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Playing with the dead

All insects must come to an end so I was curious how I might go about drying out my dead critters to the point where I could pose them and place them in a riker mount? I have an adjustable temp food dehydrator but I'd really rather not use it for that! LOL

Years back I rehydrated & mounted already dried mantids, leaf insects, butterflies/moths/etc. but never worked with fresh material. Has anyone here done so? Also, I checked out my old mount collection which is stored at my dads apt and most of it has been eaten by something, even though they are all still in their taped shut mounts. Anyone know what eats them and how to stop it?
 
Yeah, and it's probably much easier with fresh critters. Just stick a pin through them. (Plenty of guides are available online that show "proper" placement.) You'll be able to position their legs and wings pretty easily while they're still fresh. You might need to use little strips of paper to tack them down and hold them in position. (maybe use a cork bulletin board?) Leave it to dry for about a week, and it should be frozen in position.

As for what's eating your collection, could be dermestid beetles or silverfish. (I had a silverfish attack one of my Cornell boxes...Evil little thing! He became plant food.) You can control them with moth balls (which are actually carcinogenic...not my preferred option) or similar fumigants. I think BioQuip sells little strips that you just put in the boxes, maybe check those out.

Hope this helps...good luck!

---------- Post added at 07:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 PM ----------

http://6legs2many.wordpress.com/techniques/spreading-insect-wings/

Here are some better pictures showing how to spread insects. They're not pinning the wings, legs, etc directly, but instead pinning down strips of paper that hold the appendage in place.

Honestly, if you've worked with rehydrated specimens before, fresh ones should be a breeze!
 
Hey Emily, yeah I used "glassine paper strips" (wax paper) to pose critters so I didn't have to puncture them. I liked those foam boards much better than the wooden one I bought from Bioquip years ago. You almost needed a hammer to get the pins in that basswood board! LOL

I was just curious about the leakage, being still full of juices and all that.... :puke:
 
Ohh, no, they won't be very juicy. A little soft, but it won't be unpleasant! Maybe it would help to practice on a couple of insects you don't particularly care about?

Yeah, the glassine strips are exactly what I use. Styrofoam is nice...so easy to use! But, be careful that the crevice for the insect's body isn't too wide. I've mangled some butterflies and dragonflies because my styrofoam board was too wide and it screwed up the angle of the wings..

Do you have pics of your old mount collection? I'd love to see them!
 
Good to know they won't be leaking all over that would be gross. I'm not into guts and gore.

I did have pics some of my fave mounts years ago but along with all my years of Nep growing pics they've gone to the big pile of lost stuff in the sky.

Whatever ate my old mounts at my dads left shed worm like skins in the cotton backing. I only have a few things left intact over there. The mantis mounts are almost completely gone, maybe a leg or wing left.
 
That sounds like silverfish...grr, evil things!!
 
Good to know they won't be leaking all over that would be gross. I'm not into guts and gore.

Wuss. :p

:lol:
 
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