Spreading insects

A. I forgot. After everything is put in its place, the glass is fixed with pins at the edges so that it does not move.

About a year I spread butterflies under the windows. Moreover, for ease of action when spreading, I use a combined approach.
First, the butterfly wings are covered with strips of plastic from a stationery folder (you need to choose the right folder - there are such whitish - translucent ones. The plastic in them is quite dense on one side, and on the other, after puncturing with pins, there are no burrs on the side adjacent to the wings). I make strips of plastic one for each plane of the straightener and also make incisions in them along, so that when spreading the wings, you can move them with a pin not only at the root, but also where it is convenient. Then the wings are spread out under the plastic, as it is usually done under tracing paper or something else, and first on one side. The plastic is stretched and fixed with two pins (for each butterfly) for the edge that is closer to the groove of the straightener.
Glass. I use 2 mm thick. I have them cut based on the size of the spread butterflies. The glass is placed on top of the plastic tape, moved gently towards the fixing pins, the pins are quietly removed (if this operation is done correctly, the position of the butterfly's wings after spreading will not change) and the glass is moved further to the butterfly's body, thus covering the roots of the wings. Depending on the size of the butterfly, you can place several panes of glass on top of each other. So it will be heavier and the plane of the wings will be better maintained after removing it from the straightener.
Compared to tracing paper, it turns out better. There are no difficulties with drying (in the sense that you can dry as much as usual. I dry for 14 days).

A little bit completely unclear )... Why so many difficulties, if the deformation of the wings and their lowering depend on 90% (at least) on the conditions of subsequent storage. If the specimen straightened out in this way is not placed in a vacuum box immediately after being removed from the straightener, hidden in a special bunker with rigid climate control, but stored in a home collection or, even more so, in an ordinary (=our) museum, then there is no point - the result will be the same after a while. Probably because of this, and not just because of the complexity, this rather old technique has become very rare.

Uh... As for lowering the wings in the future, you are absolutely right (although not everyone does). What calms me down a little is that even when they go down, they mostly retain the specified plane (i.e., only the angle changes with respect to the plane of the torso) and they are not warped yet. And as for the complexity, it's probably the opposite for me. It turns out to spread out much faster, especially when you need to straighten a lot at once. And besides, if the glass is not fixed, then you only need one pin per butterfly. In general, I personally liked it very much after tracing paper.

1. Glass does not interfere with the removal of mustache? Or is the sawyere also pinned down?
2. What are the possibilities of transporting straighteners with the material straightened in this way on them?

1. Moustache straightens under plastic. Glass is placed on top of the plastic only when everything (wings and whiskers) is properly positioned. And yes. The sawyere ends up being pinned down by the glass.
2. This method, of course, is only stationary. You can't transport it in any way.

thank you so much, I will try to try

And how to spread butterflies, if you prick them with the underside of the wings up?

And how to spread butterflies, if you prick them with the underside of the wings up?

Just as in the case when impaled as usual: I don't see the difference.

Just as in the case when impaled as usual: I don't see the difference.

I think there is a difference. I didn't spread it out that way. I'm interested in:
1. how will the butterfly's legs spread out, i.e. what is their position in space. How they (feet) will be fixed during drying.
2. wings the rear wing is placed on top and will open the front one, whether it is necessary to wind it up under the front one, as with a normal spread.
3. if possible, links to documents (sources).
Sincerely.

I think there is a difference. I didn't spread it out that way. I'm interested in:
1. how will the butterfly's legs spread out, i.e. what is their position in space. How they (feet) will be fixed during drying.
2. wings the rear wing is placed on top and will open the front one, whether it is necessary to wind it up under the front one, as with a normal spread.
3. if possible, links to documents (sources).
with respect.

I will only answer the second question: you don't need to start anything under the front fender. Undergarments should be undergarments: http://lepidoptera.ru/gallery/10366
Then you can think for yourself.

Press your legs closer to the breast, the main thing is that they do not stick out, otherwise they will simply break off when you try to take the pin. To straighten them in some symmetrical way, I think there is no point.

Well yeah.. That's the way it is. Just straighten it out and that's it. I never bothered with my legs. I can't offer any links to the document, as this is the result of my experiments.

That is, just turn the insect upside down, stick a pin in and spread it out on an ORDINARY straightener?

Yes

Not on an ordinary one,but with a minimal angle.Otherwise, the wings will be extremely raised up(the specifics of the underpants)

Not on an ordinary one,but with a minimal angle.Otherwise, the wings will be extremely raised up(the specifics of the underpants)

By the way: I have a homemade linden straightener: a flat plane (as I used to over the years) , so apparently it turns out under the hood?

Yes, if you straighten the undergarments on a regular straightener, then the wing profile turns out to be slightly crescent-shaped. It is better to have special, flatter straighteners for the underparts.
But I'm fine with it anyway.

It is clear that it is a matter of taste, but still which option is better and why?

Pictures:

Clipboard01.png — (840.17к)

Option on the left. Because it is close to the natural pose of a live beetle.

Option on the right because the beetle on the left is punctured with a pin

Option on the right because the beetle on the left is pierced with a pin

And why is it bad to use pins? I've been pinning big beetles all my life.

I like the left one better. With this method of mounting beetles, it is easier to make measurements. This is especially important when describing new species, or comparing the characteristics of already known beetles when defining them. For example, it is difficult to measure the leg length of a right beetle.

His spread out as in the option on the left. Now I'm seriously thinking of steaming and straightening again. Approximately as in the version on the right, but even tighter, bend your legs more strongly. The constant danger of breaking off your limbs is a little annoying. And they take up too much space.

Zunimasse: This topic should have been organized as a survey.

Zunimasse: This topic should have been organized as a survey.

I support you! I vote for the right one myself, and it's tighter so that nothing breaks accidentally. Although for goldsmiths for example the left one is more convenient and looks better

In addition to the noted compactness and greater "stress resistance" of the right option, it is also less time-consuming, since it does not require spreading the claws. This is important for large volumes of material.

On the right, but I would bend my legs more tightly, so it's safer.

Just like on the left! Only on a pin! Hardcore only!

Better is the one with the larva that ate more. But I shouldn't have gone into this topic.

This post was edited by Liparus - 10/29/2012 22: 54

I will abstain from voting. Both options are acceptable. Although I spread out, rather, closer to the first type, i.e. the left photo.

Beetles are easier to spread than butterflies.
Here are some examples of my work:

Pictures:

DSC02422.JPG — (2.38мб)


DSC03109.JPG — (2.87мб)


DSC02414.JPG — (3.21мб)

well, it is not difficult to spread out such large beetles, try for beetles about a millimeter in size, although it is no longer possible to leave the beetle with the wing there, and you need the whole wing type for measurement...

Lunkovu: Spreading beetles with spread elytra and spread wings, used exclusively for souvenirs.

at the request of Dmitrich
true without images
straightening large T-shirts (proscarabeus, variegata, cycatricosus) using ceiling tiles
1-we take a smooth ceiling tile. we cut 2 identical rectangles in width and length equal to our T-shirt in its original form. glue together a drop of PVA and as it dries, cut out the "blank" - narrow the backside and round the sides.
2-we take the T-shirt and cut the belly, leaving the last 2 ventrits intact. using tweezers and other improvised tools, we pull out the entire liver until a clean skin remains.
3-insert the blank into the skin. first in the "tail" then the rest. we put our T-shirt on the foam on the back and press the skin with needles to the blank from the sides so that the seam of the skin converges. glue the seam with small drops/smears of colorless nail polish and a couple of minutes of patience.
dried out (3-5 minutes). we turn it over and either on a large die, or on a needle, or on a die "under the side", straighten our legs and sawyers

This post was edited by AGG-25.05.2013 22: 36

Hello everyone
The following question arose: when the apollons are spread out with tracing paper, some deformation of the wings and the tracing paper itself is obtained.
Apparently the wings are hard enough to make the tracing paper a little buglyas.
It turns out as if swollen near the base of the wing. I would like to quickly fix this matter so that the wings are even.
How to deal with it? Or can it replace tracing paper with something more rigid?
Thank you for your help!

This post was edited by SergeyB - 07.07.2013 12: 00

Please help me with the answer to the request above! Thank you in advance!

One of the options: instead of tracing paper, cut and use plastic folders on the button for documents. They are sold in stationery stores and are selected according to your needs. Classic version (provided in many manuals): edit through a thin strip of tracing paper at the base of the wing, and cover the rest with a denser material (paper, the same plastic, etc.).
P. S. Example of such an edit here.

This post was edited by vasiliy-feoktistov - 07.07.2013 21: 41

I share my experience: I solved the problem of large veined wings that raise (stand on end tracing paper) spreading out not quite exactly, along one plane.

I took 2 mm slides for micro-preparations at work and covered the wings with them, fixed them at an angle with ordinary pins. Very convenient: the glass is heavy, exerts good pressure on the wing, evenly pressing it to the straightener + transparency of the material itself. By the way, if you fix the glass correctly (you need experience), then you can safely transport it. Here are some photos:












Thanks for your attention!

This post was edited by SergeyB-09.07.2013 12: 45

UNPACKING MAGNETS
accidentally landed on the site: http://owady.strefa.pl/product.php?id_product=41

Help!
Beetles after staying in formalin (Barber's trap) for one week, have become stiff and do not give in to straightening, soaking does not help. Give good advice on what to do with it in order to restore the mobility of the joints.