- Spreading the butterflies for your collection properly, is very important if you are to have a collection that is attractive as well as informational. The first thing is to use "insect pins" for the pins in all your specimens. You can obtain proper insect pins from a hobby store such as "Hobby Lobby", or you can order them from a science supply company like "Carolina Biological Supply".
- Your spreading board should be chosen well. If it is not of good quality and construction, the beauty of your collection will be compromised. The surface for pinning should NOT be flat, but rather angled so that the tips of the wings will be slightly above the body in the finished specimen. An adjustable board will allow you to adjust the body grove to fit the butterfly being pinned.
PROCEDURE:- Figure 1 shows a properly pinned butterfly. The insect pin in the body of the butterfly should be placed in the thorax, to the right of center. This is important, so you will not force legs off the specimen. The insect should be well up the pin, with approximately 1 / 4 inch left above the insect. This should be uniform throughout all the specimens in your collection, to allow room for the legs, and pin labels.
- It is important not to touch the butterfly wings with your fingers. The scales on them, as you know, come right off. Use an insect pin, placed directly behind the main wing vane, to move the wings into position.
- Move the front wings forward until the rear margin of the front wings are at 90 degrees to the center of the body line. If the rear margins are not straight, and many are not, imagine a straight line across the center of the rear margin. Push the pins being used to move the front wings into the pinning board, temporarily, to hold them in place.
- Again using an insect pin behind a main vane, move one of the hind wings forward, slipping its front margin under the rear margin of the front wing. Push the pin into the board temporarily, and move the other hind wing to match.
- Pin thin paper strips across the wings to hold them until they dry. You can use regular pins with round heads for this if you prefer, as they will not be put through the wings. The insect pins used to move and temporarily hold the wings can either be removed or left until the specimen is dry.
- One problem is keeping the abdomen of the butterfly straight while drying. Figure 2 shows how to support the abdomen with two insect pins. If the body is long, you may need to use a couple of these cross braces. You can also do this for the head, but if you place the antenna under the paper strips, this should hold the head straight.
- Starting at the top of the spreading board will let you spread sever butterflies at a time, depending on the length of your board. I have one very long board, for small to medium butterflies, which is great when I have a number of specimens to spread.
- Drying time will vary with temperature, humidity, and size of specimens. DO NOT remove your butterflies to soon or the wings and abdomen will droop. Allow several days for drying. The appearance of the abdomen will help in determining when the specimen is ready.
- Experiment with variations of these instructions to find methods that work best for you. If you have specimens that are to dry to spread, you will need to treat them in a relaxing jar so they can be worked with.
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- Your spreading board should be chosen well. If it is not of good quality and construction, the beauty of your collection will be compromised. The surface for pinning should NOT be flat, but rather angled so that the tips of the wings will be slightly above the body in the finished specimen. An adjustable board will allow you to adjust the body grove to fit the butterfly being pinned.
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SPREADING BUTTERFLIES | |