Tips for Preserving Black Widow (Latrodectus Hesperus) in Resin

[The Grim Keeper]

Hi folks, looking for advice on the preservation of a full-size female black widow. I kept this spider for almost seven months, but she has died today, and I am therefore looking for ways to preserve her. I'm a decent craftsman with a lot of patience, so if good results are possible, I'd rather steer away from a simple pinning or storing in ether. Ideally, I would have something like a sphere of casted resin that contains the spider in a well-preserved state, which I could keep on a desk, turn into a pendent, etc.

I'm mostly concerned with the drying and potential shrinking of the abdomen, since this is the key feature on the spider. Is it possible to remove the guts from the abdomen on something like this and is that necessary to prevent decomposition, deformation or discoloration inside a resin pour? I noticed that, after a quick dunk in water to dust it off, the water is incredibly well repelled from the surface of the abdomen - I'm assuming this is due to the presence of extremely fine, hydrophobic hairs. I wonder if this would cause a problem in the casting and if it should be sprayed with something like polyurethane first. Any and all suggestions are very much appreciated!

Right now, the spider is in a small corked jar and I will put it in the freezer shortly unless I hear any objections. Thanks!

 

[rock]

Epoxy resin is probably what you’re thinking of. There are lots of tutorials online, and it’s readily available at craft stores. You will need to preserve the spider before casting, so maybe the freezer, maybe in alcohol

 

[egyptiancrow]

you need to dry her out first, to remove the excess air and liquid in her body, but this process will cause her beautiful abdomen to shrivel up, you need to inject it to preserve it properly. i dont know anything about that part of the process, because i air dry my specimens and dont care about the abdomen, i dont do the injections. if youre fine with it being shriveled you can dip her after 3 days of drying. then let the resin cure. then pour half the mold, setting her where you want. let it cure. then pour the rest.

 

[HeartBum]

Air bubbles are going to be your worst nightmare when it comes to spiders, because of yes, the hairs. Eliminate as many as possible by; during the first 20 minutes or so of curing, keep an eye on any bubbles that form. With a lighter, skim the surface of the resin to pop the bubbles. Repeat until no more surface.

Your best bet with the abdomen will be to stuff it to maintain its shape, which will mean removing the insides. Cotton wool can be used, and then glue up the abdomen. Any water that’s within the spider, including any food, waste etc. will indeed discolour the resin over time as the thermodynamic chemical process which allows the resin to cure will heat the spider and make it leak. Water also interferes with the curing process and may result in the resin being unable to harden fully, leaving you with trapped pockets of liquid.

I have only preserved moults thus far and one tarantula sling which sadly passed. The abdomen leaked slightly but, as it was such a small specimen, it wasn’t very noticeable. It wasn’t really for display either, more just to keep them around and remember them, so I didn’t mind. Good luck, you’re going to have to be a surgeon and a crafter for this one!

 

[Wolfram1]

Air bubbles are going to be your worst nightmare when it comes to spiders, because of yes, the hairs. Eliminate as many as possible by; during the first 20 minutes or so of curing, keep an eye on any bubbles that form. With a lighter, skim the surface of the resin to pop the bubbles. Repeat until no more surface.

Your best bet with the abdomen will be to stuff it to maintain its shape, which will mean removing the insides. Cotton wool can be used, and then glue up the abdomen. Any water that’s within the spider, including any food, waste etc. will indeed discolour the resin over time as the thermodynamic chemical process which allows the resin to cure will heat the spider and make it leak. Water also interferes with the curing process and may result in the resin being unable to harden fully, leaving you with trapped pockets of liquid.

I have only preserved moults thus far and one tarantula sling which sadly passed. The abdomen leaked slightly but, as it was such a small specimen, it wasn’t very noticeable. It wasn’t really for display either, more just to keep them around and remember them, so I didn’t mind. Good luck, you’re going to have to be a surgeon and a crafter for this one!

do they keep decomposing? discolouring or did it somehow dry in there?

 

[HeartBum]

do they keep decomposing? discolouring or did it somehow dry in there?

Dried somehow, I'm guessing because it was so small

 

[The Grim Keeper]

Air bubbles are going to be your worst nightmare when it comes to spiders, because of yes, the hairs. Eliminate as many as possible by; during the first 20 minutes or so of curing, keep an eye on any bubbles that form. With a lighter, skim the surface of the resin to pop the bubbles. Repeat until no more surface.

Your best bet with the abdomen will be to stuff it to maintain its shape, which will mean removing the insides. Cotton wool can be used, and then glue up the abdomen. Any water that’s within the spider, including any food, waste etc. will indeed discolour the resin over time as the thermodynamic chemical process which allows the resin to cure will heat the spider and make it leak. Water also interferes with the curing process and may result in the resin being unable to harden fully, leaving you with trapped pockets of liquid.

I have only preserved moults thus far and one tarantula sling which sadly passed. The abdomen leaked slightly but, as it was such a small specimen, it wasn’t very noticeable. It wasn’t really for display either, more just to keep them around and remember them, so I didn’t mind. Good luck, you’re going to have to be a surgeon and a crafter for this one!

Thanks @HeartBum. I like the idea of a complete removal of the abdomen for the "surgery" (versus some sort of small horizontal cut) and then gluing it back on with a bit of superglue. I've seen someone on youtube prep fragile things for casting in resin by first spraying lightly with a clear-coat poly of some kind. I wonder if this would solve the hairs trapping a thin air layer issue. I know that resin usually has air bubble issues of its own often due to the mixing process, which can sometimes be remove with gentle heat. The effect of those hairs (too small to see on latrodectus without being super close or using a magnifying glass) is pretty interesting. When I dunked the spider briefly in a glass of water to dust it off a bit from moth wing dust, it was like it put on the Ring of Power and all but became invisible, until I pulled it out of the water and it magically "reappeared". I think this was due to an air boundary layer wrapping perfectly around the abdomen (and the legs, somewhat) and causing a light-bending effect). It was rather cool to see, but it would not be so cool in a resin cast!

 

[The Snark]

Web search 'Vacuum casting process'.