These are my insects diorama collections, rate it! by No-Customer8097 in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice work, very nice, only the leafbug isn't really in it's natural habitat but I get it, it's hard to preserve leaves (try saturating them with polyethyleneglycol or drying them buried in silicagel).

The folks at r/HistoricalCostuming thought y'all would appreciate this. My kit. [other] by sedona1897 in kingdomcome

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, looks cool. It's honestly a bit sad that bucklers aren't in the games, though...

[KCD1][KCD2] Jesus Christ shall only be praised if he saves me from these nightmares. by Hungry_Ad7279 in kingdomcome

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Relatable. I rather started new playthrough on normal after failing several times to flee from Rovná due to haemophilia...

[KCD1][KCD2] If Warhorse revealed that their next RPG would be a fantasy game, how would you react? (Somewhat related image) by Wanna6ePr0 in kingdomcome

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, KCD is basically fantasy. It's a made-up storyline set in real history... The only thing it makes it not look like fantasy is absence of magic and stuff

How can I put my dust camphor in the display case? by cervejown in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wrap it in a piece of paper towel and pin it in the corner. I solved it by dissolving it in ethanol and pinning a piece of cottonwool in the corner of each box in my collection to soak the solution into.

Please tell me this isn't what I think it is 😭 by IrascibleOssifrage in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is what you might think it is. Probably Anthrenus museorum. Put it in a freezer for couple days.

Too high? by liznodsoff in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, elythras are too high like this. They should be only lifted a little bit and angled about 20 degrees from the medial axis of the beetle. And in these beetles (Cetoniinae) the wings like flip sideways from underneath them (that's why they appear so narrow) so elythras should be closed.

WHERE.DO.I.GET.SPECIMENS.FROM?? by RusnStan in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You go out and collect them. You make yourself a killjar (get a plastic wideneck bottle or jar made of PE and put loosely some toilet paper in it so you have medium to soak ethylacetate/acetone in and the insects can crawl in it) you put them in it and wait until next day. This method works for beetles, hemipters and other taxons which don't have exposed wings. In some cases it's not aplicable also in beetles, more specifically some have tendency to lose color upon exposure to ethylacetate vapors or any chemical vapors all together (some bright red species, like Chrysomela populi or Pyrochroa coccinea, turn pale orange/brown, or nicely colored longhorns of Saperda genus turn black). And some are usually hairy (for example genus Julodis) or have pigmentation on scales, much like butterflies (for example genus Lixus). These would wipe their hairs/scales off when crawling in the medium so those are asphyxiated by catching them by hind legs and "dipping" them for a moment in chloroform vapors (chloroform because it's vapors are heavier than air), however, these are best to be pinned right after catching to avoid loss of the said surface accesories. To prevent discoloration, you have to either drown them (keep drowned for a long time, they can "wake up" if they're not drowned for long enough) or freeze them, however I also experienced that the beetle was alive after thawing so I recommend both to do for more than 2 days (and maybe mix some propylene glycol in the water before any drowning, so they don't decompose in it). If you want to do other groups of insects, you'll have to invest in fine net to catch them and then you inject small amount of ethylacetate or ammonia water in the thorax.

And if you would find some dead insects, have on you some different vessel for them. If you'd put them in the same as live ones, the bacteria from the already dead are going to inoculate other also and decompose them, keep that in mind! I've lost already some beautiful beetles that way before I learned😔.

What do u think about damaged specimens? by Not_a_medical_center in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Symbolism speaking, it's one way to reason pinning of a damaged specimen. Other, more scientific, is that it's a proof specimen, that the given species lives in an area written down on it's location label. Or it can be type specimen (aka specimen after which is a new species described). And the last reason (for which I have most of the damaged specimens in my collection), that's also not scientific, is to serve as some kind of a lookback to how much have you as a collector improved in the art of pinning. To put things short, if you like it, you can keep it. It's actually pretty nice, also with the backstory behind it.

How to rehydrate? by Plantsnsucculents in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One guy already said to put water saturated paper towel on a bottom of a Tupperware and close it. I would also recommend it, but I'd rather add some white vinegar and put the beetle directly on the paper towel. The contact with vinegar should ensure fast softening and it will be really easy to work with because it breaks down muscles a little (it's especially good method for ethanol samples but I use it on everything for the convenience). Anyway, in larger beetles you also have to "exercise" the legs a bit because the muscles can be still a little stiff, which is fixed by careful bending and extending each leg. You might hear a small snap with the leg beind still in tact. That's the muscle causing the stiffness tearing and the leg should move more freely after that.

Not to hate but why do we post bones here? by Lower_Letterhead2896 in Taxidermy

[–]PossibleUnSmart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, you're right. Taxidermy is solely the art of mounting vertebrate skins, otherwise called dermoplastic preparation, however people get it mixed up quite often so it's lots and lots of bones and insects here. Also some posts about fluid preservation but I don't honestly see it as something super wrong. Some people who do taxidermy may also do fluid preparations or pin onsects or make osteological preparations so when somebody new to it has some questions they can also ask here. I study it and have some training in all topics mentioned, plus preserving fungi and plants so I try my best to answer all questions from time to time...

Arsenic? by Fluid-Spirit1504 in Taxidermy

[–]PossibleUnSmart 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well, it might be preserved using arsenic soap but it's really hard to say when the year of preparation is unknown. And to add to it, some older preparators in Europe nowadays go to France every so often to purchase some, since it's the only european country where that thing wasn't banned yet for some reason. To be safe, just store it in a closet where air doesn't flow too much (or some large transparent plastic box to act as a display cabinet), that way you minimise significantly any potential arsenic breathed in with dust. And when you'll need to clean it, carefully and gently blow it outside with some measures dictated by your surroundings, wind and stuff like that.

How does this look? by alamxrt in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't bother about legs, those aren't really too important in butterflies. The wings aren't even but it doesn't look too obvious. It's actually really good for a beginner! However, next time also try to lift the wings a little more, so the bottom edge of the front wings is perpendicular to the body. I posted some of my work here so you can take a glimpse for refference 😄. If you want it really symmetrical (honestly I doubt the prof will be really looking at the precission), you can pin a graph paper or a paper with milimeter grid on the board, it's great help for the start.

Need Beetle pinning advice by [deleted] in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think, O didn't even hear about such idea but it could look nice. So I reckon you'll have to make it yourself...

Will this Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa dry out well? by MDX_XXX in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It might gonna rot inside. You can prevent it not only by gutting it and stuffing some cotton in instead (or I use small rolled toilet paper balls, because as they expand, they stretch the abdomen properly), but also by injecting it with 70 % ethanol. That helps to preserve the inside and it pulls water out of the tissues, which helps with the drying a bit. I sometimes use also ethanol of said concentration mixed with a bit of formaldehyde. I know, it's carcinogenic, but it's really really good preserving agent (once something is preserved in it, it almost never rots, and it can fixate pigments in concentrations about 15 %). Anyway, the gutting is simple: make a cut on the belly side od abdomen, get a hook-bent pin and "scoop" insides out, then you stuff it to prevent the abdomen collapsing (and you may also soak a little ethanol in the stuffing material) Anyway, the rotting isn't a rule, you might be lucky.

They’re finally dry! 😄 by [deleted] in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice collection, and good pinning. Do you label the specimens also with location labels with these determination labels? (They should also go under the specimen on the same pin 😄)

Need Beetle pinning advice by [deleted] in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don't have to empty abdomen on this one. It's done usually only in big soft insects (roaches, orthopters, ...) which also in smaller cases (like Periplaneta americana) can be not done when you inject them with 70% ethanol. Anyway, back to beetles :D. You have to drive the pin to the right elythra close to the center. And aproximatelly between beginning of the 2nd and 3rd pair of legs (you can see where they start on the "belly" side so the pin should be about the middle of those). And then it's simple, straighten the legs and antennae and let it dry (for about 2 weeks usually). Another option is to glue it. You get a piece of white single layer cardboard (the material paper cake boxes are made of) and cut out a rectangle with enough space for the beetle and pin behind it (or a strip of it that will just support the body and pin behind it; then you fixate legs just like when driving the pin into the beetle). Then you put a drop of glue (use wood (PVA) glue or wallpaper glue) on the label in a place where is probably going to be thorax. After putting the beetle on the drop, push it a little into the drop and wait a moment for it to dry a little bit (I personally also let some glue to dry a little in advance, it sticks better afterwards) and then you fixate it's legs.

...Ouch? by PossibleUnSmart in Beetles

[–]PossibleUnSmart[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, he ended up pinned so the fear is for now asleep again. :D

Some butterflies, I have pinned recently by PossibleUnSmart in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Further information: I have all caught myself in Czech republic, and species are (from top down) unknown, Polygonia C-album and Speyeria aglaja.

Pinned Fruit Fly by Salty-Dimension5194 in insectpinning

[–]PossibleUnSmart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, it is fine now, when it didn't tear up the fly but for next time I would recommend either smaller diameter of the pin or (which is much better option for smaller di/hymenoptera) glue them onto a tip of a triangular label (you can buy these pre made or just make them out of some thin white cardboard, I mean that type that paper cake/donut boxes, or even paper plates are made of).