TARANAKI INSECT LIFE

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1931, Page 10

TARANAKI INSECT LIFE

A LONG-NEGLECTED SUBJECT INNOVATION IN SCHOOLS’ SECTION METHODS OF MAKING COLLECTION Four glass-fronted cases displaying members of the insect world, common and uncommon, a little box similar to a miniature first-aid outfit, a speciallymounted cork pad and what appeared to be a miniature whitebait net form a section of the schools’ division at the show that interested many people yesterday. It was the newly-formed insect division—a division that is only - now beginning to receive the attention it. has lacked in the past. Four schools entered for the competition—lhaia Road, Carrington, Okato and Tarurutangi—all the displays were good. Specimens were neatly arranged in their natural positions, feelers and. legs and wings extended to the fullest advantage, with clearly printed, name labels underneath. The Ihaia Road exhibit wals slightly the best of an even competition. The object of the innovation is to create interest in Taranaki insect life among, school children, so that they can recognise what are harmful pests and what are helpful to the farming community. There is an art in the capturing and eventual mounting of the insect collection. First of all a butterfly net is req ired—it is easily made from any stout stick and a gauge bag threaded over a circle of wire. Havm<r caught your insect it is necessary to preserve and disembowel it. This having been done, before the specimen can be mounted the feelers, legs and wings have to be manoeuvred into position so that they will show to the best advantage. This is necessarily a delicate operation, and should not be done with the hands. It has been found the best method is to obtain a cork pad, fitted with two slabs of cork made to slide in a groove to hold the insect's body, whether' it be large or small. An ordinary bristle* mounted at the side on a swivel like a machine-gun, can then be used to stretch out the links and gauzy wings, which are held in place by pins and tapes. Methods of mounting depend on the size of the insect. A butterfly should be pinned through the chest to the mounting board, and the proper method of displaying a beetle is to transfix the right wing. Alosquitoes and other small fry have to be treated more gently and are attached first to a small piece of card.

The glass-fronted case for the final collection cannot be put together in any manner; certain rules have to be observed lest the specimens be injured and lose value. The tray must be dustproof —to preserve the fragile markings and construction —and insect-proof as well. It can readily be imagined the havoc that would be created were a vigorous but unwanted moth to flutter among the lightly-pinned bodies in frantic efforts to escape. To have merely a glass case on the wall is not the end of insect study. The object of the miniature museum is the | collection of data and observations on the life and habits of insect life, and a necessary adjunct is a well-kept notebook of particulars. One which, formc<- part of the display was neatly typed and provided a page of reference to each specimen—where it was found, habits observed, what to do to preserve it and deductions arrived at. i Sometimes the best specimens of but? terflies and moths can be obtained from caterpillars, and it is then that a knowledge of how to nurture the chrysalis so that it will develop naturally is useful. For work in schools an ordinary chalk box stood on end, with the bottom replaced by fine gauze, and two quarter-plate negatives washed clean as a sliding front-door, is found to be both cheap and entirely satisfactory. The caterpillar is kept on a branch of ite natural food plant, and from day to day its development can be watched through the tinv window. The breedinn- box can easily be adapted to larvae wliich develop in soil. Teachers in Taranaki have for a long time hesitated to ( take on the work of insect study, mainly because knowledge has been very limited, but now the subject is better understood. This year’s exhibit will probably do a deal of good, because it will illustrate to children and teachers how fascinating the subject really can be when undertaken in the proper fashion. .