Who here actually collects and pins insects?

[SandyMuffinCakes94]

spreading the wings of butterflies and moths. i think grasshoppers need the wings spread on one side as well

Is there any websites or books you guys used to get started ? i dont want to bother people with silly questions heh.

 

[Jmugleston]

Is there any websites or books you guys used to get started ? i dont want to bother people with silly questions heh.

General Entomology textbooks used at many universities could help. When I get home this evening I'll look at the title of the one I used. It contains a number of keys to help identify the insects and it provides tips for pinning.

As for the original topic of collecting bugs, I used to collect for pinning, but whenever crickets escaped the lizard cages they'd seem to go straight for my bug collection. After loosing a few specimens, I donated my collection to the teaching labs at the my university. I do still collect bugs and arachnids, but it is for the systematics work we are doing in our lab so the specimens are preserved in alcohol.

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

Is there any websites or books you guys used to get started ? i dont want to bother people with silly questions heh.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SpinelessScales

My Youtube profile has a playlist that consists of videos on how to collect insects. The videos are by monkeyseevideos.

This site also has alot of good information on keeping and maintaining an insect collection: http://entomology.unl.edu/tmh/ent115/labs/collecting.htm

The book I used to help me is Borror and Delong's Introduction to the Study of Insects by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson(7th edition). Might be a bit pricey but still can be found under $100 on Amazon I bet.

 

[Arachno Veteran]

I do. Mostly Hymenoptera. I collect colorful Bees/Wasps/Hornets (mostly tropical). So... If anyone here has any Colorful A1 specimens to sell...PM me
-Al

 

[Arachno Veteran]

May be regular to you but every specimen is interesting to me
Well you were close. Polistes is correct
Here are those pics

And here is a nest display with a pinned V. maculifrons queen (you can see her next to the nest)

Very cool, very cool.

 

[Jmugleston]

I do. Mostly Hymenoptera. I collect colorful Bees/Wasps/Hornets (mostly tropical). So... If anyone here has any Colorful A1 specimens to sell...PM me
-Al

You would have loved the diversity of Pompilids I saw in South Africa a few months ago. Some were quite good looking as wasps go.

 

[LeilaNami]

I came across a dying male polyphemus. Is there any way to relax the already-dried specimen so I can pin it? I'm afraid steaming would do something to the scales on the wings.

 

[Jmugleston]

I came across a dying male polyphemus. Is there any way to relax the already-dried specimen so I can pin it? I'm afraid steaming would do something to the scales on the wings.

It is quite simple really. Just get a bowl with a tight fitting lid then put wet paper towels on the bottom. Place a piece of styrofoam on top of the wet paper towels. Then place the bug on top of the styrofoam. Close the lid and wait. The humidity should loosen the bug so that you can put it in a different position. The time needed in my experience has ranged from a few hours to overnight in some cases.Don't leave it in too long or you'll grow fungus. I would put the bowls in my reptile room (it was warm in there) and they would soften much faster. Some put the bowl and wet paper towels (before the bug and styrofoam are added) in the microwave to warm the water and increase humidity.

 

[LeilaNami]

It is quite simple really. Just get a bowl with a tight fitting lid then put wet paper towels on the bottom. Place a piece of styrofoam on top of the wet paper towels. Then place the bug on top of the styrofoam. Close the lid and wait. The humidity should loosen the bug so that you can put it in a different position. The time needed in my experience has ranged from a few hours to overnight in some cases.Don't leave it in too long or you'll grow fungus. I would put the bowls in my reptile room (it was warm in there) and they would soften much faster. Some put the bowl and wet paper towels (before the bug and styrofoam are added) in the microwave to warm the water and increase humidity.

Thanks! Maybe this one won't smell like pickles like the T I pinned

 

[Jmugleston]

Thanks! Maybe this one won't smell like pickles like the T I pinned

If you're preserving something as large as a T there are some steps you can take to keep the smell down. Honestly though, once the collection gets large enough, there is a bit of a "museum" odor to it. All those little guys rotting away inside.

 

[LeilaNami]

If you're preserving something as large as a T there are some steps you can take to keep the smell down. Honestly though, once the collection gets large enough, there is a bit of a "museum" odor to it. All those little guys rotting away inside.

Oh yeah I know but it was my first pin and so I just dried and mounted it in a sealed glass case

 

[Raventears]

I do!

I pin insects for personal learning and teach Entomology to 2 high school classes here in our AgSci department each eyar, so I teach the kids to do it and turn in a collection, too. I am going to start a M.S. Entomology this fall with a focus on Forensic Science, so the preserved bugs will come in handy at some point, I am sure. Happy pinning!
Keeley:clap:

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

It is quite simple really. Just get a bowl with a tight fitting lid then put wet paper towels on the bottom. Place a piece of styrofoam on top of the wet paper towels. Then place the bug on top of the styrofoam. Close the lid and wait. The humidity should loosen the bug so that you can put it in a different position. The time needed in my experience has ranged from a few hours to overnight in some cases.Don't leave it in too long or you'll grow fungus. I would put the bowls in my reptile room (it was warm in there) and they would soften much faster. Some put the bowl and wet paper towels (before the bug and styrofoam are added) in the microwave to warm the water and increase humidity.

there are agents you can add to prevent mold growth. i forget the names off the top of my head though

 

[BeetleflyGuy]

Has anyone tried injecting arachnid specimens with ethanol via a hypodermic syringe? I mostly pin insects but I do have a few scorpions on pins that were injected with ethanol and I have never noticed a smell from them.

 

[Arachno Veteran]

Ugghh! I hate Internet Explorer!

OK, I was half way through typing a multi-paragraph response, explaining all the tips I could think of, including all the different chemicals (and substitutes) that you could use...when I went to use/download the spell check -everything was blasted away! I'm so frustrated now, I'm not about to type it all over again - If you really want to know, or have a specific question - PM me. :wall:
This is why I barely ever use IE as a browser :?

 

[bugboy3092]

I pin too, mostly beetles though

 

[Tenevanica]

I do as well. I've taken several classes where it's been a requirement, but I do it for fun as well. I collect mostly Lepidoptera, Carabidae, Orthoptera, and Odonata.

 

[louise f]

Necro anyone, good god this thread is 7 years old.

 

[Toxoderidae]

I swear, this is going to drive me batty. Do people just fail to read the date? Are we regressing? ??????

 

[Tenevanica]

I swear, this is going to drive me batty. Do people just fail to read the date? Are we regressing? ??????

What, should we have started a new thread with the same topic? It's not like it's a question specific to the OP being addressed. This discussion is still relevant today.