time spent by the insect in the egg is generally short. The time
passed in the larval state may be short or long. When butterflies
hibernate, or pass the winter, as caterpillars, the time spent in this
state is long, and especially in the case of those species which
inhabit arctic regions. There are some butterflies which occur north
of the Arctic Circle, and we have ascertained that these, because the
summers are so short in the far north, pass two summers and the
intervening winter in the larval condition, and another winter in the
pupal stage, before they emerge and take wing. On the other hand,
under more temperate conditions butterflies of certain species may
produce two or even three broods in a summer, and in subtropical or
tropical lands there may be even more broods produced.
 While it is true that almost all the larvæ of lepidoptera subsist upon
vegetable food, there are nevertheless exceptions, one of which is
that of the Harvester, Feniseca tarquinius (see Plate LXXXVIII, Fig.
1), the slug-like larva of which feeds upon scale-insects, or mealy
bugs, sharing the habit with certain allied species which occur in
Africa and Asia, as the writer has had occasion to point out a number
of years ago in certain of his writings.

THE PUPA, OR CHRYSALIS

The third stage in the life of lepidoptera is known as the pupal

stage. The caterpillar, having undergone successive moults and
reached maturity, is transformed into a pupa, or chrysalis (see Plate
C, Figs. d and e). From having been an active, worm-like creature,
greedily feeding upon its appropriate food, it reverts to a form which
is stationary, as was the egg, and ceases to have the power of
locomotion. An examination of the structure of all chrysalids shows
that they contain an immature butterfly. The segments of the
chrysalids enclose the corresponding segments of the body of the
butterfly, and in sheathing plates of chitinous matter are enfolded the
wings and all the other organs which are necessary to the life of the
butterfly when it shall have emerged and taken wing. The act of
transformation from the caterpillar stage to the pupal stage is very
wonderful. The caterpillar makes provision for the great change by
weaving a little button of silk and, in the case of many of those larvæ,
the chrysalids of which are not pendant, by also weaving a little
girdle of silk, which it passes around its back, and which holds it in
place very much as an Indian baby is held by the strap which passes
over the shoulders of the squaw (see Plate C, Fig. e). Having made
these preliminary arrangements the caterpillar becomes very quiet,
its hind pro-legs being securely hooked and tangled into the silken
button to which it is attached. After a while, when the proper moment
has arrived, the skin of the caterpillar splits, just as in the moults
which preceded, and by a series of wriggling or vibratory motions the
chrysalis succeeds in working off the skin of the caterpillar until it has
all been shed except where near the end of the abdomen the skin is
caught between the edges of two of the horny rings which form the
abdomen. Then the insect with the cremaster, as it is called, a little
spikelet at the very tip of the chrysalis, which is armed with small
hooks, proceeds to feel about until these hooks become entangled in
the silk of the button which has been provided on the under surface
of the twig, the stone, or the fence rail, where the transformation is
occurring. As soon as the chrysalis is securely hooked into the
button of silk it lets go of the little section of the skin by which it has
been supported and rapidly assumes the shape in which it will
remain until the time of its emergence as a butterfly. These changes
are illustrated on Plate C, Figs. a-d, which are reproduced from “The
Butterfly Book” after the drawings of the late Prof. C. V. Riley. The
chrysalids of all the Nymphalidæ are pendant; those of the other
families, except the Hesperiidæ, are provided with girdles, as is
shown on Plate C, in the figures which represent the chrysalis of
Papilio philenor. The chrysalids of the Hesperiidæ, like the chrysalids
of moths, are either formed in loosely woven coverings of leaves
tacked together with silken threads, or lie free under leaves and
rubbish upon the ground, thus resembling the chrysalids of moths.
Chrysalids are for the most part rather obscure in coloring, though
some are quite brilliantly marked with metallic spots as in the case of
the common Milkweed Butterfly, Anosia plexippus, the chrysalis of
which is pearly green in color, ornamented with bright golden spots.
The forms assumed by chrysalids are very various, especially
among the Nymphalidæ, and they are often ornamented with curious
projections and tubercles, imparting to them very odd outlines.
Some butterflies remain in the chrysalis stage for only a few days
or weeks; others pass the winter in this state, and this is true of
many of the species which are found in the colder parts of North
America. In temperate regions some butterflies have as many as
three broods: the spring brood, which comes forth from chrysalids
which have over-wintered, an early summer brood, and a fall brood.
In tropical countries many species retain the form of the chrysalis
during the dry season, and emerge upon the wing at the beginning of
the rainy season, when vegetation is refreshed and new and tender
growths take place in the forests.
 THE IMAGO, OR WINGED INSECT

We have already spoken at length of the form and structure of

butterflies in the preceding paragraphs, which were devoted to the
anatomy of butterflies. It remains for us at this point to call attention
to the manner in which the butterfly undergoes transformation from
the chrysalis. This change is quite as interesting as that which takes
place when the caterpillar is transformed into the pupa; and should
any of my readers possess chrysalids I would advise them to watch
carefully and observe the curious events which follow one another
rapidly when the imago comes forth from the cerements of the
chrysalis. The coverings which ensheathe the head, the legs, and
the antennæ split, the head protrudes, the fore legs are disentangled
and are thrown forth, followed almost at once by the other legs, and
the insect proceeds to crawl out from the pupal skin, emerging with
the wings as miniature objects, the body trailing after as a long
worm-like mass. Having liberated itself from the sheathings of the
chrysalis, the insect immediately assumes a stationary position,
head upward, body hanging downward. Then by the action of the
heart the fluids which fill the body begin to be rapidly sent into
circulation, more particularly into the wings, which expand second
after second, minute after minute, the fluids in the body being
transferred through the circulatory system of the wings until the
latter, hanging downward, have assumed their full form. The insect
then begins gently to move its wings, to fan them, still remaining in
the position which it first took. After a while the wings become
perfectly dry, and the long worm-like body has shrunk up and has
assumed the form which it will retain through the subsequent life of
the insect. Madame Butterfly then begins to change her position.
She carefully crawls a few steps to try her powers of locomotion. She
suddenly expands her wings, and, presto! if you alarm her, she is off,
fluttering about the cage in which you may have her, or darting forth
into the room and through the open window, hieing herself forth in
quest of food, which awaits her in the honeyed cups of the wild
flowers.
 EXPLANATION OF PLATE D

Fig. 1. Illustration showing the way to disable a butterfly in the net by

gently pinching the body where the wings come together.
Fig. 2. A butterfly net.
Fig. 3. a, hoop made of wire, the shanks tied together; b, ferrule,
plugged at c with a piece of cork; the shanks having been
put into the top of the ferrule, melted solder is poured into
the top, and a good net-ring is made.
Fig. 4. Piece of paper used to cover cyanide at bottom of jar.
Fig. 5. Collecting jar, with lumps of cyanide and sawdust at bottom,
covered by paper, as shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 6. Expanding block, used to expand and mount insects, the
wings of which have a tendency to droop or sink down.
Fig. 7. Expanding block, used to mount insects, the wings of which
have a tendency to rise up or close.

Plate D

COLLECTING BUTTERFLIES

In collecting butterflies the first thing is to get a net of some kind

with which to catch the insects without tearing their delicate wings,
and thus robbing them of their beauty (see Plate D, Figs. 1 and 2).
When I was a boy I made my own nets. I took a stick of tough wood
about four feet long, which was to serve as the handle. About seven
or eight inches from the upper end I wrapped it with copper wire;
fishing line will do as well. Then I split the stick down to the band I
had made around it. I then with my knife trimmed the two split
portions on their inner sides, so that they might be more flexible. I
then fashioned out of a piece of good green hickory (the white outer
wood must be used) a bow or hoop about twelve inches wide at its
widest part, and fitting this between the split ends of the stick put in a
wedge at the bottom of the cleft to keep the split ends well apart and
tied it neatly and securely in place. Upon the frame made in this way
I put a covering of green mosquito netting in the form of a long bag.
Many a fine insect I captured with this simple device, which called
only for a good jack-knife, a little ingenuity, ordinary skill in whittling,
and a supply of stout string. The cheapest and simplest way to make
the frame for a net is to take a long piece of brass, aluminium, or
galvanized iron wire about an eighth of an inch in diameter and bend
it into a circle, leaving two short shanks at the end. Then fit the
shanks into the top of the ferrule of a fishing-rod plugged in the
middle with a thin piece of cork or with clay, and pour in melted
solder. Plate D, Fig. 3 shows how the “trick” is done.
There are many devices for making frames for folding nets, and
there are a number of dealers in the United States who supply such
nets at moderate prices. The material for the bag of the net ought to
be of light stuff, and I prefer to use tarletan, preferably green in color,
or bobbinet. The latter is more durable though somewhat heavier
than tarletan. The bag of the net ought to be about three times as
long as the diameter of the ring upon which it is placed. It is well,
after the net has been sewed upon the ring, to cover it with a band of
stout dark-colored muslin, as otherwise the edge of the bag
surrounding the ring is apt to become speedily worn and torn.
The collector having provided himself with a net for capturing
insects must also provide himself with one or more collecting jars. It
is well to have several of these of a size convenient for carrying in
the pockets. For large specimens a larger jar is required; for small
specimens a smaller receptacle is better. The larger jar should have
the mouth about two and one half or three inches in diameter. Wide-
mouthed glass phials an inch and a half in diameter serve best for
the smaller receptacles. The stopper of the larger jar should be of
ground glass, of the smaller jar of good cork. Jelly tumblers or
glasses with tin tops make good collecting jars. In preparing the jar
for use place a few lumps of cyanide of potash about the size of a
filbert at the bottom; then put in a little clean sawdust to keep the
pieces of cyanide from rattling about; over the lumps of cyanide
paste a sheet of strong white paper perforated with a multitude of
holes. In doing this the writer has resorted to a simple method, which
is explained in the diagram on Plate D, Fig. 4. A piece of paper is
placed under the jar and a circle the size of the inside of the jar is
traced upon it. Then a disk is cut out about three quarters of an inch
greater in diameter than the original circle. The paper is punctured
over the entire surface included within the inner line, and then with
scissors little gashes are made from the outer circumference inward,
so as to permit of folding the edge of the disk inwardly. A little gum
tragacanth, or paste, is then applied to these upturned edges, the
disk is then inserted into the jar and pasted securely over the
cyanide by means of the upturned flaps. A jar thus charged will last
for a long time if kept stoppered when not in use. Cyanide has a
tendency to liquefy in the presence of moisture, and it is well
therefore to take care to keep the jar closed when not in use. It must,
however, be borne in mind that the fumes of hydrocyanic acid
(prussic acid), which are active in producing the death of the insect,
will not be given off in sufficient volume unless there is a small
amount of moisture in the jar, and in very dry climates the writer has
sometimes found it necessary to moisten the bottom of the jar with a
drop or two of water. Jars also may be charged with lumps of
carbonate of ammonia, but as this substance bleaches the wings of
insects, especially those which are green in color, its use is not
strongly recommended. Figure 5 on Plate D shows a jar prepared for
use.
When a butterfly has been caught in the net it is apt to flutter about
and struggle violently, thus injuring its wings. It is well therefore as
soon as the insect has been captured to take hold of it at the point
where the wings join the body, while it is still in the net, and by gently
pinching the thorax to disable the insect. The fingers are applied
from the outside, as shown in the illustration (see Plate D, Fig. 1).
Then the collector, unstoppering his jar, inserts it into the net and
allows the butterfly to drop into the jar. Butterflies belonging to the
family of the Hesperiidæ, or “skippers,” are best captured in the net
by holding up the end of the bag. The insects will then fly upward
and settle near the top of the bag. The collector puts the open jar
with his right hand into the ring of the net and holding the bag with
the left hand brings the jar under the butterfly, and then claps his left
hand over the mouth of the jar, thus securing the insect in the jar,
where after a couple of seconds it will be stunned by the fumes and
fall to the bottom. Death is speedy, but not instantaneous, and the
insect should be allowed to remain a little while in the jar. Having
been asphyxiated by the fumes of the jar, the insect may then be
removed and either mounted upon a pin and transferred to a
collecting box, which will presently be described, or put into an
envelope. It is well not to accumulate too many insects in the
collecting jar, as those which are caught later will injure in their
struggles those which have been caught first. I make it a rule to
rapidly transfer the insects from the collecting jars to the collecting
boxes which I carry with me. The preservation of specimens in
perfect freshness, without torn or ragged wings, is of the utmost
importance, and it is better to take fewer specimens, preserving
them in immaculate condition, than to accumulate a quantity of
ragged and battered examples. The old adage, “Practice makes
perfect,” applies in the use of the net and the poisoning jar. There will
necessarily be some failures on the part of the young collector at the
outset, but if he is neat and quick of finger he will soon acquire the
art of taking and preserving perfect specimens.
The field box should be made of tin and should have a sheet of
cork securely fastened at the bottom. In one corner of the box, tied in
gauze and securely fixed in place, there should be a few lumps of
cyanide. Into this box the specimens should be pinned as they are
taken from the collecting jar, and the lid of this box should be kept
tightly closed most of the time, being opened only when the transfer
of the pinned specimens to the interior of the box is ready to be
made. Inasmuch as pinning insects on the field is not always
satisfactorily accomplished, the writer prefers not to pin them, but to
carry with him a supply of small pay-roll envelopes, into which the
insects are put, and these envelopes are then put into a box which
has some cyanide secured in it, as has already been described. The
writer also carries with him a little phial of chloroform in his vest
pocket, and he sometimes uses this to stun insects or puts a few
drops into the collecting box and then closes it. The objection to the
use of chloroform is that it induces spasms of the thoracic muscles,
and butterflies killed by the use of chloroform are not nearly so easily
mounted as specimens which have been killed with cyanide.
Beetles, wasps, and other hard-bodied insects should not be put into
the same collecting jars as those which are used for butterflies, as
they are very apt to injure the latter, tearing and spoiling the wings. If
the collector is engaged in taking other insects besides butterflies
and moths, he should have special jars in which to put the beetles
and other hard-bodied and spiny things.
If the collector does not wish immediately to mount his specimens,
but to preserve them for mounting at a future time, they may be left
in the envelopes of which I have spoken, or may be “papered.” The
simplest way of putting up butterflies in papers is to take an oblong
piece of any kind of moderately good paper and fold it as indicated in
the diagram (see Plate E, Fig. b), first folding on the line a-b, then on
a-d and c-b; then on the lines b-f and e-a, as marked in the diagram.
The result is the enclosure of the insect as shown in Plate E, Fig. c.
A hundred or more of such envelopes may be put into an ordinary
cigar box. Such boxes, filled with butterflies, in order to prevent
mould and the ravages of pests, should have some chloroform or
carbon bisulphide put into them and afterward a spoonful or two of
naphthaline crystals. Then they should be closed and sealed up by
pasting strips of paper over the edges. Butterflies thus collected on
journeys may be safely carried for long distances without injury, or
even transmitted through the mails provided the boxes are strong
enough to resist crushing. When on journeys the writer of these
paragraphs always papers his specimens, bringing them home to be
later carefully mounted at his leisure. It is of the utmost importance to
note on each envelope the place and the date of capture, so that
these may later be placed upon the little labels or tickets which are
put upon the pins after the insects have been expanded and
mounted for display.

MOUNTING BUTTERFLIES

The writer cannot do better in dealing with this subject than to

transfer from “The Butterfly Book” the substance of the directions
there given in relation to this matter.

When the collector has time enough at his disposal he should at

once mount his specimens as they are intended to be displayed. The
insect should first of all be pinned. For this purpose “insect pins”
should be used. These are made either of soft steel or of pin metal.
The first are to be preferred, except in very damp climates, where
they sometimes rust if they have not been properly enamelled with
shellac. The pin should be thrust perpendicularly through the thorax,
midway between the wings, and at a considerable elevation upon the
pin. It should then be placed upon the setting board or setting block.
Setting boards or setting blocks are pieces of wood having a groove
on the upper surface of sufficient depth to accommodate the body of
the insect and to permit the wings to be brought to the level of the
upper surface of the board (see Plate D, Figs. 6 and 7; and Plate E,
Figs. d, e, f). They should also be provided either with a cleft or a
hole which will permit the pin to be thrust down below the body of the
insect for a considerable distance. As a rule the wings of all
specimens should be mounted at a uniform elevation of about seven
eighths of an inch above the point of the pin. This is known as the
“continental method” of mounting, and is infinitely preferable to the
old-fashioned “English method,” in which the insect was pinned low
down upon the pin, so that its wings touched the surface of the box.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE E
Fig. a. Vivarium, or cage in which to breed caterpillars. a, base, kept
even by cleats, g, g; on this is placed a pan 4 inches deep
made of sheet zinc, and filled with earth; to the middle is
soldered a tube of zinc, into which a large bottle fits; the
bottle is filled with water to keep the plants placed in it fresh
and green; b, outer case, with sides of glass, fitting closely
about the zinc pan; c, top, covered with wire-cloth,
rabbeted on b, and easily lifted off.
Fig. b. Diagram showing way to make paper envelopes for
butterflies.
Fig. c. Envelope folded with butterfly inside.
Fig. d. Stretching board for expanding moths and butterflies. Strips
of tracing-muslin are used on this to keep the wings down,
paper will also serve the purpose.
Fig. e. Stretching board, showing how wings may be held in place by
pieces of thin cardboard.
Fig. f. Showing the way in which the antennæ and body may be
held in place with insect pins while the insect is drying.

Plate E
Setting blocks are most advantageously employed in mounting
small species, especially the Hesperiidæ, the wings of which are apt
to be refractory. When the insect has been pinned upon the setting
board or setting block, the next step is to set the wings in the position
which they are to maintain when the specimen is thoroughly dry. This
is accomplished by means of what are known as “setting needles.”
Setting needles may be easily made by simply sticking ordinary
needles into wooden matches from which the tips have been
removed; steel insect pins will serve as well. In drawing the wings
into position, care should be taken to plant the setting needle or pin
behind the strong nervure on the costal margin of the wing;
otherwise the wings are liable to be torn and disfigured. The rule in
setting lepidoptera is to draw the anterior wing forward in such a
manner that the hind margin of this wing is at right angles to the axis
of the body, the axis of the body being a line drawn through the head
to the extremity of the abdomen. The hind wing should then be
moved forward, its anterior margin lying under the opposing margin
of the front wing. When the wings have thus been adjusted into the
position which they are to occupy, slips of tracing-muslin or of paper
should be drawn over them and securely pinned, the setting needles
being removed.
In pinning down the strips which are to hold the wings in place, be
careful to pin around the wing, but never if possible through it. When
the wings have been adjusted in the position in which they are to
remain, the antennæ should be attended to and drawn forward on
the same plane as the wings, and secured in place. This may
ordinarily be done by setting pins in such a position as to hold them
where they are to stay. Then the body, if it has a tendency to sag
down at the end of the abdomen, should be raised. This may also be
accomplished by means of pins thrust beneath on either side. Plate
E, Fig. e, shows clearly what is intended. When the insect has been
set, the board should be put aside in a place where it will not be
molested or attacked by pests, and the specimens upon it allowed to
dry. A box with shelves in it is often used for this purpose. This box
should have a door at the front covered with wire gauze, and the
back should also be open, covered with gauze, so as to allow a free
circulation of air. A few balls of naphthaline placed in it will tend to
keep away mites and other pests. The time which the specimen
should remain on the board varies with its size and the condition of
the atmosphere. Most butterflies and moths in dry weather will be
sufficiently dried to permit of their removal from the setting boards in
a week; but large, stout-bodied moths may require as much as two
weeks, or even more time, before they are dry enough to be taken
off the boards. The process of drying may be hastened by placing
the boards in an oven, but the temperature of the oven must be quite
low. If too much heat is applied great injury is sure to result. Only a
careful and expert operator should resort to the use of the oven, a
temperature above 120 F. being sure to work mischief.
When butterflies or moths have been put up in papers or mounted
on pins without having their wings expanded and set, it becomes
necessary before setting them to relax them. This may be
accomplished in several ways. If the specimens have been pinned it
is best to place them on pieces of sheet-cork on a tray of sand which
has been thoroughly moistened and treated with a good dose of
carbolic acid. Over all a bell glass is put. A tight tin box will serve the
same purpose, but a broad sheet of bibulous paper should always
be put over the box, under the lid before closing it, and in such a way
as to leave the edges of the paper projecting around the edges of
the lid. This is done to absorb the moisture which might settle by
condensation upon the lid and drop upon the specimens. In a bell
glass the moisture generally trickles down the sides. Earthenware
crocks with closely fitting lids are even better than tin boxes, but they
must have paper put over them before closing, in the same way as is
done when tin boxes are used. When specimens have been
preserved in papers or envelopes these should be opened a little
and laid upon damp, carbolized sand under a bell glass or in a
closed receptacle of some kind. Papered specimens may also be
placed in their envelopes between clean towels, which have been
moistened in water to which a little carbolic acid has been added.
The towels should be wrung out quite dry before using them. Pieces
of dampened blotting paper are even better than towels. The method
of placing between towels should never be used in the case of very
small and delicate species and those which are blue or green in
color. Great care must be exercised not to allow the insects to
become soaked or unduly wet. This ruins them. They should,
however, be damp enough to allow the wings and other organs to be
freely moved. When the insects have been relaxed they may be
pinned and expanded on setting boards like freshly caught
specimens. It is well in setting the wings of relaxed specimens, after
having thrust the pin through the body, to take a small forceps and
seizing the wings just where they join the body gently move them so
as to open them and make their movement easy before pinning them
upon the setting board. The skilful manipulator in this way quickly
ascertains whether they have been sufficiently relaxed to admit of
their being readily set. If discovered to be too stiff and liable to break
they must be still further relaxed. Dried specimens which have been
relaxed and then mounted generally require only a short time to dry
again, and need rarely be kept more than twenty-four hours upon the
setting boards.
The process of setting insects upon setting blocks is exactly the
same as when setting boards are used, with the simple difference
that instead of pinning strips of paper or tracing-muslin over the
wings, the wings are held in place by threads or very narrow tapes,
which are wound around the block (see Plate D, Figs 6 and 7). When
the wings are not covered with a very deep and velvety covering of
scales the threads or tapes may be used alone; but when the wings
are thus clothed it becomes necessary to put bits of paper or
cardboard over the wings before wrapping with the threads. Unless
this is done the marks of the threads will be left upon the wings.
Some little skill, which is easily acquired by practice, is necessary in
order to employ setting blocks to advantage, but in the case of small
species and species which have refractory wings they are much to
be preferred to the boards.
The work of mounting small insects which have been relaxed must
be done quite quickly and in a cool room or in a moist atmosphere.
In a very dry and hot atmosphere the minuter things dry so quickly
that difficulties are at once encountered.

One of the best ways in which to secure perfect specimens is to

breed them from the caterpillar, or even from the egg. A stylish and
very good cage for breeding is shown on Plate E, Fig. 2. As good a