Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Pinning flies and wasps and some curious questions.

Posted by ChrisR on 12-09-2007 09:52
#77

It's not difficult but it helps if you decided before you killed it to make it a "specimen" and not just a dead fly ;) It is always preferable to pin an insect just after it died, while it is soft - and in that way you don't damage anything. Using micro-pins and just pinning to a piece of foam is the easiest, as long as you also keep the collection data with the specimen or if it is big enough you can use the larger, continental (38mm) pins but this might be more difficult for the receiver to incorporate in their own collections (I know most collectors like specimens at a certain height on the pin) and potentially cause more damage.

If you put them in alcohol make sure it is a pure methylated spirit (Industrial Methylated Spirit, in UK) or Iso-Propyl Alcohol - with no colours or additives other than a bit of water. Push a small 'bung' of tissue-paper into the spirit to stop them moving much and then seal it with an air-tight stopper.

I'm not sure which I prefer to receive - it depends on the collector's experience and how much time the collector has to prepare the specimens. :D