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Specimen Pinning

Acquire A Naturally Passed Specimen:

• Butterfly houses may have some if you ask
• Scavenge on your next walk
• Pet bugs that have passed

Preserve Before Pinning:

Freeze to eliminate potential pests, if it was frozen before rigor mortis set in, you can keep it there until you're ready to work with it and skip rehydration.

Otherwise store dried specimens (in quarantine if never frozen) enclosed with a packet of silica in an airtight container to prevent pests (this will become very brittle, handle with extreme care).

Mitigate Large Beetle Stink:

Inject with 100% acetone (let it evaporate dry to avoid contact with styrofoam and be careful of fumes!)

Rehydrate if necessary:

Method 1: Dampen a paper towel with warm distilled water and place in tubberware, add a cotton ball dampened with ethyl acetate. Elevate the specimen on dowels or a bottle cap and seal in the humidity for about an hour or two at a time, checking to see if pliable. (Have heard of using ethanol instead of the water and ethyl acetate)

Method 2: Inject 70% ethanol into the specimen until it begins to drip out, then leave in a sealed tubberware for a bit if necessary

Pinning Supplies:

• Cardboard or styrofoam pinning board (I DIY)
• Pins
• Glassine paper (cut into small strips)
• Forceps

Final Display:

Keep a silica sachet in the display and airtight seal, keep away from sunlight or use UV resistant acrylic to prevent color fade.

Lepidoptera

• Classic Spread: bottom of forewings are horizontal, overall flat and symmetrical
• Live Pose: side view, wings closed, back wings slightly lower than front, legs perched
• Resting Pose: top of forewings are horizontal, overall flat and symmetrical

1. Open up wings with the paper to make sure it's pliable (you may set it in the pinning board groove and pin the papers over them to flatten for a bit if needed in order to complete the next step)
2. Hold body and pin straight through the center of the thorax (where some have bald spots)
3. Place down and arrange legs with pins if desired
4. Place in the pinning board groove, same height as the boards, and place pins on sides of abdomen for stability
5. Forcep the forewings from the top near the body into position, pin the paper down for tension to hold in place (avoid pinning over antennae)
6. Extra gently on the hindwings do the same
7. Pin around the head and antennae into place

Cicada

• Classic Spread: bottom of forewings are horizontal, overall flat and symmetrical
• Resting Pose: Wings closed, legs positioned to perch

1. Open up wings with the paper to make sure it's pliable
2. Hold body and pin straight through the center-right of the thorax (center right shield joint)
3. Place down and arrange legs with pins if desired
4. Place in the pinning board groove, same height as the boards, and place pins on sides of abdomen for stability
5. Forcep the forewings from the top near the body into position, pin the paper down for tension to hold in place (avoid pinning over antennae)
6. Extra gently on the hindwings do the same
7. Reposition head/abdomen with pins if desired